Subsea replaceable fuse assembly

Abstract

A subsea-replaceable fuse assembly has at least one fuse and a wet-mateable fuse connector element. The connector element is arranged to connect the fuse assembly to a subsea electrical load requiring protection of the fuse. The fuse connector element has conductor elements that are electrically connected to the fuse. A corresponding method of protecting a subsea electrical load includes connecting a fuse to the load underwater in a wet-mating operation effected between connector elements that are electrically connected, respectively, to the fuse and to the load.

Claims

1. A subsea-replaceable fuse assembly comprising: a plurality of fuses; and a wet-mateable fuse connector element arranged to connect the fuse assembly to a subsea electrical load requiring protection of the fuse, wherein the fuse connector element comprises conductor elements that are electrically connected to the plurality of fuses, the conductor elements defining a plug for engagement with a socket provided on the subsea electrical load to connect the plurality of fuses electrically to the subsea load; and wherein the fuse connector element comprises a body having a recess surrounded by a skirt, the recess housing the plug, such that when the plug is engaged with a socket on the subsea electrical load, the skirt is received in a recess on the socket to seal the recess in the body of the fuse connector element.

2. The fuse assembly of claim 1, further comprising a subsea cable extending between the fuse connector element and a fuseholder module containing the fuse, which cable electrically connects the fuses to the conductor elements and supports the housing from the fuse connector element.

3. The fuse assembly of claim 2, wherein the cable is filled with a dielectric liquid.

4. The fuse assembly of claim 1, wherein the fuses are contained in a fuseholder module that is integral with the fuse connector element.

5. The fuse assembly of claim 2, wherein the fuses are supported in air in the fuseholder module.

6. The fuse assembly of claim 5, wherein the air in the fuseholder module is at ambient pressure.

7. The fuse assembly of claim 2, wherein the fuseholder module is arranged to isolate the fuse from water.

8. The fuse assembly of claim 1, wherein the fuse connector element comprises a UUV handle arranged to be grasped for manipulation by a UUV.

9. The fuse assembly of claim 1, wherein the fuses are potted in a capsule.

10. The fuse assembly of claim 1, wherein the fuseholder module has a plurality of chambers, each chamber holding a fuse.

11. The fuse assembly of claim 10, wherein the subsea cable comprises a bundle of cables, which cables electrically connect each of the plurality of fuses to the conductor elements.

12. In combination, the fuse assembly of claim 1 and a subsea electrical load that is electrically connected to corresponding conductor elements of a complementary load connector element.

13. The combination of claim 12, further comprising a subsea installation including the subsea electrical load.

14. A subsea installation including an electrical load, the subsea-replaceable fuse assembly of claim 1, and a wet-mateable load connector element arranged to connect the load to the subsea-replaceable fuse assembly, the load connector element comprising conductor elements that are electrically connected to the load.

15. A method of protecting a subsea electrical load, the method comprising connecting a plurality of fuses to the load underwater in a wet-mating operation effected between connector elements that are electrically connected, respectively, to the fuses and to the load, wherein the connector element comprises a plug arranged in a recess on a body of the connector element, the recess being surrounded by a skirt, and wherein the method further comprises inserting the plug into a socket on the load such that the skirt engages with the socket to seal the recess.

16. The method of claim 15, comprising connecting the plurality of fuses to the load underwater in a single wet-mating operation.

Description

(1) In order that the present invention may be more readily understood, reference will now be made, by way of example, to the accompanying drawings, in which:

(2) FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a potted fuse capsule in accordance with the invention;

(3) FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a fuseholder module in accordance with the invention, containing in this example six of the fuse capsules of FIG. 1;

(4) FIG. 3 is a part-sectioned side view of the fuseholder module of FIG. 1 incorporated into a subsea housing in accordance with a first embodiment of the invention;

(5) FIG. 4 is a side view of a subsea replaceable fuse assembly comprising the subsea housing of FIG. 3 and a wet-mateable connector at the distal end of an oil-filled subsea cable emerging from the housing;

(6) FIG. 5 is a schematic side view of conductor elements within the wet-mateable connector of FIG. 4, those elements being exemplified here as pins, showing how a fuse capsule is connected by a pair of wires to a pair of pins;

(7) FIG. 6 is a schematic side view of a subsea installation including an electrical load, the installation having a female connector element, and an ROV carrying a male connector element with an integrated fuseholder module in accordance with a second embodiment of the invention;

