Influence of various compounds on electrostatic charging tendency in insulating oil

Abstract

AbstractThe influence of various compounds on the increase of the electrostatic charging tendency (ECT) in insulating oil was investigated. Sulfide compounds, which are contained in new mineral oil, are identified for the first time as the original materials involved in the increase of the ECT. This is verified by heating tests of alkylbenzene with the addition of various compounds. Coexistence with copper and injection of oxygen enhance the increase of the ECT. Some sulfide and sulfoxide compounds increase the ECT markedly. On the other hand, the influence of sulfones, which are oxidation products of sulfoxides, is negligible. Although sulfonic acids, which are oxidation products of sulfones, markedly increase the ECT, the polarity is reverse. Thus, the ECT is influenced by the kinds and the molecular structures of additive sulfur compounds. The influence of nitrogen compounds and that of oxygen compounds are confirmed to be smaller than that of sulfur compounds. Since the amounts of nitrogen compounds and oxygen compounds are much smaller than those of sulfur compounds in mineral insulating oils, the influence of these compounds is considered negligible. Since the ECT of oils with the addition of sulfides or sulfoxides increases after heating, the other compounds should be created from these compounds that increase the ECT directly. Thus, the increase of the ECT is mostly caused by the oxidation of sulfides, which creates sulfoxides. Then certain compounds, which directly increase the ECT, are created from sulfoxides. If sulfones or sulfonic acids are created by the oxidation of sulfoxides, the ECT decreases because of the influence of these compounds on the ECT. It is most likely that some process other than oxidation occurs in the creation of the compounds that increase the ECT directly. © 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Electr Eng Jpn, 176(3): 29–36, 2011; Published online in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com). DOI 10.1002/eej.21112