CHIN. PHYS. LETT. Vol. 30, No.

3 (2013) 037701

*
Bubble Motion in Transformer Oil under Non-Uniform Electric Fields
CAI Dan(蔡丹)** , LIU Lie(刘列), CHENG Guo-Xin(程国新), ZHANG Qiang(张强),
ZHAO Xue-Long(赵雪龙), ZHAO Qi(赵起)
College of Optoelectric Science and Engineering, National University of Defense Technology, Changsha 410073

(Received 3 July 2012)

We investigate the bubble motion in transformer oil under a typical non-uniform electric field. Based on the
principle of virtual work, an analytical equation is derived for the electric force putting on the bubbles. The
bubble’s visualized motion graphics are then obtained by using the finite-element method, which utilizes Comsol
Multiphysics software. The effects of bubble radius and release position on the motion trajectory are studied. It
is found that, under the non-uniform electric field, the bubbles have a long residence time between the electrodes.
This accordingly can lead to a higher probability of forming a bubble-bridge along the bubble motion trajectory.
The bubbles with a particular radius or release position are easier to form bubble-bridge between the electrodes.
They can increase the chance of liquid breakdown.

PACS: 77.22.Jp, 52.80.Wq DOI: 10.1088/0256-307X/30/3/037701

Pulsed power technology has been developed since sol Multiphysics 3.5a). These results may provide an
the early 1960s. In recent years, major laboratories in-depth understanding of the bubble discharge model
in the US, Britain, Russia, Japan, and some other and enhance the insulation properties of liquid.
developed European countries (such as France and Body forces acting on bubbles in the liquid dielec-
Germany) have built a large number of pulsed power tric and subjected to an electric field contain three
systems, which are widely applied to research nuclear terms: electrostatic force, drag force, and buoyancy.
physics, accelerator technology, and laser and plasma The equation of bubble motion is[4]
physics.[1]
Usually, the selection of insulation material plays 𝑀eff 𝑣˙ = 𝐹e + 𝐹D + 𝐹B , (1)
an important role in improving the performance of
where 𝑀eff is the effective mass of the bubble in mo-
pulsed power systems. Liquid dielectrics, due to their
tion (kg), 𝑣 the velocity of the bubble (m/s), 𝐹e the
outstanding advantages, high breakdown threshold,
electric field force (N), 𝐹D the drag force (N), 𝐹B the
short self-healing time and lower cost, have been ex-
buoyancy (N).
tensively used as the insulation material in pulsed
The effective mass is[5]
power systems. However, because of their complex
physical and chemical properties, liquid dielectrics 4 (︁ 1 )︁
𝑀eff = 𝜋𝑅3 𝜌𝑔 + 𝜌𝑙 , (2)
do not form a maturity breakdown model like the 3 2
air dielectric.[2] The bubble discharge model of liquid
where 𝑅 is the bubble radius (m), 𝜌𝑙 the density of liq-
breakdown which successfully interprets the impact of
uid (kg·m−3 ) and 𝜌𝑔 the air density (kg·m−3 ) at room
pressure and conductivity on the liquid electric break-
temperature. When the viscosity of gas in the bubble
down threshold[2,3] has attracted significant scientific
is neglected, the drag force in the stationary liquid is
and practical interest. According to previous stud-
given by the Stokes relation[4]
ies, bubble motion under an applied electric field[4,5]
may increase the breakdown probability of a liquid 𝐹D = 6𝜋𝜇𝑅𝑣. (3)
dielectric.[6] The process of liquid breakdown caused
by preexisting microbubbles has been studied by using The buoyancy force is defined as[5]
simulation and experimental methods.[7−11]
4 3
In the present work, the bubble motion under a 𝐹B = 𝜋𝑅 (𝜌𝑙 − 𝜌𝑔 )𝑔, (4)
typical non-uniform electric field and its impact on the 3
liquid insulation are studied with analysis and simula- where 𝑔 is the gravitational acceleration (m/s2 ).
tion methods. The bubble motion equation is derived The electric field force 𝐹e is the key point to reveal
by using the principle of virtual work and method of the law of the bubble motion. The effective electric
electrostatic images. On the basis of this equation, field force exerting on a unit volume of liquid dielectric
the visualized motion graphices and effects of bubble can be derived from the principle of virtual work:[12]
radius and release position on the motion trajectory
are obtained by using finite-element software (Com- 1 1 [︁ (︁ 𝜕𝜀 )︁ ]︁
𝑓e = 𝑞𝑣 𝐸 − 𝐸 2 ∇𝜀 + ∇ 𝐸 2 𝜌 , (5)
2 2 𝜕𝜌
* Supported
by the National Natural Science Foundation of China under Grant No 10975186.
** Corresponding
author. Email: 263277440@163.com
© 2013 Chinese Physical Society and IOP Publishing Ltd