(8) FIG. 7 is a part-sectioned perspective view of a subsea plug and socket assembly usable in the second embodiment of the invention, the plug comprising a subsea housing for the fuseholder module of FIG. 2 and having a wet-mateable connector that is cooperable with a complementary connector of the socket;

(9) FIG. 8 is a part-sectioned perspective view that corresponds to FIG. 7 but shows the plug being inserted into the socket;

(10) FIG. 9 is a part-sectioned perspective view that corresponds to FIG. 8 but shows the connectors of the plug and socket approaching engagement as the plug nears the base of the socket;

(11) FIG. 10 is a part-sectioned perspective view that corresponds to FIG. 9 but shows the socket from underneath;

(12) FIG. 11 is a sectional side view of the plug and socket assembly shown in FIGS. 7 to 10, with the connectors of the plug and socket approaching engagement as the plug nears the base of the socket;

(13) FIG. 12 is a sectional side view that corresponds to FIG. 11 but shows the connectors of the plug and socket now engaged as the plug reaches the base of the socket;

(14) FIG. 13 is a perspective view of a plug being a variant of the plug shown in FIGS. 7 to 12;

(15) FIG. 14 is an end view of the plug shown in FIG. 13; and

(16) FIG. 15 is a sectional side view of the plug, taken on line A-A of FIG. 14.

(17) FIG. 1 of the drawings shows a potted fuse capsule 10 comprising a cylindrical subsea fuse 12 extending coaxially within a tubular plastics housing 14. To be suitable for subsea transformer protection, the fuse 12 is rated for high voltagefor example 10 A/3.6 kVand has a high rupturing capacity. An example of such a fuse is supplied by Cooper Bussmann under part number 3.6WJON610.

(18) The housing 14 can be cut from pipe of PVC or ABS, which in this example is nominally 300 mm long with a 60 mm OD and a wall thickness of 5.8 mm. However, the length, diameter and wall thickness of the pipe may of course vary, provided that the interior of the pipe is large enough to accommodate the fuse 12.

(19) The ends of the fuse 12 are cupped by respective metal brackets 16 that are held in conductive contact with the fuse 12 to pass current through a fusible element inside the fuse 12. Each bracket 16 includes a metal tab 18 to which a respective insulated wire 20 is soldered to connect the fuse 12 to the electrical equipment it protects.

(20) Both of the wires 20 extend as a pair out of one end of the housing 14. Consequently, the wire 20 that is soldered to the bracket 16 at the far end of the fuse 12 lies beside the fuse 12, between the fuse 12 and the housing 14.

(21) The space around the fuse 12 and the wires 20 within the housing 14 is filled with a potting compound 22, which may for example be a urethane resin such as Scotchcast 2130 supplied by 3M. Care must be taken when potting to ensure that the space within the housing 14 is completely filled and therefore that any air bubbles in the potting compound are eliminated before that compound cures.

(22) Reference is now made to FIGS. 2 to 4 of the drawings. FIGS. 3 and 4 show a cartridge-like fuseholder module 24 containing six of the fuse capsules 10 shown in FIG. 1. For this purpose, FIG. 2 shows that a cylindrical hollow body 26 of the fuseholder module 24 contains six tubular chambers 28, one per fuse capsule 10. The body 26 has an open top end and a closed bottom end. The open end of the body 26 is surmounted and surrounded by a circumferential flange 30.

(23) The chambers 28 lie on parallel longitudinal axes that are spaced equi-angularly about a central longitudinal axis of the body 12. Pairs of wires 20 of the fuse capsules 10 protrude from the chambers 28 at the open end of the body 26 for connection to equipment that is to be protected by the fuse capsules 10.

(24) With specific reference now to FIG. 3, the fuseholder module 24 is completed by an end cap 32 that closes the open end of the body 26. The end cap 32 comprises a frusto-conical wall 34 that tapers to a cable anchor 36 at one end and opens to a circumferential skirt 38 at the other end. The skirt 38 surrounds and engages with the flange 30 on the body 26 of the fuseholder module 24.

(25) The pairs of wires 20 from the fuse capsules 10 in the body 26 are bundled together into a short flexible subsea cable 40 that protrudes from the cable anchor 36 of the end cap 32. The cable 40 and spaces in the interior of the fuseholder module 24 are filled with a dielectric liquid such as oil to resist hydrostatic pressure at depth. Well-known pressure-compensating features may be added to the fuseholder module 24 if required.

