Assemblage for blocking water

Abstract

A solid ring-conductor assemblage (20) blocks water from migrating in the axial direction of an electrical stranded conductor (1). The solid ring-conductor assemblage (20) has a ring and an electrical stranded conductor. The diameter of an initial opening of the ring exceeds an outer diameter of the stranded conductor (1). The solid ring-conductor assemblage (20) is obtained by the process of placing the ring in an installed position where the electrical stranded conductor (1) runs through the initial opening. A compressive force (F) is applied onto the ring (2) in the installed position thereby compressing the ring (2) as well as the portion of the electrical stranded conductor (1) as covered by the ring into a compressed state. The compressed ring and the compressed portion of the electrical stranded conductor bonds as an entity providing the solid ring-conductor assemblage (20). A ring is provided to obtain the solid ring-conductor assemblage; a cable has a stranded electrical conductor where at least one ring is compressed around the electrical stranded conductor; and a method includes manufacturing an electrical stranded conductor arranged with at least one solid ring-conductor assemblage.

Claims

1. A solid ring-conductor assemblage for blocking water from migrating in the axial direction of an electrical stranded conductor comprising: an electrical stranded conductor; and a ring surrounding a portion of the stranded conductor, wherein the ring and the portion of the stranded conductor surrounded by the ring are compressed to form the solid ring-conductor assemblage.

2. The solid ring-conductor assemblage according to claim 1, wherein the diameter of an initial opening of the ring exceeds an outer diameter of the stranded conductor and the solid ring-conductor assemblage is obtained by placing the ring in an installed position where the electrical stranded conductor runs through the initial opening, applying a compressive force onto the ring in the installed position thereby compressing the ring as well as the portion of the electrical stranded conductor.

3. The solid ring-conductor assemblage according to claim 1, wherein the compressing of the ring comprises reducing an outer diameter of the ring to correspond essentially to the outer diameter of an uncompressed portions of electrical stranded conductor.

4. The solid ring-conductor assemblage according to claim 1, wherein compressing the portion of the conductor comprises reducing the outer diameter of conductor along a length of the electrical stranded conductor as covered by an axial length of the compressed ring.

5. The solid ring-conductor assemblage according to claim 1, wherein compressing the portion of the conductor comprises reducing voids in between strands of electrical stranded conductor and compacting an radial cross section of each strand along a length of the electrical stranded conductor as covered by the axial length of the compressed ring.

6. The solid ring-conductor assemblage according to claim 1, wherein evenly distributing the compressive force around the circumference of the ring thereby compressing the ring and the portion of the electrical stranded conductor in a uniform manner.

7. A ring arranged for being compressed around the electrical stranded conductor to obtain the solid ring-conductor assemblage according to claim 1.

8. The ring according to claim 7, wherein the ring is provided as a one-piece construction.

9. The ring according to claim 7, wherein the ring comprises plural ring segments arranged for being connected to one another to assemble the ring around the conductor.

10. The ring according to claim 9, wherein each ring segment comprises a profiled connecting end portion adapted for complementary form-fitting with a profiled connecting end portion of a neighboring ring segment to form a common joint.

11. A cable comprising: a stranded electrical conductor wherein at least one ring is compressed around the electrical stranded conductor to obtain the solid ring-conductor assemblage in accordance with claim 1.

12. The cable in accordance with claim 11, wherein plural rings are compressed around the electrical stranded conductor along a conductor length at predefined intervals.

13. A method for manufacturing an electrical stranded conductor arranged with at least one solid ring-conductor assemblage for blocking water from migrating in the axial direction of the electrical stranded conductor, wherein the solid ring-conductor assemblage has a ring and an electrical stranded conductor, and wherein the diameter of an initial opening of the ring exceeds an outer diameter of the electrical stranded conductor, said method comprises the following steps of; inserting the electrical stranded conductor through the initial opening of the ring, positioning the ring in an installation position around the electrical stranded conductor, and applying a compressive force onto the ring in the installed position thereby compressing the ring as well as the portion of the electrical stranded conductor into a compressed state where the compressed ring and the compressed portion of the electrical stranded conductor bonds as an entity providing the solid ring-conductor assemblage.

