CM HydraStar Connectors
SEA CON® and Lockheed Martin,
under a licensing agreement, have joined forces to develop, manufacture
and market the CM HydraStar series of underwater mateable electro/optical
connectors.
For a
connector to provide a consistent low loss fiber circuit connection,
the critical fiber-to-fiber joint must be made without exposure
to external contamination. To accomplish this in a harsh subsea
environment, both ends of the optical joint must be protected
from external contaminants (seawater, silt, sand). This can be
accomplished by enclosing both joint ends with in protective fluid-filled
pressure compensated chambers.
These separate chambers must then be joined together subsea by
removing contaminants from the mating interface, establishing
seals between the two chambers, opening the individual chamber
seals to join the volumes, and finally connecting the joint through
the entry area.
Conventional thinking would orient the optical or electrical parallel
with the main axis of the connector. However, this means that
contaminants would be trapped within an interface volume between
the mating faces during mating. Complex sealing and flushing methods
have been developed which minimize the amount of external contamination
ingested or internal compensating fluid lost, but the topology
of these approaches does not provide a reliable, truly cantamination-free
mating interface. Therefore, another approach was needed.
The CM HydraStar provides an innovative and less conventional
design approach. The individual contacts are clocked around and
oriented at an angle to the main axis of the connector. When demoted,
one end on the joint can be deflected down to fit under its cover
sleeve, while the opposite fixed end of the joint has its own
cover sleeve. This arrangement allows use of a unique set of seals
for the internal fluid chambers that permits making the optical
and/or electrical connections through a linear intersection seal
interface. The transition from two separate chambers to a single
"joined chamber" is made with no trapped volume or surfaces,
without loss of internal fluid, and without ingestion of external
contaminants.
Design Advantages
|
Simple overall design with few
moving parts ensure highest reliability |
|
Individual modular optical contacts
use well proven commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) optical ferrules
and split sleeves suitable for single-mode or multi-mode fibers |
|
|
Individual modular electrical
contacts use well proven COTS 2mm electrical pins and sockets.
Electrical connection within the internal fluid chamber includes
a redundant electrical isolation bladder over each new contact
when mated. |
|
Optical and electrical modular
contacts use interchangeable mountings; connector pin complement
can be optical, electrical or electro-optical hybrid mix as needed
to meet system requirements. |
|
Radial placement of the modular
individual contacts permits increasing or decreasing the number
of contacts by increasing or decreasing the diameter of the connector.
No maintenance or replenishment of the fluid is needed after
>100 mate/de-mate cycles. |
|
Enviromental
Specifications
- Rated to 7000 meters water depth (680
atm, 10000 psi)
- 0° to 40° operating range
- -20° to 60°C storage/transit
- Single-Mode and Multi-Mode optical
terminations plus electrical terminations
Functional
Specifications
- Fluid-filled and pressure balanced
design
- Connectors mate and de-mate at full
rated working pressure
- Minimum mate/de-mate cycles, 100, no
fluid replenishment required
- Mating force, @222 Newtons (50
lbs.) (8-channel)
- Connection tolerant of sand and silt
environment
Design Specifications
Mating Configurations:
|
OPTICAL CONTACTS |
INSERTION LOSS |
RETURN LOSS |
|
First Mate |
£-
0.5 dB |
< - 45 dB |
|
After 100 Mates |
£-
0.5 dB |
< - 45 dB |
- Diver mate with locking sleeve
- ROV mate with manipulator handle
- Stab-Plate mate
Cable Configurations:
ELECTRICAL CONTACTS RATED
FOR 10 AMPS AT 1000 VAC CONTINUOUS
|
CONTACT RESISTANCE |
INSULATION RESISTANCE |
HiPot LEAKAGE MAX
@ 2.5 KV FOR 1 MINUTE |
|
First Mate |
£
10 milliOhm |
³
1 GigOhm @ 1000VDC |
0.03 mA |
|
After 100 Mates |
£
15 milliOhm |
³
1 GigOhm @ 1000VDC |
0.03 mA |
- Steel Armor Terminations
- Kevlar Armor Terminations
- PBOF hose terminations
Contact Arrangements:
- 8-channel
- 15-channel
- as requested
Modular Contact
Design
|
Single-Mode |
optical |
|
Multi-Mode |
optical |
|
0 2mm |
electrical |
Connection Sequence
Physical Alignment
First, the two connectors
halves are physically aligned; the halves are centered axially
by stepped mating diameters, and clocked rotationally by a key
on the male half and a key way on the female half.
At the end of the alignment phase, the conical chamber seals
on each half engage with their respective interface on the opposite
connector half. The seals squeeze out all external fluid from
the joint.
Join Chambers
As mating continues, the
female internal cover sleeve is retracted by the front end of
the male connector, and the external cover sleeve on the male
connector is retracted by the female housing. This opens the
poppet seals between the cover sleeve and housing of the male
and the female halves, thereby joining the fluid-filled chambers
of both connectors halves.
As the male external cover sleeve continues to retract, the flexible
tubes in the male half which were held down by the external cover
are now released. The flexible tubes splay into internal guide
grooves in the female housing.
Make Contacts
Finally, the flexible guide
tubes continue to splay until the contacts on the end of the
flexible tube complete circuits with the contacts in the female
half.
CLICK ON THE DRAWING AT
RIGHT FOR LARGER VERSION
OCEANTEC ELECTRONICS
1109 PECAN ST.
BASTROP, TX 78602
PHONE TOLL FREE 800/733-0221
FAX 866/861-9732
Updated: 6/29/06
OceanTec Electronics
Webmaster
