Experimental Investigation on Stress Components of the Sealing Structure of Subsea Connectors Under Axial Preloads

The sealing performance of subsea connectors plays a vital role in the safe operation of subsea oil and gas production systems, which is directly determined by compression deformations of the gasket of the subsea connector. Therefore, the changing rules of the sealing structural deformations under various axial loads are key problems when designing subsea connector products. In this paper, experimental measurements are performed in order to investigate the structural stresses of the sealing structure of the subsea connector, i.e. the hub and the gasket. As for the real products of the hub and gasket structures, test solutions are designed. Structural stress components of some representative points are observed when the axial preloads are loaded. Test results show the maximum tensile stress of the outer wall is more than that of the inner wall, which indicates the weak point of the hub is on the outer wall surface nearby the joint region between the hub’s shoulder and the thick-walled cylinder. The maximum tensile stress of the outer wall is less than that of the inner wall, which indicates the weak point of the hub is on the inner wall surface.