dummy piston to reseal the female connector and was 

 most effective in wiping the male pin. For these 

 reasons the O-ring seal was used in the final test 

 program. 



Figure 12 shows all of the components of the 

 modified wet connectors. Figure 13 shows the male 

 half nearly assembled. A heat-shrinkable boot is used 

 to seal and waterblock the cable to the Dyna-Grip 

 assembly. Two rubber pressure-equalizing bladders 

 provide 2 pints of compensation volume. The stain- 

 less steel (Type 316) shell sections are threaded for 

 assembly and sealed with 0-rings. The bladders are 

 installed and connected to the seawater vent. At high 

 pressure, seawater inflates the bladders to compensate 

 for volumetric shrinkage (or compression) of the 

 internal fluids and cable materials. 



The connector is filled with approximately one 

 gallon of dielectric oil (white mineral oil, Type USP) 

 at an initial pressure of 50 psig to test for leaks. The 

 pressure is bled down to atmospheric, at which the 

 trapped air and excess oil are displaced. The seawater 

 vent is temporarily plugged during the bleed-down to 

 keep the pressure-equalizing bladders fully deflated. 



The female half of the connector, as viewed 

 from the front end with the faceplate removed, is 

 shown in Figure 14. The four female contacts are 

 shown with the dummy pistons in place. The oval- 

 shaped contact cavity is lined with about 0.250 inch 

 of polyurethane insulation (PRC No. 1547). If 

 moisture accumulates in the female connector this 

 insulation will isolate the droplets from direct contact 

 with the steel housing. This reduces the amount of 

 leakage current between the contact and the 

 connector body. 



Figure 15 shows the female connector sub- 

 assembly rotated with the cable terminals and 

 dummy pistons visible. Four spring retainers and the 

 pressure-equalizing bladders complete the assembly. 

 Polyurethane was used to fdl the four cavities orig- 

 inally provided for the pressure-equalizing cylinders. 



Figure 16 shows the prototype female connector 

 mostly assembled with the compensators, dummy 

 pistons, spring-retaining faceplate, and Dyna-Grip 

 cable termination in position. The rear body section 

 is later installed and the connector is filled with 

 dielectric oil, as is the male connector. The female 

 connector is purged by holding the connector in a 

 vertical position with the faceplate up, and depressing 



the dummy pistons to vent air and oil until clean oil 

 is being passed. A small hand pump is temporarily 

 connected to the connector fill port for this purpose. 

 Figure 17 shows the completed wet connector. 

 The mated connector is approximately 3 feet long, 8 

 inches in diameter, and weighs 150 pounds in air and 

 100 pounds in water. The Dyna-Grips extend approx- 

 imately 9 feet beyond the connectors. 



Test Program. A comprehensive test program 

 was outlined to determine the performance and 

 reliability of the prototype wet connector. The 

 principal new technologies which required testing are 

 given in Table 1 with applicable parameters for the 

 tests. This matrix was the basis for planning and con- 

 ducting the following tests: 



1. Initial high pressure test of seals, 

 compensation system, and high-voltage insulation 



2. Power transmission test in shallow water 



3. Underwater mating test in shallow water 



4. Underwater mating test in high-pressure 

 vessel with high power transmission (120 kw) 



5. Undersea mating test at 4,000 feet (remote 

 mating fixture) 



6. Remote mating test using deep submersible 

 manipulator 



Each of these tests is discussed below. 



Initial High Pressure Test. The prototype 

 connector was first tested in the NCEL Deep Ocean 

 Laboratory (DOL) under cyclic pressure (5 cycles) to 

 4,500 psi at 40°F. A hipot instrument monitored the 

 insulation level of the individual phases at 6,000 

 VDC. The insulation level remained excellent 

 throughout the test (greater than 10 MSI). After 

 removing the connectors from the test chamber, the 

 compensation oil was drained from the connectors 

 and no salt water contamination was found. The 

 results of these tests showed excellent performance of 

 the seals, compensation system, and high voltage 

 insulation. 



Power Transmission Test. The current-carrying 

 performance of the mated connector was tested 

 initially by connecting all phases in series to a low- 

 voltage high-current transformer. The current was 



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