IEEE Transactions on Dielectrics and Electrical Insulation Vol. 23, No.

4; August 2016 2475

Performance Analysis of Alternate Liquid Dielectrics for

Power Transformers
U. Mohan Rao, Yog Raj Sood and Raj Kumar Jarial
National Institute of Technology, Hamirpur.
Department of Electrical Engineering
Himachal Pradesh. 177005, India.

ABSTRACT
In this work mineral oil, natural ester, synthetic ester and a mixture of mineral oil and
synthetic ester have been subjected to accelerated thermal stressing in presence of
copper and cellulose. All these samples were subjected to 110C, 150C, 170C and
200C thermal stressing for different test durations. Thermal degradation of the
samples has been monitored continuously with UV Spectroscopy and visual inspections.
Additionally interfacial tension of mineral oil and mixture oil has been monitored
under the same test conditions to observe the miscible performance of the fluids. It has
been found that the degree of degradation is less with synthetic esters than other
samples. Interfacial tension and visual observations revealed less sludge formation in
synthetic esters. Furthermore, aged insulation paper has been analyzed using X- ray
diffraction technique to find the degradation rate of cellulose in various insulating
fluids. It has been found that the rate of degradation is low in synthetic ester and
performance of mixed oil is better than mineral oil.
Index Terms - Esters oils, insulation oil, liquid dielectrics, power transformer.

1 INTRODUCTION
MINERAL oil used for insulation and cooling in transformer
technology exhibits excellent dielectric and coolant behavior.
Mineral oils falls short in terms of thermal and environmental
performance and initiate fire easily during atypical conditions.
Mineral insulation oils are hydrocarbons obtained by fractional
distillation of petroleum crude stocks which are expected to reach
the depletion level in near future. Most significant shortfall is the
failure of mineral oils to meet health, safety and new
environmental regulations owing to their toxicity and non-
biodegradable nature. All these factors lead the power industry to
search for alternative dielectric liquids which have a sense of
proper balance between the dielectric characteristics, thermal
performance and environmental performance. A perfect
dielectric liquid obligation is to provide a proper balance between
operational performance and environmental impact. Internally it
should be thermally and chemically stable and externally it
should be environmental friendly [1]. Additionally the alternate
choice of liquid dielectric must have an optimal evaluation on the
total cost of ownership of the transformer.
Consequently, researchers found that ester based oils
exhibit a good dielectric behavior along with improved
thermal and environmental performances [2]. Ester based
dielectric fluids have affluent flash points compared to
mineral oil and found that use of esters increase the fire safety
Manuscript received on 16 September 2015, in final form 18 April 2016,
accepted 24 April 2016.
margin [3]. Ignition of ester oils is difficult than mineral oil
because of the higher ignition temperatures of ester dielectric
liquids [4]. Ester dielectrics can be used as a whole or mixed
at any ratio with mineral oil for enhancing the performance,
but the mixture exhibits either similar or better properties than
mineral oil [5, 6].
Despite global research and many affirmative records for
the past 15 years, application of ester insulating oils for
transformer is still a challenge among the communities of
dielectricians. The major reason for not accepting ester
dielectrics by the industry is higher cost and poor oxidation
stability of ester dielectrics [7, 8]. Albeit, oxidation is not a
major concern with ester oils as it is with mineral oils due to
high dielectric strength of ester oils. Further with oxidation,
mineral oils introduce sludge whereas ester oils exhibit in
escalation of viscosity which affects the cooling capability of
the fluid. However with a proper designed cooling system the
incremental viscosity can counterpoise [9]. C. P. McShane,
Global Technology Manager, Cooper Power Systems says,
oxidation stability of CPS ester fluids are ample for use in
breather transformers [10].
Hence, pertaining to the present day scenario of alternative
insulating liquids, less cost and reduced degradation rate, high
thermal and environmental performance are requisite for an
efficient transformer insulation technology. Most of the
researchers were directed towards electrical properties,
chemical properties, ageing studies and stability of these
alternate fluids [11-13], while least attention is given to

DOI: 10.1109/TDEI.2016.005642
2476 U. M. Rao et al.: Performance Analysis of Alternate Liquid Dielectrics for Power Transformers
investigation on miscibility of mineral oil and ester oil.
