A new analytical model for compressive amounts of metallic sealing gasket of subsea connectors

The compression deformations of subsea connectors' sealing gasket dominate the sealing performance. Based on the previous study which has presented an analytical model for calculating compression deformations, a new analytical model that considers the deviations is proposed to predict compression deformations more exactly and effectively. The mathematical contact model of the metallic sealing structure is built on the basis of Hertz contact mechanics theory. Theoretical relationships between contact loads and contact pressure as well as contact width are established, and stress components equations under different loads are obtained. The compression displacements equation is presented by considering constitutive equations and geometric equations. Finite element method is adopted to verify predicted values in the new analytical model and the results show good agreement. This work will provide a theoretical method and guidance for designing structural parameters of the metallic lenticular gasket of the subsea connector in the subsea production system.