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SEAsure depth compensators are used in offshore drilling and production equipment to pressurize the interior of components to that of the ambient hydrostatic pressure. Hydrostatic pressure compresses fluid inside a bladder to apply hydrostatic pressure to the fluid.
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Most of us don’t assemble components into systems and subsystems while hundreds of feet under water. So if an assembly will be used at the bottom of the ocean, it must accommodate hydrostatic pressures measured in hundreds or thousands of psi.
To stand up to these pressures, enclosures must either be made extremely strong — thick, heavy, and expensive — or pressure inside the housing must match that of the external pressure. This is where compensators come in.
Compensators apply ambient hydrostatic pressure to the interior of an assembly, say, a hydraulic reservoir. Tobul Accumulator, Bamberg, S. C. is known for its extensive line of accumulators and related products. Tobul also offers SEAsure depth compensators, which can be thought of as a specialized accumulator.
A bladder, which normally would be charged with an inert gas in an accumulator, instead contains hydraulic or other fluid and is connected through a transfer coupling to the assembly that needs to be pressurized. The port that normally would be connected to a hydraulic system is, instead, open to the sea. Hydrostatic pressure of the seawater squeezes the bladder to pressurize the hydraulic fluid.
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SEAsure depth compensator
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SEAsure depth compensators are specifically designed for offshore drilling and production applications. They are rated to 1500 psi (103.4 bar) and available in capacities from 21⁄2 to 15 gal (91⁄2 to 57 l). Standard materials of construction include carbon and stainless steel with up to four 1⁄2-in. NPT threaded fluid ports (other threads optional) on the transfer coupling.
Of course, Tobul also supplies accumulators as an integral part of the control and operation of subsea drilling and production systems. They are used to ensure sufficient hydraulic power to activate hydraulic actuators and motors, electrohydraulic control pods, blowout preventers, and gate valves for flow control of oil and gas to the surface or other subsea locations.
For more information on SEAsure depth compensators or accumulators, click here.