Design of the Metal Gasket of Subsea Connector for Manifolds

Abstract

The subsea connector for manifolds is working in bad conditions. The water environment is harsh. And the inner pressure of the jumper which is connected by the subsea connector is high. In this paper, a new design of metal gasket for the connector is proposed. The metal gasket develops a surface contact with the upper and lower hubs. Under the effect of internal pressure, the seal ring will expand outward to ensure good seal performance. The design has a simple structure, and is easy to manufacture and disassemble .This paper uses the finite element analysis to investigate the gasket’s performance in different working conditions, and provides reference for real tests and the engineering application.

Analytical calculation method for predicting contact loads and structural strength of metallic gasket of subsea connectors under thermal loads

“…For the subsea connector discussed in this article, studies on structural deformations and sealing characteristics analysis are enormous, but most of which ignored the influence of thermal loads. For example, Wang et al 15 adopted the finite element method to design the metal gasket of a subsea connector and analyzed stresses of the gasket under different loads conditions. Gong et al 16 presented a finite element model to analyze the sealing characteristics of flange joints with a lenticular gasket by calculating the contact width, contact pressure and stresses, and presented the equations of leakage rate.…”