A Novel Subsea Actuator to Electrify Small-Bore Valve

Abstract

This paper presents the development and qualification of a novel Subsea Electric Actuator, especially designed for rotary small-bore valves. One of the main challenges was to design an electric actuator which is as compact as the existing hydraulic actuators, but able to provide a fail-safe mechanism by field-proven springs and full integration of all necessary components, including the electric drive and controls, inside of a compact enclosure. Furthermore, the design team had to considerably reduce its power consumption and weight in comparison to existing solutions. Finally, the system was designed for lean manufacturing, allowing considerable cost-saving benefits for all the partners due to extensive standardization work. The paper shows the engineering requirements obtained by interviewing different users, the design methodology applied and the qualification of the new system up to TRL 3 with Digital Twin and Rapid Prototyping. Finally, an outlook is presented with the planned TRL 4 and TRL 5 qualification tests and a summary of the technical and economic benefits for the users of this novel Subsea Valve Actuator.