Subsea power supply

Main results and achievements

• Semiconductor chips and their terminations have unaffected electrical performance in the pressure range 1-300 bar
• Metallized film capacitors for converter DC-links can be adapted for pressurized operation and have unaffected electrical performance in the pressure range 1-300 bar.
• IGBT gate drivers including auxiliary power supplies can be designed for reliable operation under up to 300 bar.
• There are still several insulating material and packaging related challenges to be addressed.
  • Purity demand for semiconductor chips insulation materials (e.g. liquid)
  • Standard component encapsulations are not pressure tolerant, but adaptation is possible
  • Material compatibility issues
  • Optic transmission (fibres and optocouplers)
• Increased conviction that pressure tolerant power electronics (PTPE) is feasible. This is particular relevant for Oil industry, converter manufacturers, and component manufacturers

Publications

"An IGBT Gate Driver for Operation in High Pressure Hydrostatic Environment"
Pittini R., Hernes M., Ljokelsoy K.,
PCIM Europe 2010 Power Conversion Intelligent Motion Exhibition and Conference,
4-6 May, Nuremberg, Germany.

"Pressure tolerant IGBTs for subsea applications"
Petterteig A., Pittini R., Hernes M., Holt Ø.,
European Conference on Power Electronics and Applications,
8-10 September, Barcelona, Spain.

"Enabling pressure tolerant power electronic converters for subsea applications"
Hernes M., Pittini R.,
European Conference on Power Electronics and Applications,
8-10 September, Barcelona, Spain.

"Pressure Tolerant Power Electronics for Deep and Ultra-Deep Water"
Pittini R., Hernes M., Petterteig A.,
Offshore Technologies Conference 2011, Houston, Texas, USA.

“Field characteristics and dielectrictests on an IGBT module plate”
S. Jany., Nysveen A., Ingebrigtsen S.,
2010 International Conference on High Voltage Engineering and Application, ICHVE 2010.

"An IGBT Gate Driver for Operation in High Pressure Hydrostatic Environment"
Pittini R., Hernes M., Ljokelsoy K.,
Journal of Energy and Power Engineering,
ISSN:1934-8975. Journal publication (submitted waiting for feedback).

"Pressure Tolerant Power Electronics for Deep and Ultra-Deep Water"
Pittini R., Hernes M.,
Society of Petroleum Engineers Projects, Facilities and Construction Journal,
ISSN: 1942-2431. Published February 2012.