However, 80% of mineral oil and 20% of ester based fluid
was claimed as an optimal proportion [14]. Short term studies
addressing the properties of mixed oils were investigated [6,
15] in which thermal stressing was limited to 100C. In our
recent work it was found that oxidation stability of the blend
of mineral and synthetic esters is better than pure mineral oil
and the cost of the blend thus formed will be less than
synthetic esters [16]. There is a need to demonstrate the
trending in degradation at elevated temperatures for ester oils
and mixture oils in comparison to various insulating fluids and
their compatibility with insulation paper for long term usage.
Hence in this work ester based dielectrics and mixed oil were
stressed at higher temperatures in comparison with mineral oil
to understand their long term behavior.
In this work Mineral Oil (MO), Natural Ester (NE),
Synthetic Ester (SE) and mixture of Mineral and Synthetic
ester Oil (MSO) are subjected to accelerated thermal stresses
in presence of copper and cellulose. Comparative degradation
rate and trending in absorbance of the oils has been monitored
using UV spectroscopy. Interfacial tension of MSO in
comparison to MO has been evaluated with thermal ageing.
Additionally, change in color of oils is recorded for every test
temperature to identify the level of contamination. At the end
of ageing process, visualizations were recorded for
contamination and sedimentation within the tank.
Furthermore, fresh and aged insulation papers in various oils
are subjected to X-ray diffraction (XRD) to analyze the
variations in cellulose crystal parameters such as crystal size
and relative crystallanity.
From spectroscopy studies, it is found that degradation rate
is less for synthetic esters among all the samples and
absorbance analysis proved better performance of the
synthetic esters. XRD analysis indicated the reduced
degradation of kraft paper aged in synthetic esters. From
interfacial tension monitoring it is found that MSO has low
soluble contaminants and products of oxidation in comparison
to MO. Observations on sludge formation and sedimentation
in tank indicate better performance of synthetic esters. Even
though SE proved best among all the samples, performance of
MSO is found superior to MO in all aspects. Hence, SE is a
better choice where cost is not a criteria and MSO is better
where cost is a criteria. In both cases minor design
amendments are to be considered which are discussed in
section 4.4 in detailed.
2 EXPERIMENTAL
2.1 WINDING STRIP AND SAMPLES PREPARATION
To reveal the exact degradation rate of transformer
insulating liquid, accelerated thermal stresses in presence of
copper-cellulose is essential. This is because insulation oil acts
in formation of composite dielectric in association with
cellulose which is wrapped around the copper conductor.
Hence winding strips have been developed using copper and
cellulose. To design winding strips, an unvarnished copper bar
of (90 mm x 13 mm) is selected. The copper bar is wrapped
with 11 turns of 0.3 mm thickness unused kraft paper. Four
such strips have been prepared for four different types of
samples and are allowed for drying for 10 hours at 80C in
order to remove moisture. For the present study mineral oil
(MO), synthetic ester (SE), natural ester (NE) and mixture oil
(MSO) have been selected. Mixture oil is developed by
replacing 20% volume of mineral oil with synthetic ester [14].
All the samples each of 800 ml quantity have been transferred
to separate borosilicate glass ampoules and are heated for 12
hours at 110C for removal of moisture.
2.2 INVESTIGATION
All the fresh and dehydrated samples have been tested for
absorbance using Ultra Violet Visible Infrared Spectroscopy
(UV/VIS) and the color of fresh samples is recorded. Interfacial
Tension (IFT) of fresh MO and MSO has also been measured.
Later the dehydrated winding strips were dipped in borosilicate
glass ampoules containing 800 ml of fresh samples and were
sealed. Further ampoules were placed in air circulating oven for
various test durations at different test temperatures. The entire
experiment procedure is shown in Figure 1 and the test
conditions are as follows:
a. 110C for 96 hours of heating
b. 150C for 96 hours of heating
c. 170C for 96 hours of heating
d. 200C for 48 hours of heating
Insulation paper Copper
Winding Strips
Insulation oil samples
Drying for 10 hours at
80C for
Drying for 12 hours at
110C
Dipping strips in oil
samples and sealing
Ageing Ageing Ageing Ageing
at 110C at 150C at 170C at 200C
for 96 for 96 for 96 for 48
Figure 1. Flow chart of the experiment.
