Subsea Housing Inductive Coupler for Pressure Sealing
Find Innovative SolutionsGenerate Solutions
Solution Overview
Problem
Subsea sensors face challenges in maintaining insulation resistance and withstanding high process pressures, particularly in subsea environments where glass-to-metal seals can fail under large pressure differences, leading to leakage risks and costly testing processes.
Innovation Solution
A subsea housing assembly with an inductive coupler that provides data communication and power transfer across a metal wall, eliminating the need for glass penetrators and allowing for metal-to-metal sealing, which reduces pressure testing requirements and enhances operational safety.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If glass penetrators with glass-to-metal sealing are used to maintain insulation resistance, then electrical insulation is improved, but the device cannot withstand high pressure differences and may leak
Solution Approach 1:
The patent removes the glass penetrator and glass-to-metal seal from the system entirely. Instead, it uses a metal wall with an inductive coupler for both mechanical sealing and electrical coupling, eliminating the component that fails under high pressure while maintaining insulation resistance through the metal barrier.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent replaces the mechanical glass-to-metal seal with an inductive coupling system. Electrical connections are made through electromagnetic induction across the metal wall rather than through physical penetrators, allowing the metal wall to provide both mechanical strength and electrical insulation without compromise.
2Ease of operation
If glass penetrators are used to provide electrical connections through the housing wall, then data communication is enabled, but insulation resistance drops below 1 GΩ due to humidity absorption
Solution Approach 1:
The patent replaces physical electrical penetrators with an inductive coupling system that transfers power and data through electromagnetic fields across the metal wall. This eliminates direct electrical contact through the barrier, preventing humidity ingress and maintaining insulation resistance above 1 GΩ while enabling full data communication functionality.
3Reliability
If high pressure testing at 2.5 times maximum pressure is performed to ensure safety, then operational safety is verified, but the glass-to-metal seal exceeds its limits and fails
Solution Approach 1:
The patent eliminates the glass-to-metal seal from the pressure boundary. The metal wall provides the pressure barrier without vulnerable sealing components, allowing high-pressure testing to verify safety without risking seal failure, as there is no glass-to-metal interface to exceed its limits.
4Reliability
If additional drying processes are implemented to meet insulation resistance specifications after high pressure testing, then specification compliance is achieved, but time and cost increase
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements the metal wall with inductive coupling design from the outset, which inherently prevents humidity absorption and maintains insulation resistance above 1 GΩ even after high-pressure testing. This preliminary design choice eliminates the need for subsequent drying processes, reducing both time and cost while ensuring specification compliance.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution enables reliable data communication and power supply while maintaining high insulation resistance, reducing leakage risks and simplifying testing processes, allowing subsea sensors to operate effectively with high-pressure process fluids.
Implementation Method 1
The inductive coupler is configured to provide inductive coupling across the wall for providing at least a data communication between the first electrical connection in the first housing portion and the second electrical connection in the second housing portion
Data Source
AI summary
A subsea housing assembly, in particular for a subsea sensor, includes a first housing portion and a second housing portion. The first housing portion includes a first electrical connection for data communication and the second housing portion includes a second electrical connection for data communication. A wall provides separation between the first housing portion and the second housing portion of the subsea housing. An inductive coupler, that includes a first coupling section disposed in the first housing portion and a second coupling section disposed in the second housing portion, is provided. The inductive coupler is configured to provide inductive coupling across the wall for providing at least a data communication between the first and second electrical connections.