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 CHIN. PHYS. LETT. Vol. 30, No. 3 (2013) 037701

where 𝑞𝑣 is the free charge density (C·m−3 ), 𝜀 the liquid dielectric is

permittivity (F·m−1 ), 𝐸 the electric field strength
4 3
(V·m−1 ), and 𝜌 the liquid density (kg·m−3 ). 𝐹𝑑 = 𝑃 · ∇𝐸𝑔 = 𝜋𝑅 𝑝e · ∇𝐸𝑔 , (8)
3
L
where 𝑅 is the radius of bubble, 𝑃 the diplole moment
Grounded
plane electrode
of the air bubble, 𝐸𝑔 the electric field inside the air
bubble, the excess polarization can be written as[15]

2Rw 𝑝e = (𝜀𝑔 − 𝜀𝑙 )𝐸𝑔 , (9)

HV rod electrode where 𝜀𝑔 is the dielectric permittivity of the air bub-

g ble, 𝜀𝑙 the dielectric permittivity of transformer oil.
y
The electric field strength inside the air bubble is[12]
3𝜀𝑙
x 𝐸𝑔 = 𝐸. (10)
𝜀𝑔 + 2𝜀𝑙
Fig. 1. The electrode system. Thus, Eq. (8) can be rewritten as
The first term on the right-hand side is known as (𝜀𝑔 − 𝜀𝑙 )
the Coulomb force exerting on the free charges in the 𝐹𝑑 = 4𝜋𝑅3 𝜀𝑙 𝐸 · ∇𝐸
𝜀𝑔 + 2𝜀𝑙
dielectric liquid. The second term is named as the
(𝜀𝑔 − 𝜀𝑙 )
dielectrophoretic force due to the spatial gradient of = 2𝜋𝑅3 𝜀𝑙 ∇(𝐸 · 𝐸). (11)
dielectric permittivity in the fluid. Physically, this 𝜀𝑔 + 2𝜀𝑙
force acts on the polarization charges appearing in the This force is proportional to the gradient of the square
dielectric medium. The third term is the electrostric- of the electric field strength. As 𝜀𝑔 < 𝜀𝑙 , it is obvious
tive force due to variation of dielectric permittivity that air bubbles move toward to the region of lower
with density and the non-uniformity of an electric field electric field strength.
in the medium. Since transformer oil is a non-polar
y
dielectric liquid with very low conductivity, the elec-
tric current through transformer oil can be considered P ↼x֒y↽
negligible.[13] In addition, we consider the relaxation
time 𝜏 , which is expressed as the ratio of the permit- r1 r2
tivity and electrical conductivity (𝜏 = 𝜀/𝜎e ). From
Rw
the relaxation time, whether the liquid behaves as ↼֒↽ ⇁λ ֓λ
x
an insulating dielectric or not, can be determined by
comparing the ratio to the dynamically characteristics ⇁ ֓
time 𝑡𝑐 . Usually, the relaxation time 𝜏 of transformer l1 l2
d
oil is a magnitude greater than the duration time of
the bubble motion process. Thus it is rational to con- Fig. 2. The method of electrostatic images.
sider that there are no appreciable free charges gener-
ated in transformer oil. The third term of Eq. (5), the The electric field strength distribution of the
electrostrictive force, can be thought of as an addition cylinder-to-plane electrode system is derived by using
force, acting like a pressure to compress a bubble. It is the method of electrostatic images. The schematic of
neglected in the following analysis since this model is the electrode system is shown in Fig. 1, 𝑈 is the volt-
used only to predict the motion of air bubbles. Thus, age applied to the cylinder-to-plane electrode system
only the second term of Eq. (5) contributes to the elec- to create a non-uniform electric field. The plane elec-
tric field force. trode is electrically grounded. The radius of the rod
Using the principle of virtual work, the dielec- electrode is 𝑅𝑤 . The distance between two electrodes
trophoretic force 𝐹𝑑 can be derived to a more con- is 𝐿.
venient form. Consider a dipole in a uniform electric Figure 2 is the schematic of the method of electro-
field 𝐸, the dipole’s electric field energy in the extra static images which is usually used to solve the static
field is[14] electric field problems. The density of equivalent lin-
𝑊 = −𝑝 · 𝐸, (6) ear charges are expressed as +𝜆 and −𝜆, which have
the same electric field distribution as the cylinder-to-
where 𝑝 is the dipole moment vector. The dielec- plane electrode system in the calculation region.
trophoretic force of the dipole named as 𝑓𝑑 is The distance between the linear charges with the
𝑓𝑑 = −∇𝑊 = ∇(𝑝 · 𝐸) = 𝑝 · ∇𝐸. (7) axis of the corresponding cylinder electrode is
√︁
Thus, the dielectrophoretic force of air bubbles in a 𝑙 = 𝑙1 = 𝑙2 = 0.5(𝑑 − 𝑑2 − 4𝑅𝑊 2 ), (12)

