Performance of Hybrid Nanofluids of Mineral Oil and Vegetable oil based Ester

Abstract

The prosperity and economic development of a nation depend on its capability to maintain reliable and high-quality electric power management. It is achieved through the availability of extremely reliable ancillary electrical equipment. A power transformer is one such piece of crucial equipment that transfers electricity from one circuit to another without altering the frequency. Mineral oil has been conventionally used as a liquid dielectric in transformers since the last century. However, in recent days, vegetable oil-based esters have emerged as a favourable alternative to mineral oils due to their biodegradability and sustainability. The introduction of nanotechnology led to massive studies to enhance the quality of liquid dielectrics. Further, the addition of more than one nanoparticle to the base fluid has broadened the scope of nanofluids’ property enhancement. This study focused on the assessment of the dielectric properties of hybrid nanofluids consisting of ZnO and reduced graphene. Mineral oil and vegetable-based transformer oil were chosen as base fluids to prepare the nanofluids. The mass of the added nanoparticles was 0.01%. The ratio between the nanoparticles was selected as 1:1. The hybrid nanofluids were characterized for breakdown voltage viscosity at temperatures ranging from 40 °C to 100 °C, interfacial tension, tan delta, and resistivity. The overall properties of hybrid nanofluids were found to be improved due to the inclusion of ZnO and reduced graphene.