RIASSUNTO
ABSTRACT:
Application of mechanical collet connector has become increasingly common in ocean engineering. Meanwhile, the locking mechanism of the mechanical collect connector has a direct impact on the reliability of the connector. In this paper, a locking mechanism design was proposed for a collet connector under the working condition of 1500-m depth and 5000-psi inner pressure. The interaction of some parameters associated with the structure design was also discussed. The actuator ring was first designed using a two-cylinder scenario: Outer cylinder and inner cylinder are assembled through interference fit. This scenario can not only increase the yield strength of the actuator ring, but also reduce the overall cost.
INTRODUCTION
Flange, as a common component in connecting pipeline and pipeline or subsea facilities (Christmas tree, manifold, etc), its application in shallow water mainly depends on the diver assistance. However, diver can't work in deepwater, connecter then be used in place of flange. According to its installation method and whether there are hydraulic systems on it or not, connector can be divided into mechanical connector and hydraulic connector. Also connectors can be divided into collet connectors and clamp connectors based on its structure. There are several kinds of connectors widely used in the market and shown in Fig.1, made by FMC, Cameron, Oil states, etc. Liwan3-1 gas field, jointly developed by CNOOC and Husky, is located at a water depth of 1425m in South China Sea and its natural gas reserves are estimated at more than 40 billons m3. Based on the development scenario designed for Liwan3-1, lots of connectors need to be used and the design life should be over 20 years. The work we are doing now is focus on the design of mechanical collet connector. We attempt to suggest some solutions to deal with the above challenges.