Oil-paper insulation system in transformers will be
subjected to variable thermal excursions. Hence, in order to
simulate the conditions in a transformer, winding strips and
insulating fluids has been subjected to catalyzed thermal
stressing for prolonged durations. Both the stress temperature
(Ts in C) and stress duration (T in sec) plays a strategic role
in simulating thermal ageing. Catalyzed thermal stressing
factor is defined as the product of stress temperature and stress
duration (Ts * T in C-sec). In the present work test conditions
were framed, for 96 hours of heating at each test temperature.
After 170 C sludge deposition is initiated in MO and on
reaching 200C after 48 hours of ageing considerable sludge
was evident and cellulose degradation is found aggressive. So
it was decided to terminate the experiment at this point. With
IEEE Transactions on Dielectrics and Electrical Insulation
a concern that the load and hence temperature within the
transformer is variable, heating is done for 12 hours and
samples are allowed for cooling for the next 12 hours. Only
heating hours were taken into consideration as test duration
i.e. 336 hours.
To monitor the deterioration of samples, spectrophotometry
testing is carried out for every 24 hours of test duration for all
the four samples. To investigate the suitability of mixed
insulating liquids, IFT of MO and MSO has been monitored
for every 24 hours of test duration. The variations in the color
of the samples due to thermal ageing has been recorded for
every test temperature. The formation of sludge within the
samples and sedimentation on the inner surface of the glass
ampoules has been recorded. Finally after thermal ageing
process, the kraft paper is investigated in the order of micro-
scale to identify the cellulose structural degradation due to
thermal stressing in presence of various insulating fluids. The
variations in crystal parameters (crystal size and percentage
relative crystallinity) are identified using the X-Ray
diffraction analysis.
3 TEST METHODS AND RESULTS
3.1 UV SPECTROPHOTOMETRY
UV spectrophotometry is a diagnostic and condition
monitoring tool used for the absorbance analysis of the
insulation oil with respect to its dissolved decay products.
Ultravioletvisible spectrophotometry refers to scanning of oil
a. At 110C temperature.
b. At 150C temperature.
Figure 2. Spectral curves of various insulating oils at various test temperatures indicating the degradation of oils with ageing
Vol. 23, No. 4; August 2016 2477
sample for absorbance in the ultraviolet spectral region, visible
and infrared spectral region. This means light in the visible, UV
and infrared region is used to characterize the insulation oil as a
function of wavelength in the range of (360 nm to 600 nm). UV
spectroscopy scans the sample for absorbance (Abs) at different
wave lengths (nm) for generating spectral curves. The area
under this curve is inversely proportional to quality of the oil.
For fresh oil, dissolved decay products will be less and the area
under the absorbance curve will be very less. The shift in
absorbance curve to higher wavelengths indicate higher
concentration of dissolved decay products or oxidation
products. Hence a relationship exists between area under the
spectral curve and amount of dissolved decay products in oil.
The insulation oil used in the transformer degrades with
operating time owing to its oxidation and contamination.
Increase in contaminants increases the absorbance value of the
insulation oil and pulls the curve to higher wavelengths.
UV/VIS monitoring is carried out as per ASTM D6802-02
standard test procedure [17].
Heptane is used as reference for spectral studies since it
exhibits zero absorbance to light. Samples have been drained
out from aging vessels after every 24 hours of thermal ageing
and UV/VIS test is performed on these samples. The
absorbance curve from (360 to 600 nm) wavelength has been
recorded. The mean of the absorbance values obtained for the
same wavelengths for every 24 hours of heating at different
test temperatures are depicted in Figure 2. From
spectrophotometry monitoring it has been found that degradation
c. At 170C temperature.
d. At 200C temperature.
.
