Wet plug and socket connectors, like underwater plugs and sockets, are key components in large-scale deep-sea engineering construction. Recently, China’s first set of optoelectronic composite underwater wet plug and socket connectors has successfully passed sea trials, marking that China has mastered the core technology of this device and is expected to significantly reduce the construction cost of deep-sea engineering.
The sea trial was conducted at a depth of 1600 meters in the South China Sea. Under the operation of a robotic arm, the connector successfully completed two docking operations. After verification, the fiber optic and cable connections were normal, and the sea trial goal was successfully completed. Underwater wet plug connectors are key components in large-scale deep-sea engineering construction such as subsea oil and gas exploration, ocean exploration, and communication networks. They are mainly used to connect nodes of subsea engineering, ensure long-term stability of optical fibers and cables, and support energy transmission, data collection, and return. However, due to working in deep-sea environments, connectors not only face high pressure, corrosion, etc., but also need to effectively prevent seawater and pollutants from entering the interior of the connector during insertion and removal.
Wu Guojun, project team leader of Xi’an Institute of Optics and Mechanics, Chinese Academy of Sciences: Under the environment of deep sea water pressure, such a connector that can realize the connection of electricity and light is similar to a plug and socket, but it needs to be able to adapt to the environment of deep sea, especially in the process of plugging, it is actually a dynamic sealing process in which multiple parts are in motion, so our connector structure itself is a very sophisticated and complex structure.
The research team lasted for more than three years and successively broke through key technologies such as deep-sea plunger dynamic sealing and synchronous drive, underwater multi-channel low loss optocoupler alignment, laying an important foundation for the successful development of connectors. It is understood that the connector prototype has been successfully connected to the seabed observation network after sea trials, and long-term testing will continue. A large-scale deep-sea project often requires hundreds of connectors. The successful development of domestically produced optoelectronic composite underwater wet plug connectors is expected to change the dependence of connectors on imports and significantly reduce the construction cost of China’s deep-sea projects.
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