14. The method for manufacturing an electrical stranded conductor arranged with plural solid ring-conductor assemblages distributed at predefined intervals along the length of the electrical stranded conductor, comprising repeating the method steps of claim 13.

15. The method for manufacturing the electrical stranded conductor plural solid ring-conductor assemblages in accordance with claim 14, wherein plural rings are accommodated in a magazine comprising a storage sleeve, wherein the method further comprising the steps of running the storage sleeve through the initial openings of the rings and thereby accommodating the plural rings on the storage sleeve, running the electrical stranded conductor in a through-going passage of the storage sleeve and in a repeating manner conducting the following steps; displacing a ring from the storage sleeve into the installed position on the electrical stranded conductor, applying a compressive force onto the ring in the installed position thereby compressing the ring as well as the portion of the electrical stranded conductor as covered by the ring, into a compressed state where the compressed ring and the compressed portion of the electrical stranded conductor bonds as an entity providing the solid ring-conductor assemblage.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0048] In the following, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the enclosed drawings, where:

[0049] FIG. 1 shows a perspective view of a segmented ring to be installed around a conductor.

[0050] FIG. 2 shows a perspective view of the initial step of joining the ring segments.

[0051] FIG. 3 shows a perspective view of the ring segments as joined in an installed position.

[0052] FIG. 4 shows a side view of the ring segments as shown in FIG. 3

[0053] FIG. 5 shows a perspective view of the ring in a compressed state around the conductor.

[0054] FIG. 6 shows a side view of the compressed ring as shown in FIG. 5

[0055] FIG. 7 shows a perspective view of a plural rings stored in a magazine installed around an electrical stranded conductor.

[0056] FIG. 8 shows a perspective view of a ring as distributed from the magazine of FIG. 7 onto the electrical stranded conductor.

[0057] FIG. 9 shows a perspective view of the ring as distributed from the magazine as shown in FIG. 8 and brought into a compressed stated around the electrical stranded conductor.

[0058] FIG. 10 shows a front view of a pressing machine compressing one of rings stored in a magazine as shown in FIG. 7-9.

[0059] FIG. 11 shows the pressing machine of FIG. 10 compressing a ring as distributed from magazine of FIGS. 7-9, the pressing machine is shown in cross section along B-B as shown in FIG. 10.

[0060] FIG. 12 shows a top view of the compression of the ring by the pressing machine as illustrated in FIG. 11.

[0061] FIG. 13 shows a perspective view of the compression of the ring by the pressing machine as illustrated in FIG. 11.

[0062] FIG. 1 shows a ring 2 in accordance with the invention which is to be arranged in an installed position around a stranded electrical conductor 1. In the embodiment shown FIG. 1, the ring 2 is divided into two ring segments 3, 4 each having connecting end portions 5,6 configured for being joined to make up the ring 2. The connecting end portions 5,6 have complementary form-fitting profiles 7, 8 for forming a common joint when brought into the installed position as shown in FIG. 3. In the FIGS. 1-3 the form fitting profiles 7, 8 are both shown J-shaped each being arranged with an orientation to provide for an engagement with abutting joint surfaces of the complementary J-shaped profile. In FIG. 1 the ring segments 3, 4 are positioned side by side ready for being displaced into the initial step of joining the ring segments into a ring. The form fitting profiles 7, 8 extend all along the connecting end portions 5,6 in the axial direction and this configuration permits sliding the form fitting profiles 7, 8 axially along the conductor into forming the common joint.

[0063] Only one connecting end portion 5,6 of each ring segment 3, 4 is visible in the example shown FIG. 1, the other connecting end portions are placed diametrically opposite to the shown position end portions and have a similar configuration for making up the joint. The shown ring segments 2,3 are of equal size, but the ring segments 2 may also be provided with different size. The ring 2 may be divided into more than the two shown ring segments for instance three or four, or a number of segments chosen according to need. The ring segments may be provided with uniform or varying size. The ring segments may typically be provided with a uniform axial cross section, and may have the same or different circumferential extensions.