2478 U. M. Rao et al.: Performance Analysis of Alternate Liquid Dielectrics for Power Transformers
rate of synthetic esters is quite low. Natural ester found to
have high degradation rate at low temperatures and with
increase in temperature or over the operating times it
performed well. Comparison between MO and MSO indicate
that rate of degradation is low in mixed oil, the distance
between the spectral curves of MO and MSO increased with
increase in temperature indicating better performance of
MSO. The concentration of dissolved decay products is less in
ester based dielectric fluids when compared to mineral
insulating fluid.
3.2 INTERFACIAL TENSION
Interfacial tension (IFT) is defined as the force of attraction
at the interface of two different molecules. IFT measurements
on insulating oils indicate a sensitive means of monitoring the
contamination by small amounts of polar solvents and
oxidation products. Higher IFT values indicate high chemical
stability, less contamination and oxidation products. This test
is generally applied to service oils as an indication of the
degree of deterioration. IFT studies at accelerated thermal
stresses facilitates analyzing the suitability of mixtures for
long term application which is not yet reported in the
literature. Hence, to understand the suitability and behavior of
mixed insulating fluids, IFT of MO and MSO has been
monitored for every 24 hours of ageing. Testing is carried as
per ASTM D971-99a standard test method [18]. The
variations in interfacial tension of MO and MSO are plotted in
Figure 3 by considering the mean of the IFT values obtained
at a constant temperature.
X Ia
Sludge Formation Y
Zone
Figure 3. Variations in IFT of MO and MSO as a function of test
temperatures.
From the above figure it is observed that IFT of MO is better
than MSO for fresh samples. With thermal ageing, IFT of MO
has been gradually decreased. Beyond the temperature of 150C,
at point X IFT of MO intersected with MSO and later it is
reduced to values which are less than MSO. After crossing the
temperature of 170C, at point Y IFT of MO completely
entered the sludge formation zone i.e. (19-14) mN/m [19],
indicating the formation of dissolved decay products and other
contaminants in MO. After 200C MSO is about to enter sludge
formation zone as shown in Figure 3, confirming the operation
without formation of sludge. It is evident that oxidation
stability of MSO is better than MO at high temperatures. It is
observed that the rate of ageing and formation of sludge is less
in case of MSO. Hence it is inferred that performance of MO
can be enhanced by adding synthetic ester to pure mineral oil.
3.3 X-RAY DIFFRACTION
Degradation analysis of insulation paper is one of the key
markers for lifetime assessment of the transformer. Crystal
size and relative crystallinity are important parameters of
cellulose paper for judging its electrical performance [20].
XRD is an analytical technique to identify the crystal
parameters of insulation paper. X-rays of known wavelength
are allowed to pass through the specimen for identifying the
crystal structure. The nature of the wave is diffracted by the
specimen to generate a fine pattern of peaks at different angles
and varying intensity, this means intensity of the rays as a
function of diffraction angle. A typical XRD pattern of the
transformer insulation paper consists of smooth peak at low
intensity and a sharp peak with high intensity as shown in
Figure 4. XRD analysis for identifying the degradation of
kraft paper in presence of ester dielectrics and mixed oils is
not yet reported in the literature. However XRD analysis was
rarely applied to paper degradation in mineral oils [20], [21].
In the present work XRD analysis is carried out for paper aged
in SE, NE and MSO in comparison to MO.
Intensity (CPS)
Im
0.5Im
2(Cu)
Figure 4. Typical diffraction pattern of transformer insulation paper.
Insulation kraft paper consists of 90% cellulose fiber which
is crystalline in nature and 10% of lignins and hemi cellulose
which are amorphous in nature [21]. The smooth and sharp
peaks in diffraction pattern correspond to amorphous and
crystalline regions respectively. The lignins and hemi
cellulose being amorphous in nature degrade at a higher rate
than cellulose crystals.
As the kraft paper degrades, cellulose fibers get stressed
and lead to significant reduction in the size of cellulose
crystals of kraft paper. With decrease in the crystal size of
kraft paper, the relative crystallanity of the kraft paper crystal
lattice is reduced. Reduction in the crystal parameters affects
the performance of the kraft paper. Hence study of the crystal
size and relative crystallanity is useful to reveal the exact
degradation of kraft paper. Relative crystallinity (Crel) can be
found by using equation (1) [20].
