Impedance Controlled Subsea Ethernet Oil Filled Hose

• US 20140262413A1
• Filed: 03/14/2013
• Published: 09/18/2014
• Est. Priority Date: 03/14/2013
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: Teledyne Instruments Incorporated (Teledyne Technologies Incorporated)
• Original Assignee: Teledyne Instruments Incorporated (Teledyne Technologies Incorporated)
• Inventors: Xi, Huijiang, Croom, John Bradley, Greene, Michael C., McCleary, Alan D.
• Granted Patent: US 9,117,566 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 174/47
• CPC Class Codes: H01B 11/12 Arrangements for exhibiting specific transmission characteristics
• CPC Class Codes: H01B 7/14 Submarine cables
• CPC Class Codes: H01B 7/285 by completely or partially filling interstices in the cable
• CPC Class Codes: Y10T 29/49174 Assembling terminal to elongated conductor

Abstract

One or more insulated conductive wire assemblies are incorporated in a pressure balanced, oil-filled (PBOF) hose. Each conductive wire assembly has a pair of conductive wires each having an insulation layer, an insulating material surrounding the insulated wires, and an outer insulating layer surrounding the insulating material. The insulating material may be selected to have a dielectric constant substantially matching the dielectric constant of the oil in the PBOF hose, so that the insulated pair of conductors perform in the same way both before and after the assembly is submerged in oil in the jumper hose. One or more parameters of the conductive wire assembly are selected such that the assembly has a predetermined impedance when submerged in oil within the PBOF hose.

Claims

1. An insulated conductive wire assembly for incorporation in a pressure balanced, oil-filled hose, comprising:

a pair of conductive wires, each wire having an insulation layer surrounding the conductive wire;

an insulating material surrounding the insulated wires; and

an outer insulating layer surrounding the insulating material;

the assembly having a predetermined impedance Z.

2. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the predetermined impedance Z is at least substantially unchanged when the assembly is submerged in a pressure balanced, oil filled jumper hose.

3. The assembly of claim 2, wherein the insulating material has a dielectric constant substantially matching the dielectric constant of a selected pressure compensating oil used in oil-filled jumper hoses.

4. The assembly of claim 3, wherein the insulating material is a mobile substance.

5. The assembly of claim 3, wherein the insulating material is a gel.

6. The assembly of claim 5, wherein the gel is a silicone based gel material having a dielectric constant substantially the same as the dielectric constant of silicone oil.

7. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the conductive wires have a diameter the range from 18 to 22 AWG (American Wire Gauge).

8. The assembly of claim 7, wherein the thickness of the insulation layer surrounding each wire is in the range from 0.005 to 0.025 inches.

9. The assembly of claim 1, wherein at least one of the following assembly parameters is selected to provide the predetermined impedance Z:

thickness of the wire insulating layers;

thickness of the outer insulating layer, thickness of the mobile insulating material, and dielectric constants of one or more insulating layers.

10. The assembly of claim 9, wherein each wire insulating layer is of Polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) and has a thickness in the range from 0.005 to 0.025 inches.

11. The assembly of claim 10, wherein each conductive wire has a diameter range from 18 to 22 AWG (American Wire Gauge)

12. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the outer insulating layer comprises a tape of insulating material wound around the mobile insulating material to hold the mobile insulating material around the insulated conductive wires.

13. The assembly of claim 12, wherein the tape is an electrically insulating polyester tape.

14. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the predetermined impedance Z is around 100 ohms.

15. The assembly of claim 1, wherein the pair of insulated conductive wires are in a twisted pair configuration.

16. A subsea Ethernet jumper hose, comprising:

an outer hose containing pressure compensating oil having a first dielectric constant; and

at least one insulated electrical conductor assembly submerged in the oil and extending along the length of the hose;

the insulated electrical conductor assembly having a predetermined impedance and comprising a pair of conductive wires, each wire having an insulation layer surrounding the conductive wire, an insulating material surrounding the insulated wires, and an outer insulating layer surrounding and containing the insulating material.

17. The hose of claim 16, wherein the insulating material has a dielectric constant substantially matching the dielectric constant of the pressure compensating oil.

18. The hose of claim 17, wherein the predetermined impedance is around 100 ohms both in air and when submerged in the pressure compensating oil in the hose.

19. The hose of claim 16, wherein the at least one insulated electrical conductor assembly comprises two or more identical insulated electrical conductor assemblies submerged in the oil and extending side by side along the length of the hose.

20. The hose of claim 16, wherein the pair of insulated wires in the insulated conductor assembly are in a twisted pair configuration.

21. The hose of claim 16, further comprising an end fitting secured at each end of the hose having contacts in electrical communication with the conductive wires, the end fittings comprising underwater mateable connector units.

22. The hose of claim 17 wherein the insulating material comprises a mobile insulating material.

23. The hose of claim 17 wherein the insulating material surrounding the insulated condutive wires is a water blocking gel.

24. The hose of claim 23 wherein the pressure compensating oil is silicone oil and the water blocking gel is a silicone based gel.

25. The hose of claim 16, wherein the conductive wires have a diameter the range from 18 to 22 AWG (American Wire Gauge).

26. The hose of claim 25 wherein the thickness of the insulation layer surrounding each wire is in the range from 0.005 to 0.025 inches.

27. The hose of claim 22, wherein the outer insulating layer of said at least one insulated electrical conductor assembly comprises a tape of insulating material wound around the mobile insulating material to hold the mobile insulating material around the insulated conductive wires.

28. A method of making an impedance controlled subsea Ethernet hose, comprising:

forming at least one insulated conductor assembly by surrounding a pair of conductive wires each having an insulating layer extending over the conductive wire with a gel material having a first dielectric constant, and wrapping an outer layer of insulating material around the gel material to hold the gel material around the insulated conductive wires;

the conductive wire diameter, wire insulating layer material and thickness, and outer insulating layer material and thickness being selected such that the insulated conductor assembly has a predetermined impedance Z;

filling a flexible hose of insulating material with pressure compensating oil;

submerging at least one insulated conductor assembly in the pressure compensating oil such that the insulated conductor assembly extends along the length of the hose;

the pressure compensating oil having a dielectric constant which is at least substantially equal to the first dielectric constant, whereby the predetermined impedance Z is substantially unchanged when the at least one insulated conductor assembly is installed along the hose; and

attaching opposite ends of the hose to first and second underwater connector units having contacts in electrical communication with opposite ends of the conductive wires.