The Mating of Submarine Connectors Must Meet Dynamic Sealing Requirements

1. The importance of submarine connectors

In addition to ships and remote sensing satellites, the seabed observation network has become the third type of ocean observation platform. Through it, humans can go deep underwater to observe and understand the ocean. If we compare the various cable observation platforms of the submarine monitoring network to human thighs and arms, then the underwater connector is like the joints used to connect them. With it, this magnificent can be built completely. Observation system. The underwater connector plays an irreplaceable role in the construction, operation and maintenance of the submarine observation network system.

2. The mating of submarine connectors must meet the requirements of dynamic sealing

Some large-scale observation networks stretch for thousands of kilometers on the seabed, and the power supply voltage can reach 10,000 volts or even higher. The power supply of the observation network is "installed" in a "house" called a connection box. The electrical energy and communication transmission between the main photoelectric composite cable and the main connection box, and the electrical energy and communication transmission between the secondary connection box and the sensor must pass through the "checkpoint" of the submarine connectors. The wet plug underwater connector is actually a pair of male and female heads, and the female head is fixed. Just like a syringe, if the piston is tightly integrated with the tube wall, pushing the piston can drain all the liquid in the syringe. The underwater connector must not only meet the sealing requirements of the mating state when in use, but also meet the dynamic sealing requirements: when the pin is not inserted, it is closed and sealed, and the pin is inserted and inserted in place to maintain the seal.

Its working environment is often thousands of meters underwater, and the "piston" and "tube wall" will inevitably be deformed under huge pressure. The underwater pressure also creates a huge pressure difference between the inner cavity and the outer surface, and the underwater connector is difficult to be unplugged. We fill the internal cavity with liquid and contact the external seawater through an elastic skin. When the seawater pressure increases, the liquid inside the cavity is squeezed through the bladder to ensure the pressure balance inside and outside the cavity. Pressure balance technology provides a solution for deep underwater plugging and unplugging, and also places high requirements on manufacturing processes and materials. So it is important to choose a professional connector manufacturing company.

The connection and sealing between the underwater connector and the mating cable are directly related to the mechanical strength, water pressure resistance and signal transmission performance of the underwater connector. However, the underwater plug-in is usually completed by a remote operated vehicle (ROV), which places high requirements on the mechanical strength and structural design of the underwater connector. After decades of development, this technology has gradually matured.