Contribution to static electrification of mineral oils and natural esters

Abstract

A failure of an insulation system of a power transformer can result into an interruption of a power supply and subsequently to a large economic damage. In some cases, the malfunction is so serious that a transformer may explode and catch fire resulting in a direct threat to the life of the device operator. These devices rely on a combined insulation system oil-paper. The oil in a transformer not only impregnates the pressboard paper insulation, hence increases its electric breakdown strength, but also acts as a coolant of active parts of the device. During the cooling, the oil flows in the transformer tank around the core, windings and isolation barriers from hardened paper. At the interface of two dielectrics, the oil and the cellulose in the transformer, electrostatic charges appear. The charges of one polarity are carried in the oil, and the charges of the opposite polarity remain captured in the barrier that is formed by the internal structure of the transformer. The accruing of a certain amount of charge leads to discharges along the surface of the solid insulation and therefore to its partial damage. Ultimately, this can lead to the damage of the whole insulation system of the transformer by its breakdown. At present, the mineral oils are used as the main liquid insulating medium because of their good electrical insulating and cooling properties. On the other side, there is a high environmental burden for their operation and maintenance as well as the subsequent disposal of the discarded oil. The natural esters may be used as a replacement for the mineral oil. They go well with the environment, they are biodegradable and in case of the transformer malfunction, its disposal costs less money.This paper presents the results of the experiments of electrostatic charging of the mineral oils and natural esters and their comparison. The charging process in the transformer is modelled using a metal cylindrical container with a forced flow of oil using a controlled rotating circular disc from a hardened paper. The results indicate that increasing intensity of friction, increases the electrical charge, which is generated at the interface of the solid phase and the liquid. In these experiments two types of mineral oils were studied. For comparison, two types of natural esters (sunflower and colza oils) were selected and used in the same experiments. The charging of the oils was examined at various temperatures ranging from 25 °C up to 70 °C.