IEEE Transactions on Dielectrics and Electrical Insulation
Im Ia
Crel % 100
Im
where Im and Ia are maximum diffraction intensity of crystalline
region and amorphous region respectively. The variations in
cellulose crystal size (D) with ageing can be obtained by using
Scherrer relation shown in equation (2). D is based on Bragg
angle which is based on the width of the peak at half of the
maximum intensity [22].
k proved better at higher temperatures. This is because NE has
D (2)
cos
where k is the Scherrer constant i.e. 0.94, is wavelength of
X-rays in , is width of peak at 0.5 Im and is the Bragg
angle. Fresh and aged kraft papers in various insulating fluids
were subjected to XRD, the diffraction patterns obtained are
shown in Figure 5 and smooth curves of diffraction patterns are
shown in Figure 6.
According to theory of crystallography, the variation in the
diffraction peak is caused by the reset of crystal lattice of the
specimen sample. The position of the peak with respect to
diffraction angle does not change significantly with thermal
ageing. This implies that with accelerated thermal stressing
the type of crystal associated with the insulation paper remains
same [20].
4 OBSERVATIONS AND INFERENCES
4.1 OBSERVATIONS ON INSULATING SAMPLES
As the samples were subjected to accelerated thermal
ageing, the rate of degradation of the samples is increased.
With increase in ageing of the samples, the area under the
absorbance curves tend to increase. The area under the curve
of every test sample has been calculated to understand the
exact degradation trending of all the samples. The trending in
interfacial tension for MO and MSO has also been monitored
periodically.
The increase in area under the curve and reduction in IFT as
a function of test duration for all the samples are illustrated in
Figure 7 for all the four test temperatures.
Figure 5. XRD patterns of fresh and aged kraft papers in various insulation
fluids
Vol. 23, No. 4; August 2016 2479
At 110C temperature, area under the curve reduced upto
(1) 72 hours of ageing and later the trending increased throughout
the experimentation period at all the test temperatures. This is
because, initially at lower temperatures moisture content in the
oil is absorbed by the cellulose and at higher temperatures the
water content in the paper i.e., moisture present in cellulose
and the moisture absorbed by paper at lower temperatures
together will migrate into the oil [23, 24]. However this
trending is found higher for NE at lower temperature and
high viscous forces and hence has a thicker complexion with
high absorbance. Area under the absorbance curve associated
with synthetic esters has been found to be less in all cases
when compared to all other samples. This indicates that the
degradation rate in SE is inferior to degradation rate than other
samples. This is because ester group is hydrophilic and
mineral oil is hydrophobic hence, esters actively participate in
hydrolysis as hydrogen-bond acceptors and this ability confers
esters to higher water solubility group. Hence, the rate of
hydrolysis is higher in ester group fluids than in mineral oils
and more moisture is absorbed by esters in this process [16].
This process leads to formation of long chain fatty acids and
augments the acid number of the ester oil. So higher acid
number of esters is an indication of degree of dryness and
keeps paper dry, thus reducing the deterioration rate of the oil
as well as the paper [25]. In case of mineral oil higher acid
number indicates higher acidity leading to the formation of
sludge within the oil and tends to accelerate the degradation
rate of the oil as well as the insulation paper [26].
Interfacial tension of pure mineral oil is found to reduce
very rapidly with thermal ageing, whereas IFT of mixture oil
has reduced with low reduction rate. The difference in IFT
observed before and after stressing is 20.75 mN/m and 8.65
mN/m for MO and MSO respectively indicating lower
oxidation rate of MSO. This is because, rate of hydrolysis is
proportional to temperature, so with increased hydrolysis there
will be a considerable control on degradation in esters group
[21]. Higher degradation of MO and controlled degradation of
MSO at higher temperatures indicates the suitability of
mixture oil as an alternative liquid dielectric for transformers.
Figure 6. Smooth curve of XRD patterns of fresh and aged kraft papers in
various insulation fluids
2480 U. M. Rao et al.: Performance Analysis of Alternate Liquid Dielectrics for Power Transformers
a. At 110C temperature.
b. At 150 C temperature.