(26) Turning now to FIG. 4, the cable 40 extending from the fuseholder module 24 leads to a wet-mateable male connector element 42 that is adapted to be manipulated by a UUV. Consequently, a proximal end of the connector element 42 comprises a handle 44 that is arranged to be grasped by a grab on a manipulator arm of a UUV. A distal end of the connector element 42 comprises a plug 46 that fits into a socket (not shown) to connect the fuse capsules 10 of the fuseholder module 24 into power circuits of a subsea installation, which circuits further comprise the electrical equipment that the fuse capsules 10 will protect.

(27) By way of example, WO 2010/019046 and WO 2006/070078 disclose various wet-mateable connectors used to connect electrical systems underwater. Those documents also discuss the technical background of making subsea electrical connections. The connector element 42 works on similar well-known principles.

(28) Thus, with reference now to FIG. 5, this shows schematically a pair of conductor elements within the plug 46, those conductor elements being exemplified here as pins 48 that are cooperable with female conductor elements of a complementary socket. The pins 48 are connected via the wires 20 to the fuse capsules 10 within the body 26 of the fuseholder module 24. There is one pin 48 for each wire 20. Thus, six fuse capsules 10, each with a pair of wires 20, equates to a total of twelve pins 48 arranged in six pairs within the plug 46. Each pair of pins 48 is part of a respective electric circuit that connects one pin 48 of a pair to a fuse capsule 10 and that similarly connects that fuse capsule 10 to the other pin 48 of the pair. The pins 48 of each pair are connected in series with the fuse capsule 10 connected between them.

(29) For simplicity, FIG. 5 shows how just one of the fuse capsules 10 is connected by a pair of the wires 20 to a pair of the pins 48 in the plug 46. It will also be noted from FIG. 5 that the pins 48 or other conductor elements in the plug 46 lie parallel to each other and to the coupling direction of insertion of the plug 46 into a complementary socket.

(30) The first embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 2 to 5 separates the fuseholder module 24 from the wet-mateable connector element 42 but connects them electrically and structurally via the subsea cable 40, by which the fuseholder module 24 hangs from the connector element 42. In contrast, the second embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 6 to 12 integrates a fuseholder module rigidly with a wet-mateable connector element and omits the subsea cable 40.

(31) FIGS. 6 to 11 of the drawings show a male connector element 50 aligned with, and approaching wet-mated engagement inside, a female connector element 52. FIG. 12 shows the male connector element 50 fully wet-mated with the female connector element 52.

(32) As FIG. 6 shows schematically, the female connector element 52 is suitably mounted to a subsea installation 54 comprising electrical equipment 56 that requires protection of fuse capsules 10 in the male connector element 50. The male connector element 50 is carried by an ROV 58 until being wet-mated with the female connector element 52.

(33) Specifically, as FIGS. 7 to 12 show, the male connector element 50 is a hollow cylinder containing a cylindrical internal cavity 60 for accommodating a fuseholder module. Whilst omitted from FIGS. 7 to 12, the fuseholder module that fits into the cavity 60 may be like the cylindrical hollow body 26 of the fuseholder module 24 shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, comprising one or more tubular chambers each containing a potted fuse capsule 10 as shown in FIG. 1.

(34) Wires extending from the, or each, potted fuse capsule 10 in the cavity 60 are connected to respective conductor elements of a plug 62 in a distal end of the male connector element 50. The conductor elements of the plug 62 are suitably arranged in similar manner to the pins 48 of FIG. 5. The plug 62 lies on the central longitudinal axis 64 of the male connector element 50, where it lies in a recess 66 surrounded and defined by a distally-tapering skirt 68 that forms a hollow interface cone. The male connector element 50 further comprises a handle 70 at its proximal end that is arranged to be grasped by a grab on a manipulator arm of a UUV such as the ROV 58 shown in FIG. 5.

(35) The female connector element 52 comprises a tubular base portion 72 whose internal diameter is slightly greater than the external diameter of the male connector element 50. An outwardly-flared frusto-conical mouth 74 guides the interface cone defined by the distally-tapering skirt 68 of the male connector element 50 into alignment and engagement with the tubular base portion 72 of the female connector element 52.

