The present invention relates to a vertical connector composed of three main components; one stationary connector part on a submerged connecting point, one mobile connector part intended for submerging and connecting to the stationary connector part and a connector which subsequent to the mating of the connector parts locks the connector parts together till permanent sealing connection.
In this context vertical connector has the meaning that the connector parts are mated in a substantial vertical direction.
Subsea structures deployed on the seabed are often arranged with piping having one or more pipes that ends in open pipe terminations which constitute a connecting point. Each connecting point includes a stationary connector part. The connecting point is later used for connection to an external or outboard pipe.
There exist two principles for the connectors, either vertical or horizontal connectors. For a horizontal connector the connecting point projects horizontally out from the structure. In the North Sea this solution almost has market control. Other places, like the Gulf of Mexico, the vertical solution, to which the present application relates, is the most common one.
A typical example of use of the vertical connectors is in the so called “jumpers”, i.e. often rigid pipes extending between two connecting points. Look to FIGS. 1A and 1B. This rigid pipe has a mobile connector part at each end facing downwards. Such pipes rarely extend in a straight line between the connecting points. They have deliberately been designed with one or more bays in order to be able to be fitted with the connecting points without too stringent requirements to the tolerances. Long spans of several tenths of meters between the connecting points may exist. Even if the pipes have their bays, they will behave quite intractable.
It is to be mentioned that in principle there are three (or actually two) different forms for connections to a structure:                Direct connection between two structures. Here, a rigid pipe having a mobile connector part at each end normally will be used. This will usually be termed a jumper. The jumper will be manufactured based on measuring the relative position of the two connecting points. The measuring is not 100% precise, and it will also be tolerances in connection with the construction of the jumper itself. These tolerances create resistance against pulling the two pipe ends together. The jumper needs to be designed such that the jumper has sufficient flexibility to absorb these tolerances, in addition to possible displacements which may arise during operations of the system, for example thermal expansion of the pipe.        Connection between the end of a pipeline (rigid pipe) and a structure. It is next to impossible (at least very difficult) to connect a rigid pipe line directly to a structure preinstalled on the seabed. Thus, often an intermediate piece of pipe, frequently termed a “spool” exists between the pipe line and the structure. In order to be able to connect the spool to the pipeline, the pipeline will be welded directly to a small structure including a connecting point. A spool is in principle like the jumper described above.        Direct connection of a flexible pipeline to a structure. In some cases it is chosen to use so called flexible pipes instead of rigid steel pipes. Such pipes can be compared with a big garden hose. Then it is not necessary with a spool or jumper between the end of the pipe and the structure. The pipe is so flexible that one may have a mobile connector part right on the end of the pipe, and connect this one directly to the stationary connector part on the structure. Then it is neither necessary to make precise measurements of the position on the connecting point on the structure.        