Figure 7. Illustration of trending in area under spectral curves and IFT with thermal ageing
As discussed earlier absorbance of the oils was monitored
for every 24 hours of test duration. Absorbance of a sample is
estimated by the variation in intensity of light which is
actually transferred through the sample. This transmittance is
based on the dissolved decay products in the sample.
Hence, absorbance is considered as one of the important
ageing markers for insulation oil samples. The absorbance values
obtained at a constant temperature were used to find the mean
absorbance at that particular temperature to observe the trending
in absorbance as a function of temperature as shown in Figure 8.
The absorbance of the synthetic ester is less when
compared to mineral oil throughout the experiment. Natural
ester performance when compared to mineral oil is inferior at
lower temperatures and superior at higher temperatures.
Observations on MO and MSO concluded that addition of
esters to mineral oil results in reduced degradation.
c. At 170 C temperature.
d. At 200C temperature.
.
4.2 VISUAL OBSERVATIONS
The major visual observation in the field of condition
monitoring of insulation oils is their physical appearance or
color. The color of the oil indicates the degree of dissolved decay
products in oil as a result of ageing. The color of the fresh
samples and the significant variations observed at several stages
of experimentation of all the four samples are highlighted in
Figure 9.
As the samples were subjected to accelerated thermal
ageing in presence of copper-cellulose assembly, both the
insulation oil and insulation paper have their corresponding
oxidation levels and hence deterioration. Visual determination
of color is an effective indication of deterioration of the
insulation oil. The change in color of the oils with ageing has
been observed and it is found that this change in synthetic
ester and natural ester is less as compared to mineral oil based
IEEE Transactions on Dielectrics and Electrical Insulation
Figure 8. Illustration of trending in absorbance of the oils as a function of test
temperatures.
MO SE NE MSO
Fresh
After
150C
After
170C
After
200C
Figure 9. Variations in color of various insulating fluids with ageing.
liquids. MO and MSO are found to be dark blackish and dark
brown respectively and are almost equal in appearance. As
discussed earlier the experiment is forced to terminate after 48
hours of heating at 200C temperature because of higher
sludge formation in MO. At this stage of experimentation the
color of both samples is significantly dark and contaminants
are not clearly visible. However efforts have been made for
visualization of the contaminants by taking 30 ml of samples
in a test tube and placing in front of the light emitting source
such that contamination is made visible. There is a
considerable difference in the decay products within the
samples. Mineral oil is found with more contaminants,
whereas MSO is found to be free from contamination. The
contamination in MSO is controlled by the ester group which
keeps the paper dry by timely absorbing the moisture for its
hydrolysis reaction.
Deposits on the interior of the glass ampoules reflect the
sedimentation on the interior of the transformer tank. These
deposits were found more with MO and MSO; nevertheless it is
found less in case of MSO when compared to MO. NE and SE
tanks were found clean. Albeit the bottom surface of NE and SE
were clear with no contamination, NE tank indicated the
Vol. 23, No. 4; August 2016 2481
sedimentation on the walls of the tank which is commonly
referred as polymerized ageing product [27]. This visualization is
shown in Figure 10.
MO SE NE MSO
Figure 10. Visual graphic of sedimentation on the interior surface.
Such an alluviation on the interior walls of the tank surface
leads to imminent corrosion, blockage of oil ducts and hamper
oil flow which reduces the ability of cooling.
4.3 XRD OBSERVATIONS
To analyze the variations in kraft paper crystal parameters,
crystal size (D) and percentage relative crystallinity(Crel) were
calculated for fresh kraft paper and aged kraft papers in MO,
SE, NE, MSO. The values of crystal parameters are tabulated
in Table 1.
Table 1. Kraft paper crystal parameters of fresh and aged kraft papers.
Oil used for
D () Crel %
ageing
Fresh 30.8 63.68
MO 14.1 55.2
SE 24.58 59.23
NE 22.30 59.4
MSO 16.08 57.64
It is observed that cellulose crystal size and relative
crystallinity are reduced with thermal ageing in all the papers.
Nevertheless this reduction is found less in case of paper aged
in synthetic esters and natural esters indicating less
degradation of insulation paper with use of ester dielectrics.
