Professional Documents
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34
Power
ABSTRACT
This article continues to explore the
concepts described in the previous
article where a link between
insulation life and overall
Transformer Ll
transformer life was established.
As a child, I used to observe how newspaper would become yellow and brittle after
COLUMN
it had been left a few days under the sun• light. Now I understand why - the cel ulose
molecules were breaking down under the influence Of the sunk heat. If you have c".'er
seen this effect. that is exactly how an aged transformer insulation looks like
Although the transformer will not immediately fail or explode when a low DP value is
reached, there is a general consensus
www.transformers-magazine.com 35
in the industry which is considered the PYROLYSIS The incrulse in temperature increases the
end of transformer' life. This occurs vibration of the molecules that constltute
when the paper has reached a point of As we saw in the previous section, the the cellulose and at Some point. it breaks
mechanical strength so low that the paper ages as the cellulose chains bluuk the bonds between the molecules.
transformer can no longer be considered down and become shorter, Therefore, releaSing by-products Of this reaction
to perform its function in a reliable any mechanism that contributes to the into the 011 and shortening the cellulose
manner, This num• ber normally breakage Of the bonds between glucose chains.
considered to be a 200 monomers and the consequent
shortening Of these chains, can be These by-products can include water
so there it is. Your million-dollar considered an ageing or degradation (H20), carbon monoxide (CO), carbon
investment Wtll last the time it takes the mechan ism. dioxide (C02), organic acids and glua)se
DP to go from 1200 to 200. molecules. "lhese by-products can in turn
First in our list is the degradation caused
exacerbate other degradation
The photo below depicts a section of a by thermal energy Thermal energy can
mechamsms.
transformer coil that has reached this be contributed by either the normal
state. Although damage is not apparent at producnon of losses during the energy
first sight, the paper in this particular coil conversion process which manifest in the
would crumble as soon as touched. form of heat or by anomalous localised HYDROLYTIC
energy sources caused by specific failure DEGRADATION OR
Now that we know how the end of life is modes, such as increased resistance
paths, shortcircuits, etc. The heat energy
HYDROLYSIS
Iv•ached, lets examine what the major
released by these processes might It is not a coincidence that one Of the
causes that contribute to reaching this
state, increase the temperature of components primary focuses Of installation and
in contact with insulation elements and maintenance activities during the life Of
result in degradation of this cellulose. a transformer is the minimisation Of
THERMAL water present in the insulation system.
DEGRADATION OR
In the presence of certain organic acids,
a reaction is initiated with water that has
the ultimate consequence of splitting the
bonds between glucose monomers,
which in turn produces more water and
acid byproducts.
OXIDATION
In a similar way to hydrolysis,
oxygen is a highly reactive element
which causes the breakage Of
cellulose bonds to form by-products
such as water, carbon monoxide
and carbon dioxide.
These three mechanisms, oxidation,
hy drolysis and pyrolysis normally
do not act in isolation but rather as
a group of reactions that reinforce
each other.
ACIDS
Various organic acidic compounds
are also released as by-products Of
the reaclions described above. acids
in turn also attack the cellulose, [n
partlcular, the degradation Of
insulation due to acidic actions has
the consequence ofproducing
sludge, As this sludge is pmduced,
it could be deposited in areas
critical for the coo• ling processes
of the coils, such as cooling ducts,
that would block the free circulation
of oil, which in turn increases the
temperature and accelerates the
whole ageing cycle once again.
Author
Carlos works as Consultant
Gamez currently a Principal and Product
Manager at TxMonitor and is a member of the MM
Group Holdings where he focuses in
developing innovative solutions for
the electrical asset management industry using both his
technical and business acumen. After graduating in
Electrical and Mechanical Engineering in 1996, Carlos
started working as a Transformer Design Engineer at
PROLEC-GE, the biggest transformer factory
for General Electric on the American continent
Over the course of the following years, he gained expertise working in
various roles in product development, manufacturing improvements, technology
and software development. field engineering and customer service.
In 2007 Carlos was seconded by General Electric to move to Perth. WA to start up
the Transformer Division in order to provide field and workshop maintenance and
REFERENCES
Ill B. Mills, Cellulose-Ibeta-from-xtal2002-3D-
bal!s, http•]/en.wik pedia.org/wlki\,
Current 28.05, 2014,
12] R. Wheeler, PaperAuf0fluorescence, http:/fen.wikipedia.org/wlki/, current
2805.2014,
13] C. Gamez, Aged Power Transformer coil, Perth, WA, 2011.
www.transformers-magazine.com 37