(36) The tubular base portion 72 of the female connector element 52 is closed by an end wall 76 that supports a socket 78 in alignment with the central longitudinal axis 64. The socket 78 is surrounded by an annular recess 80 that receives the skirt 68 of the male connector element 50 when the male connector element 50 is engaged inside the tubular base portion 72 of the female connector element 52. At this point, as shown in FIG. 10 of the drawings, the plug 62 of the male connector element 50 engages with the socket 78. Conductor elements of the socket 78 then connect the fuse capsules 10 of the male connector element 50 into power circuits of the subsea installation 54, which circuits comprise the electrical equipment 56 that the fuse capsules 10 will protect.

(37) Alignment flanges 82 lie in mutually-orthogonal planes containing the central longitudinal axis 64 and project radially outwardly from the tubular side wall 84 of the male connector element 50. The alignment flanges 82 fit into respective longitudinal slots 86 in the female connector element 52 to ensure correct angular alignment between the connector elements 50, 52 before engagement of the plug 62 within the socket 78.

(38) In all embodiments of the invention, the male connector element connected to the fuse capsules remains in situ within the complementary socket of the subsea installation until a fuse blows. In that event, when an overload situation has been remedied, electrical power may be switched to auxiliary circuits and fuses in the male connector element. Alternatively, the male connector element can be withdrawn from the socket underwater so that a new male connector element connected to a new set of fuse capsules can be put in place.

(39) The invention provides a fuse module to achieve electrical isolation and protection of subsea power units. It is designed to last up to twenty-five years but is removable and replaceable subsea if a fuse blows, hence being wet-mateable. The module is installable and replaceable by ROV intervention and so is ROV-deployable, with ROV handling interfaces and an ROV locking mechanism.

(40) Many variations are possible within the inventive concept. For example, in shallow-water applications, one or more dry fuses could be housed in a dry housing and connected via a standard dry cable to a wet-mateable connector element. Alternatively, the dry cable could be replaced with a cable filled with a dielectric liquid such as oil. In another shallow-water approach that omits a cable, a dry fuse in a dry housing may be integrated with a wet-mateable connector element.

(41) More generally, the following fuse options are possible: dry; potted; or bathed in a dielectric liquid, any of which may be applied to single or multiple fuses. The housing may be: dry; filled with a dielectric liquid; fully potted (that is, entirely filled with a potting compound); or partially potted (that is, part-filled with a potting compound, the remainder of the housing being dry or filled with a dielectric liquid). Cable options are: a standard dry cable; a wet cable filled with a dielectric liquid such as oil; or no cable if the housing is integrated with or directly mounted to a wet-mateable connector element. Any of these fuse options, housing options and cable options may be used in any combination.

(42) To illustrate some of these possibilities, reference is made finally to FIGS. 13 to 15 that show a plug 88 being a variant of the plug 62 shown in FIGS. 7 to 12. Like numerals are used for like parts. Here, the internal cavity 60 of the plug 88 contains a fuse magazine 90 comprising fuse capsules 92 spaced angularly around a central longitudinal spine 94 that connects the fuse capsules to appropriate pins 96 of the plug 62. The fuses need no longer be potted in their capsules 92, but the wall 84 of the plug 88 is pressure-resistant and can contain ambient-pressure air around the fuses.

(43) Alternatively, a pressure-compensation system may be used to balance internal air pressure within the cavity 60 against external hydrostatic pressure.

(44) Whilst preferred embodiments of the invention are adapted for use with a UUV such as an ROV, a UUV need not necessarily be involved. In principle, a manned submersible or a diver may connect, remove or replace fuses instead. Also, a wet-mateable connector could also effect parallel hydraulic connections or data connections such as optical connections between subsea systems. For example, a stab connector of a type well-known in the art may be arranged to connect hydraulic circuits in parallel with electrical connections.

(45) Another potential use of a subsea-replaceable fuse assembly of the invention is for fault-finding purposes. A maintenance or fault-finding unit with certain configurations of enabled fuses can be mated into a wet-mate socket to provide a way of diagnosing and isolating an electrical fault or a faulty item of equipment. Only some of the fuses in the assembly are enabled for maintenance or fault-finding purposes and others are omitted or isolated.

(46) Thus, for example, where a standard fuse assembly contains six fuses, a maintenance kit may comprise a corresponding first isolation fuse assembly with only fuses 1 to 3 enabled and a corresponding second isolation fuse assembly with only fuses 4 to 6 enabled.