The degradation rate in MSO is found better than MO. This
implies that the crystalline portions of insulation paper in MO
are significantly damaged. Through XRD analysis it is
conferred that thermal ageing damages the structure of the
cellulose and hence effecting the performance of the
insulation paper. But this effect can be controlled by
application of ester dielectrics as a whole or in proper
proportions. The variations in crystal parameters for fresh and
aged kraft papers in various oils are statistically illustrated in
Figure 11.
4.4 DESIGN AND MONITORING ASPECTS
Insulation system designs for ester based dielectrics will
remain same as intended for mineral insulating oil filled
transformers [28], [29]. For MSO also insulation designing
parameters remains same because, 80% of MSO is mineral oil to
which 20% of SE has been blended to form a mixed fluid.
Comparison of main properties of MSO and MO are
highlighted in Table 2 below.
2482 U. M. Rao et al.: Performance Analysis of Alternate Liquid Dielectrics for Power Transformers

and formation of gel. Relative permittivity of esters and

70 D() %Crel mixtures is higher than mineral oils and close to the relative
permittivity of insulation paper [6]. Hence, insulation stress in
60
case of esters and mixture oils filled transformers will be low,
allowing higher withstand voltage of the insulation system.
50
Generally, fixing breakdown voltages is a challenge for
insulation system designers, hence insulation system is
40
designed by an additional safety factor [28]. Thermal
performance of esters and mixture is found much better than
30
mineral oils hence, application of these fluids avoids use of
deluge systems and firewalls between transformers.
20
Pipe setup installed for retrofilling and cooling tubes is to
10 be monitored for gelling in order to avoid reduction in
effective diameter and abrasion of the pipes. Hence, timely
0 cleaning or anti abrasion coating is recommended to the
Fresh MO SE NE MSO industry. The significant design and monitoring aspects are
highlighted as follows:
Figure 11. Stastical illustration of crystal parameters of fresh and aged kraft
papers indicating reduced degradation of kraft paper aged in SE. Increased viscosity requires higher impregnation time to
diffuse into cellulose paper, thick insulation materials
Table 2. Comparison of main properties of MO and MSO. may require semi bored holes/openings such that oil is
Property MO MSO impregnated faster.
Density (kg/m3) @ 20C
0.821 0.880 Higher viscosity causes higher axial winding temperature
ASTM D1298
gradient in naturally cooled transformer, hence cooling
Breakdown voltage(kV) ASTM D877
Fresh 55 62 ducts in the windings need to be designed larger to keep
Aged* 24.2 43.9 an optimal value of the axial fluid temperature gradient.
Viscosity (cSt) @20 C [30]
ISO 3104
16 19.44 Higher breakdown voltages require less insulation and
Dielectric constant @25 C [30] hence, the additional safety factor for insulation systems
2.2 >2.3
IEC 60247 may be suppressed while deigning.
Dissipation factor @90 C [30]
IEC 60247
<10 104 0.002 Anti-abrasion coating of cooling tubes is recommended.
Water solubility(ppm) [30] Dissolved gases analysis may be done by adapting duval
45 310
IEC 60814 triangle available for non-mineral oils and IEEE standard
Absorbance (Abs) ASTM D6802 C57.155-2014 for interpretation of gases generated in
Fresh 0.0223 0.0027
Aged* 7.4639 6.0574 ester based oils.
Dissolved Decay Products(Abs x nm)*
477.07 433.78 Monitoring of pipe setups to avoid gelling is
ASTM D6802
Interfacial Tension( mN/m) ASTM D971
recommended.
Fresh 40.5 28.5 The selection of the above discussed parameters enhances
Aged* 17.6 19.3 performance, operational safety and extends the life span of
Flash point (C)
ASTM D92
110175 >200 the transformer leading to improved asset management.
Fire point (C)
110185 >200
ASTM D92 5 CONCLUSIONS
Color
Fresh Colorless Colorless The objective of the present work is to gear up replacement
Aged* Dark Black Dark Brown of mineral insulating oils with ester based oils and mixed
insulating oils. In this work mineral oil, synthetic ester, natural
Compatibility with other materials Acceptable Acceptable
ester and mixture of mineral and synthetic ester oils were
*Observed values after the aging conditions in section 2.2. subjected to accelerated thermal ageing and monitored for
degradation of oils and insulation paper.