[0064] FIG. 2 shows the initial insert of one connecting end portion 5 into the other connecting end portion 6 by carrying out a joining movement in the axial direction of the electrical stranded conductor 1. By this initial insert, the form-fitting profiles 7, 8 are brought into alignment and the abutting joint surfaces of the form-fitting profiles 7, 8 slides the ring segments 2, 3 into engagement with each other. The ring segments 2,3 continues being displaced relative each other until being brought into the common joint making up the ring 2 as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4. The ring 2 is here shown in the installed position around the conductor.

[0065] The opening 9 of the ring 2 has a diameter that exceeds the diameter of the conductor 1. In the embodiment as shown in FIGS. 1-4, the diameter of the opening 9 of the ring 2 is determined so that it corresponds with the diameter of the conductor for the ring to fit onto the electrical stranded conductor 1 with minimum clearance.

[0066] With the ring 2 being placed in the installed position around the electrical stranded conductor 1 as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the ring is now prepared for being subjected to a compressive force F. The compressive force F causes the compression of the ring 2 into a compressed configuration as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. This compression also forces a portion of the conductor as covered by the ring into a compressed state. The compression of the portion of the conductor 1 as covered by the ring 2 allows the compression of the stranded conductor to reduce voids in between the strands and compact the radial cross section of each strand. The compressed ring 2 and the portion of the conductor as covered by the ring thereby appears as a solid ring-conductor assemblage 20 similar to a solid bolt.

[0067] The diameter of the compressed ring 2 corresponds essentially to the diameter of the electrical stranded conductor 1, as illustrated in FIGS. 5 and 6. The solid ring-conductor assemblage 20 exhibits water blocking qualities. When being part of an end portion of an electrical stranded conductor arranged in a cable, this assemblage will thereby be capable of limiting the water intrusion into the conductor.

[0068] Plural rings may be at arranged at pre-defined intervals along the length of the conductor, such that if a cable fault occurs anywhere along the cable, the cable system operator can plan for removal of a pre-defined length of cable during a cable repair campaign.

[0069] As an alternative to the segmented ring 2 as shown in FIG. 1-4, the ring 2 may be provided as one-piece construction as illustrated in FIGS. 7-8. These figures show an embodiment where plural rings are stored in a magazine 10. The capacity of the magazine is regulated in accordance with planned cable length and the number of rings to be installed on the electrical stranded conductor. The magazine 10 has a storage arrangement comprising a sleeve 11 with a through-going passage for the electrical stranded conductor 1. The sleeve runs through the ring openings 9 and thereby accommodates the ring on the sleeve 11. An end stop unit 12 ensures that the stored rings 2 are kept accommodated in place on the sleeve 11. The electrical stranded conductor runs through the magazine during the manufacturing of the electrical stranded conductor 1 and a ring 2 is moved from its accommodated position on the sleeve 11 onto the electrical stranded conductor 1 where it is placed in the installed position. A compressive force F is applied to the individual ring 2 for compressing the ring 2 into a compressed configuration similar to description above of the illustrations in FIGS. 5 and 6. The compressed ring is shown in FIG. 9. The ring may be installed and compressed at pre-defined intervals according to need as described above.

[0070] As shown in FIG. 4, the compressive force F has a working direction essentially radially on the ring 2, both when the ring 2 is segmented and when being provided in one-piece. This compressive force F may be provided by a by a pressing machine 14 as shown in FIGS. 10-13. The pressing machine 14 may be a standard off the shelf tool where the segmented tool has been given a configuration to fit with the specific exterior of the ring 2. The pressing machine may also be designed and manufactured specifically fit for purpose. The pressing machine moves the segmented tool in at least one direction, essentially radially with respect to the ring 2 and by this movement applies a mechanical force F such that the ring 2 is compressed and essentially corresponds to the diameter of the conductor. The pressing machine 14 as shown in these figures comprises a segmented tool comprising four tool parts, illustrated by tool parts 15, 16 as shown in FIG. 11. These four tool parts ensures even distribution of the necessary compression force F onto the ring 2. The pressing machine 14 may be provided with a number of tool parts that correspond with the number of ring segments, for instance two tool parts for the two segmented ring 2. The tool comprising two or four tool parts may also be applicable for pressing the one-piece ring into a compressed state. The tool parts are configured for fitting in engagement with specific design of the exterior surfaces of the ring 2, and ensures that the compressive force F is distributed equally all around the outer circumference of the ring 2.