Seawater hydraulics: From the sea surface to depths of 11000 meters

Using seawater as the working medium, the seawater hydraulic system has significant advantages in the deep sea, such as eliminating contamination caused by oil leaks, no oil tanks, and the ability to automatically adapt to sea depths. As working depths increase, seawater hydraulic technology faces enormous challenges. First, the physical and chemical properties of seawater, such as density, temperature, and composition, change significantly. Second, hydraulic components are subject to an environmental pressure of up to 110 MPa, which causes serious deformation or even seizure of moving pairs and significantly affects the efficiency of hydraulic components. The friction and wear characteristics between the moving pairs also significantly change with the change in sea depth, therefore developing the matching material according to depth is necessary. Finally, the cavitation characteristic of a valve port is obviously different from that on land, so special material and structure should be used to improve the service life of the valve port. These factors severely restrict the improvement of the working depths and characteristics of seawater hydraulic components. This article focuses on the abovementioned problems and provides solutions for deep-sea seawater hydraulic technology.

Automated summary

Seawater hydraulic systems have significant advantages in the deep sea but also face challenges such as changes in physical and chemical properties, environmental pressure, and friction and wear characteristics. This article discusses these problems and provides solutions.