Patent Application
20090120663
This application claims the benefit of priority from Norwegian Patent Application No. 2007 5300, filed on Oct. 17, 2007, the entirety of which is incorporated herein by reference.
This invention in general relates to an electric cable comprising at least one conductor with an insulating layer applied thereto and being twisted around a longitudinal axis of the cable.
Traditionally, the conductor or conductors in electric cables are made of copper, which may be subjected to various unfavourable influences depending on practical conditions during handling, installation and operation of the cables. Copper conductor cables may in particular be subjected to damage when exposed to elongation above a critical limit. For example, multifunction subsea cables, sea cables and the like are often incorporating signal and/or power cables stranded together with load carrying elements such as steel tubes. Friction forces between the load carrying elements and the copper conductors in signal or power cables cause elongation of the copper in such cables. Thus, when the electric cable is exposed to heavy loads, such as when being deployed at deep sea, the copper conductors may break due to the elongation of the load carrying elements running beside the signal/power cable components. Moreover, an insulation system or insulating layers outside the conductors will be exposed to radial loads, which may lead to so much deformation that insulation failure may be caused.
In connection with problems of the above type, it is well known to armour copper cables with high elongation modulus elements, such as steel wires or composites of synthetic fibres. Such elements prevent the copper conductor material from elongating above the critical limit when exposed to heavy loads, by causing the cable to become a load carrying element itself. This known solution will, however, usually require an unacceptable amount of armouring of the cables in order to withstand the elongation caused by large and heavy cable components, such as steel tubes in specific types of subsea cables, for example the so-called umbilicals.
In addition to the more or less traditional armouring method discussed above, there are other proposals being of some interest in connection with the present invention:
Thus, Norwegian patent application No. 20050753 relates to an electric signal cable comprising at least two insulating conductors, each of the conductors being arranged in a groove in an elongate, central element consisting of an elastic material that makes it possible for the insulated conductors to move in a radial direction when the cable is subjected to longitudinal tension loads.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,424,768 relates to electric cables, in particular ocean bottom cables, with electrical conductors or optical fibres arranged in so-called quads being helically wound around a core. However, this cable structure does not make possible any radially inwards displacement of the conductors when subjected to tension.
International patent publication WO 9214175 describes the incorporation of optical fibres in overhead transmission line groundwires. Although this is quite a remote field of technology from what is of interest to the present invention, there may be a somewhat similar problem: To avoid tensional stress in the fibres. Pliable material in a jacket protects the optical fibres from axial tension by radial flexing of the fibres. A spring-like twisting/untwisting effect is described.
Thus, it is a main purpose of the present invention to provide an improved structure of electric cables for avoiding damage to copper conductors therein while making possible manufacturing of the cables by employing more or less traditional and well-proven methods.
According to the invention, in an electric cable comprising at least one conductor with an insulating layer applied thereto and being twisted around a longitudinal axis of the cable, the novel and specific features primarily consist in providing the insulated conductor with an enclosing elastomer layer of a material having a hardness being substantially lower than the hardness of the insulating layer.
The favourable effect of the elastomer layer enclosing each or some of the insulated conductors, is due to deformation of the elastomer material when the cable is subjected to tensional forces longitudinally. As will be explained more in detail below, this deformation involves reduction of the twisting pitch angle (or in other words, increase of the lay length) thus leaving the insulation system and the copper conductors intact without any critical elongation.
In the following description referring to the drawings, an exemplary embodiment of the invention will be explained more closely.
The complex cable or umbilical shown in
As shown, there is a layer 3 of an elatomer material applied outside each insulated electrical conductor 1, 2, whereby both the insulating layer 2 and the elastomer layer 3 may be layers extruded by well known methods. In view of the usual environment within such a complex cable, it is highly advantageous that the elastomer material in layer 3 is resistant to oil and petroleum jelly, such as vaseline. Morover, and more important is the requirement that the hardness of the elastomer material in layer 3 is substantially lower than the hardness of the insulating layer 2.
For filling the cross-sectional space within the common sheath 5, there are also included bolts 4, for example of a polyethylene material, one such bolt also being arranged as a central or core element in the common sheath 5.
Under axial tension there will be radial deformation of the elastomer layer 3 around each insulated conductor 1, 2, as illustrated in
In other words the pitch angle of the twisted conductors 1 will be reduced, this also being equivalent to an increase of the lay length of the twisted conductors. In this manner most of the cable elongation when subjected to tensional forces, will be accompanied by an elongation of the lay length and not by elongation of the copper material in the conductors 1. Instead of a cable quad as illustrated in
The material properties are important in connection with the above. Whereas the insulating layer 2 comprises relatively hard materials, as are commonly used in insulation systems for electric cables, the elastomer material in layer 3 is more rubber-like and of substantially lower hardness. Examples of preferred materials for this purpose are
Nitril rubber—hardness 40-95 IRHD (Shore 60-75)
Fluorsilicon rubber—hardness 30-80 IRHD
(these two materials are clearly extrudable, which is important here)
Epichlorine rubber—hardness 60-80 IRHD and
Viton (Dupont trademark)*—hardness 60-90 IRHD
*) Viton is a fluoropolymer elastomer comprising—
Viton A: VF2/HFP (VF2=vinylidene fluoride, HFP=hexafluoropropylene)
Viton B: VF2/HFP/TFE (TFE=tetrafluoroethylene)
Viton extreme: TFE/propylene and ethylene/TFE/PMVE (PMVE=perfluoromethylvinylether)
It is to be noted also that resistance to oil is desired, which is the case with fluorsilicon rubber for example.
Another feature of significance is the bonding of the elastomer layer 3 to the insulating layer 2, so as to avoid any relative lengthwise movement between these layers. Such bonding will easily be obtained during the extrusion process as referred to above.
As will be understood from the above the main idea or basic solution according to this invention is to extrude a layer 3 of an elastomer material outside the insulation system or layer 2 on electrical conductors 1 in electric cables where components or parts involved are twisted in the traditional manner. When the twisted copper conductor signal or power cable is exposed to tension and thereby is subjected to elongation, the soft and elastic layer 3 outside the insulating layer 2 is compressed. This compression of the elastomer material causes a reduced pitch angle of the copper conductors. Thus, most of the cable elongation will be in form of an increased twisting lay length and not by elongation of the copper material in the conductors. The insulation layer is not compressed to any significant degree and will maintain the necessary insulation properties. When the tensional forces are removed, the soft and elastic layer 3 will return back to its original shape (
| Number | Date | Country | Kind |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 5300 | Oct 2007 | NO | national |