However, the factors which affect the design of ester filled Performance of liquid insulation is analyzed by adapting
transformers will slightly have an impact on design for mixture UV spectroscopy, Interfacial tension and visual observations.
oil transformer. Some design and monitoring factors that are to Observations based on spectral curves, absorbance, color and
be taken into consideration for application of esters based sedimentation indicate reduced degradation of synthetic esters.
dielectrics and MSO are discussed in this section. Interfacial tension monitoring indicates reduced oxidation rate
As discussed earlier, viscosity of ester group oils increases of mixed oil in comparison to mineral oil.
with increase in rate of oxidation, which retards the flow rate X-ray diffraction analysis is carried out to study the
of the liquid and spends much time in cooling tubes hence, deterioration of cellulose parameters (crystal size and relative
proper design of cooling tubes is required to restrict corrosion crystallanity) for kraft paper aged in various oils. XRD
IEEE Transactions on Dielectrics and Electrical Insulation Vol. 23, No. 4; August 2016
analysis indicate that rate of deterioration of kraft paper is less
in synthetic ester oil. XRD analysis comparison between
mineral oil and mixed oil indicate reduced degradation of solid
insulation in mixed oil.
The use of synthetic ester and mixed oil as an alternative
insulating fluid in power transformer will extend the life of
solid and liquid insulation systems. However, there is a need
to study the behavior of solid insulation in synthetic ester and
MSO by significant diagnostic tools (thermography analysis,
expansion/ contraction of cellulose, FTIR) and the behavior of
moisture in oil/paper insulation system for mixed oils.
ACKNOWLEDGMENT
We would like to thank Department of Science and
Technology, India for technical support through TIFAC
CORE grant for Power transformer diagnostics center and
Center for Material Science at NIT Hamirpur, India. We
also thank Government of India for financial support through
TEQIP-II scheme via Grant No. F.No.16-6/2013-TS.VII (Pt).
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U.Mohan Rao (S15). He is a member of DEIS. He
obtained his B.Tech in electrical and electronics
engineering from Jawaharlal Nehru Technological
University, A.P., in 2010 and M.Tech in Condition
Monitoring and control from National Institute of
Technology, Hamirpur (H.P.) in 2012. Presently he
is a research scholar in the Department of Electrical
Engineering, National Institute of Technology,
Hamirpur (H.P.) His research interests include
Condition monitoring of electrical equipment, Power transformer diagnostics
and Liquid Dielectrics.
Yog Raj Sood (SM10). He is a member of DEIS. He
obtained his B.E. degree in Electrical Engineering
with Honors and M.E. in Power System from
Punjab Engineering College Chandigarh (U.T.), in
1984 and 1987, respectively. He has been awarded
Ph.D. degree from Indian Institute of Technology,
Roorkee in 2003. He joined Regional Engineering
College Kurukshetra in 1986. Since 2003 he is
working as a Professor in the Electrical Engineering
Department of National Institute of Technology,
Hamirpur (H.P.), India. He has published a number of research papers. He has
been awarded many awards, prizes and appreciation letters for his excellence
2484 U. M. Rao et al.: Performance Analysis of Alternate Liquid Dielectrics for Power Transformers
in research academic and administration performance. His research interests Raj Kumar Jarial (M15). He is a member of DEIS.
are in the area of Deregulation of power system, Power network optimization, He received his Bachelors degree [B. Sc. Engg.
Condition monitoring of power transformers, High voltage engineering, Non- (Electrical)], and Masters degree (Power System) in
Conventional sources of energy. 1989 and 1992 respectively from the National
Institute of Technology, Kurukshetra, India. Since
1994, he has been with the department of Electrical
Engineering, NIT Hamirpur India. Presently he is also
the coordinator for the power transformer diagnostics
center at NIT, Hamirpur, India. His current research
interest includes Power Electronics based drives and
High Voltage Engineering.