TY  - EJOU
AU  - Xiao, Shihong 
AU  - Zhou, Shichao 
AU  - Yue, Linlin 
AU  - He, Xianyou 
AU  - Xiang, Maolin 

TI  - Subsea Compensation of Pressure Based on Reducer Bellows
T2  - Fluid Dynamics \& Materials Processing

PY  - 2023
VL  - 19
IS  - 10
SN  - 1555-2578

AB  - In this study, the pressure compensation mechanism of a reducer bellows is analyzed. This device is typically used to reduce the size of undersea instruments and improve related pressure resistance and sealing capabilities. Here, its axial stiffness is studied through a multi-fold approach based on theory, simulations and experiments. The results indicate that the mechanical strength of the reducer bellows, together with the oil volume and temperature are the main factors influencing its performances. In particular, the wall thickness, wave number, middle distance, and wave height are the most influential parameters. For a certain type of reducer bellows, the compensation capacity attains a maximum when the wave number ratio is between 6:6 and 8:4, the wall thickness is 0.3 mm, and the wave height is between 4–5 mm and 5–6 mm. Moreover, the maximum allowable ambient pressure of the optimized reducer bellows can reach 62.6 MPa without failure, and the maximum working water depth is 6284 m.
KW  - Subsea; reducer bellows; pressure compensation; compressible fluid; mechanical strength

DO  - 10.32604/fdmp.2023.025063