Non-contact wet mateable connectors for power and data transmission

Subsea systems rely on wet mate connectors in many form factors for power transmission and communications. Reliability is a universal concern, because a failed connector can cause lost production, lost scientific data, or lost military capability. Conventional wet mate connectors use dynamic seals, moving parts, and displaced compensation fluids to protect critical components from corrosion and contamination when unmated, while providing contact for power and data connections when they are mated. This complexity increases cost and decreases reliability. Battelle performed failure modes, effects, and criticality analysis (FMECA) for typical wet mate connectors to guide the development of alternatives. Multiple configurations of non-contact connectors were developed, using inductive power coupling and radio frequency and optical communication to eliminate many of the failure modes associated with conventional wet mate connectors. The non-contact connectors do not require dynamic seals, tolerate more contamination and bio-fouling at the interface and are less sensitive to misalignment during mating. This paper describes case studies of Battelle wet mate non-contact connectors, as well as developmental connectors, collectively referred to as “OceanHub” connectors.