TITLE:
Analysis of Factors Affecting Sealing Performance of Subsea Wellhead Connector
AUTHORS:
Liangliang Ding, Miao Xian
KEYWORDS:
Subsea Connector, Sealing Performance, VX Gasket, Contact Stress, Finite Element Analysis
JOURNAL NAME:
World Journal of Engineering and Technology,
Vol.10 No.2,
May
10,
2022
ABSTRACT: Subsea wellhead connector is the key equipment for offshore oil and gas production. The working water depth is generally more than 500 m, so it has higher requirements for its sealing performance. In this paper, the VX gasket matched with H-4 subsea wellhead connector is taken as the research object, and the mechanical analysis under preload and production conditions is carried out. The finite element model of subsea wellhead connector is established by ABAQUS software, and the influence of axial preload, production pressure and material properties on the sealing performance of VX gasket is studied. The results show that the greater the axial preload, the greater the contact stress on the gasket surface; the contact stress decreases first and then increases linearly with the increase of production pressure; the material properties of the gasket are also an important factor affecting its sealing performance, 316L stainless steel is more suitable for gasket material than 304 stainless steel and Inconel625.