A Novel Designed Load Adaptive Noncontact Wet-Mate Connector for Subsea Devices

Abstract

AbstractWet-mate connectors enable subsea devices to have power and data transferred simultaneously. Conventional wet-mate connectors must strictly demand water-tightness and consequently have a limited number of mating cycles and are costly. This paper proposed a novel noncontact wet-mate connector based on inductive power transfer technology, which is safer, more durable, and less expensive. Structure, power transfer, and data transfer designs are introduced, and a series-parallel compensating topology is applied in the power circuits for load adaptability. A simultaneous power and data transfer experiment is conducted on a 48 VDC/400 W prototype connector, which demonstrates the prototype connector to have a stable output voltage of 48 V, a power transfer efficiency over 80%, and a data transfer rate of over 2 MB/s.<def-list>Nomenclature<def-list><def-item><term>L1</term><def>Inductance value of the primary winding</def></def-item><def-item><term>L2</term><def>Inductance value of the secondary winding</def></def-item><def-item><term>M</term><def>Mutual inductance value between the windings</def></def-item><def-item><term>k</term><def>Coupling coefficient between the windings</def></def-item><def-item><term>Rw1</term><def>AC winding resistance of the primary winding</def></def-item><def-item><term>Rw2</term><def>AC winding resistance of the secondary winding</def></def-item><def-item><term>Rdc1</term><def>DC winding resistance of the primary winding</def></def-item><def-item><term>Rdc2</term><def>DC winding resistance of the secondary winding</def></def-item><def-item><term>F1</term><def>AC-to-DC winding resistance ratio of the primary winding</def></def-item><def-item><term>F2</term><def>AC-to-DC winding resistance ratio of the secondary winding</def></def-item><def-item><term>Ip</term><def>Primary winding current</def></def-item><def-item><term>Is</term><def>Secondary winding current</def></def-item><def-item><term>IL</term><def>Load current</def></def-item><def-item><term>Ic2</term><def>Parallel capacitance current of the secondary side</def></def-item><def-item><term>Uin</term><def>Input voltage</def></def-item><def-item><term>UL</term><def>Load voltage</def></def-item><def-item><term>C1</term><def>Series compensation capacitance of the secondary side</def></def-item><def-item><term>C2</term><def>Parallel compensation capacitance of the secondary side</def></def-item><def-item><term>F</term><def>Operating frequency</def></def-item><def-item><term>ω</term><def>Operating angular frequency</def></def-item><def-item><term>RL</term><def>Load resistance</def></def-item><def-item><term>k</term><def>Voltage gain from the input voltage to the load voltage</def></def-item><def-item><term>η</term><def>Power transfer efficiency</def></def-item><def-item><term>Q1</term><def>Quality factor of the primary winding</def></def-item><def-item><term>Q2</term><def>Quality factor of the secondary winding</def></def-item><def-item><term>Zs</term><def>Impedance of the secondary side</def></def-item><def-item><term>Zr</term><def>Reflected impedance on the primary side</def></def-item></def-list></def-list>