Heat exchanging arrangement and subsea electronic system

Patent metadata

Field	Value
Publication number	US-11419241-B2
Application number	US-201816604476-A
Country	US
Kind code	B2
Filing date	Apr 4, 2018
Priority date	Apr 12, 2017
Publication date	Aug 16, 2022
Grant date	Aug 16, 2022

Abstract

A heat exchanging arrangement for a subsea electronic system, the heat exchanging arrangement including: at least one pipe having an external surface; and at least one heat exchanging element arranged inside the at least one pipe and defining at least one internal passage for conducting a dielectric fluid through the at least one pipe; wherein the at least one heat exchanging element is arranged to press laterally outwards against an internal surface of the at least one pipe to establish a heat transfer bond between the at least one heat exchanging element and the at least one pipe. A subsea electronic system including the heat exchanging arrangement is also provided.

First claim

The invention claimed is:

1. A heat exchanging arrangement for a subsea electronic system, the heat exchanging arrangement comprising:
at least one pipe having an external surface; and
at least one heat exchanging element arranged inside the at least one pipe and defining at least one internal passage for conducting a dielectric fluid through the at least one pipe;
wherein the at least one heat exchanging element is arranged to press laterally outwards against an internal surface of the at least one pipe to establish a heat transfer bond between the at least one heat exchanging element and the at least one pipe.

2. The heat exchanging arrangement according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one heat exchanging element and the at least one pipe are shrink fitted.

3. The heat exchanging arrangement according to claim 1 , further comprising at least one expansion tool substantially concentrically arranged inside the at least one pipe for pressing the at least one heat exchanging element laterally outwards against the internal surface of the at least one pipe.

4. The heat exchanging arrangement according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one heat exchanging element includes at least two heat exchanging elements arranged inside the at least one pipe at substantially the same position along a longitudinal axis of the at least one pipe.

5. The heat exchanging arrangement according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one heat exchanging element is extruded.

6. The heat exchanging arrangement according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one heat exchanging element is made of a material with high thermal conductivity, such as aluminum.

7. The heat exchanging arrangement according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one pipe is made of a material resistant to seawater corrosion, such as stainless steel.

8. The heat exchanging arrangement according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one heat exchanging element includes at least two heat exchanging elements having longitudinal recesses such that a longitudinal recess of one heat exchanging element and a longitudinal recess of another heat exchanging element together define one of the at least one internal passage when the heat exchanging elements are mated.

9. The heat exchanging arrangement according to claim 1 , further comprising a thermally insulated tube arranged laterally inside the at least one heat exchanging element;
wherein the at least one pipe includes a closed end;
wherein the thermally insulated tube is arranged to conduct the dielectric fluid towards the closed end of the at least one pipe and wherein the at least one internal passage is arranged to conduct the dielectric fluid away from the closed end of the at least one pipe.

10. A subsea electronic system comprising:
a watertight enclosure having at least one wall section;
at least one electronic component arranged inside the enclosure; and
a heat exchanging arrangement according to claim 1 ;
wherein the at least one pipe of the heat exchanging arrangement forms a part of a cooling circuit passing by the at least one electronic component.

11. The subsea electronic system according to claim 10 , wherein the at least one wall section has a wave formed profile including peaks and valleys and wherein the at least one pipe is at least partly accommodated within a valley.

12. The subsea electronic system according to claim 10 , wherein one of the at least one wall section is a substantially vertically oriented wall section and wherein the heat exchanging arrangement is connected to the wall section.

13. The subsea electronic system according to claim 10 , wherein one of the at least one electronic component is constituted by a power converter.

14. The subsea electronic system according to claim 10 , wherein the enclosure includes an upper enclosure part and a lower enclosure part jointly defining a continuous enclosure volume for a dielectric fluid; wherein the enclosure volume includes an upper cooling circuit and a lower cooling circuit, vertically below the upper cooling circuit; and wherein the at least one pipe of the heat exchanging arrangement forms a part of the upper cooling circuit passing by the at least one electronic component.

15. The subsea electronic system according to claim 10 , wherein, when the at least one electronic component is in use, the dielectric fluid circulates by natural convection.

Assignees

• Abb Schweiz Ag

Inventors

• Laneryd Tor
• Gradinger Thomas
• Lendenmann Heinz
• Wagner Thomas
• Huang Hui
• Missing Kim
• Norolampi Mika

Classifications

• H10W40/47 Primary

  by flowing liquids, e.g. forced water cooling · CPC title

• F28F1/40

  the means being only inside the tubular element · CPC title

• H05K7/20263 Primary

  Heat dissipaters releasing heat from coolant · CPC title

• H01L23/473

  Electricity · mapped topic

• Y02E10/30

  Energy from the sea, e.g. using wave energy or salinity gradient · CPC title