Mineral oil has traditionally been used as a cooling fluid in power transformers, but its low biodegradability and low fire point have motivated the search of alternatives. In this work, six different dielectric fluids have been studied, including four vegetable liquids, from sunflower, rapeseed, soybean, and palm, one synthetic ester and a mineral oil used for comparison. These oils were subjected to an accelerated thermal ageing in glass vessels at 150 • C for four weeks (672 hours) in presence of Kraft insulating paper. Different oils parameters were measured during the ageing, i.e. breakdown voltage, dielectric dissipation factor, permittivity, DC resistivity, density, kinematic viscosity, flash and fire points, interfacial tension, acidity, and dissolved gases; additionally, the degree of polymerisation (DP) of the paper was measured. Results showed that the changes of the natural esters properties, except for the palm oil, were similar along the ageing time. Palm oil results were similar to those of the mineral oil, whereas synthetic ester showed a behaviour similar to natural esters. The kraft paper degradation was higher in the mineral oil, followed by the synthetic ester and the palm oil. No significant differences were found in the ageing with the natural esters.INDEX TERMS Insulating paper, natural esters, thermal ageing, transformers.
The structural components inside power transformers are commonly made of high-density pressboard, due to its suitable mechanical and dielectric properties. Among these components are the spacers used in the windings of transformers, which are subjected to compressive loading during operation. The spacers are immersed in dielectric liquid and subjected to high temperatures and chemical reactions during the lifespan of the transformer, which result in the degradation of their dielectric and mechanical properties. The performance and reliability of the power transformer greatly depends on its mechanical integrity, so it is necessary to understand how ageing degrades the mechanical response of the high-density pressboard. In this study, spacers made of high-density pressboard and pieces of copper conductor were immersed in uninhibited paraffinic oil and aged at 150 °C for different periods of time, trying to realistically represent the process suffered by a power transformer during its whole lifespan. The evolution caused by the thermal ageing over some chemical parameters (acidity and moisture content) and dielectric properties (AC breakdown voltage, dielectric dissipation factor, resistivity and degree of polymerisation) of the oil and the pressboard was studied experimentally. Compressive mechanical tests were performed on samples of the aged high-density pressboard, and the compressive stiffness during the ageing process was related with other chemical and dielectric parameters.
New insulating materials, as biodegradable oils and upgraded paper, need to be investigated. In this paper, the ageing of a wood pulp -cotton presspaper is studied. Solid insulation is impregnated and aged with three different fluids: a mineral oil and two vegetable oils, from sunflower and soybean. Both oils and paper were dried before the ageing process, which was carried out at 150ºC for 732 hours in iron vessels. Degradation of oils is analysed through the measurement of their breakdown voltage, dielectric dissipation factor (tan δ), resistivity, moisture content and acidity. Deterioration of presspaper is quantified by its polymerization degree (DP), moisture content and dielectric dissipation factor. Results showed that the dielectric properties of oils are negatively affected by the ageing, since the breakdown voltage and resistivity were reduced, whereas the dissipation factor increased. Also, acidity increased, especially in the vegetable oils. In the case of the solid insulation, its tanδ increased with the ageing, despite the reduction of its moisture content. DP was reduced, reaching the end-of-life criteria (DP<200) in the ageing with mineral oil (134) whereas it remained at higher values for the sunflower (206) and soybean (216) oils.
In this paper, dielectric properties (BDV and permittivity) of two vegetable oils (Palm Fatty Acid Ester and FR3) used in power transformers are studied. Also, partial discharge inception voltage (PDIV) of Kraft paper impregnated with these oils is measured. All the tests were carried out at room temperature and the samples were prepared following the same procedure. Both the impregnated paper and the vegetable oils were aged at 140ºC for 11 days to study the evolution of the dielectric properties with the thermal aging. PDIV has been also measured for different number of paper sheets (from 4 to 6), analyzing the dependence of PDIV on the thickness of solid insulation. Dielectric characterization of the oils showed that they are suitable to use in power transformers. BDV of the oils decreased with the aging and PFAE performance was better. Dielectric constant of both oils is almost the same. PDIV results showed that both oils are suitable for the impregnation of Kraft paper in terms of dielectric properties. PDIV of FR3 insulating system was higher than PFAE system in all the studied cases. FR3 insulating systems showed a decrease of PDIV value after the aging process, whereas PFAE one remained almost constant.
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