037701-2
 CHIN. PHYS. LETT. Vol. 30, No. 3 (2013) 037701

where 𝑑 = 𝐿 + 2𝑅w is the distance of two cylinder Figure 3 shows the movement of a single bub-
axes. ble under the cylinder-to-plane electrode system im-
The location of bubble is assumed at a random mersed in transformer oil. Here the voltage 𝑈 of the
point 𝑃 (𝑥, 𝑦), and then the electric potential 𝑉p at rod HV electrode is 0.1 MV, parameter 𝑑 = 𝐿 + 2𝑅w
point 𝑃 is is 35 mm, the bubble radius is 1 mm.
𝜆 𝑟2
𝑉p = ln , (13) (a) (b) (c)
2𝜋𝜀𝑙 𝑟1
Original of coordinates Original position
where 𝑟1 and 𝑟2 refer to the distance of the linear
charges from the point 𝑃 .
x/⊲ mm, y=3 mm
Table 1. Input parameters list
(d) (e) (f)
Parameter Value
Density of transformer oil 𝜌𝑙 895 kg/m3
Density of air bubble 𝜌𝑔 1.205 kg/m3
Dielectric permittivity of transformer oil 𝜀𝑟𝑙 2.4
Dielectric permittivity of air bubble 𝜀𝑟𝑔 1
Viscosity of transformer oil 𝜇𝑙 0.0168 Pa·s Fig. 3. The motion trajectory of a single bubble (𝑈 =
Viscosity of transformer air bubble 𝜇𝑔 1.7498×10−5 Pa·s 0.1 MV, 𝑑 = 35 mm, 𝑅 = 1 mm): (a) 𝑡 = 0 ms; (b)
Distance of electrodes 𝑑 0.035 m 𝑡 = 3 ms; (c) 𝑡 = 20 ms; (d) 𝑡 = 150 ms; (e)𝑡 = 200 ms;
Radius of rod electrode 𝑅𝑤 0.0015 m (f) 𝑡 = 250 ms.

In Fig. 2, the coordinate of linear charges are (𝑙, 0) 800 250

and (𝑑 − 𝑙, 0), so 700 Time
(mm/s)

600
750 mm/s

200
500
√︀ √︀
𝑟1 = (𝑥 − 𝑙)2 + 𝑦 2 , 𝑟2 = (𝑥 − 𝑑 + 𝑙)2 + 𝑦 2 . (14)
400 150

(ms)
Combining Eqs. (13) and (14) yields 300
200 100
or

√︀
𝑉p =
𝜆
ln √︀
(𝑥 − 𝑑 + 𝑙)2 + 𝑦 2
. (15) 100
2𝜋𝜀𝑙 (𝑥 − 𝑙)2 + 𝑦 2 0 50
-100
20ms
3 ms
In addition, the electric capacity of two parallel cylin- -200-2 -4 -6 -8 -10 0
ders is
𝜆 2𝜋𝜀𝑙 (mm)
𝐶= = . (16)
2𝑈 2 /𝑙2 )
ln(𝑅𝑊 Fig. 4. Characteristics of 𝑑𝑥/𝑑𝑡, 𝑑𝑦/𝑑𝑡, 𝑡 versus 𝑦 (𝑈 =
0.1 MV, 𝑑 = 35 mm, 𝑅 = 1 mm).
Then, combing Eqs. (15) and (16) yields
Figure 3(a) shows that the bubble release position
2 2 {︁ is 𝑥=1.2 mm, 𝑦 = −3 mm. According to Ep. (11), the
(𝑥 − 𝑑 + 𝑙) + 𝑦 𝑅 }︁−1
𝑉p = 𝑈 · ln 2 ln 𝑊 . (17) dielectrophoretic force 𝐹𝑑 may push the bubble to the
(𝑥 − 𝑙)2 + 𝑦 2 𝑙
plane electrode. From Figs. 3(b) and 3(c), the bubble
As 𝐸 = −∇𝑉p , Eq. (11) can be rewritten as rises very quickly. When 𝑡 = 20 ms, the bubble slows
down onto a particular position named the stagna-
𝜀𝑙 (𝜀𝑔 − 𝜀𝑙 ) tion line (see Fig. 3(c)).[16] From Figs. 3(d)–3(f), the
𝐹𝑑 = 2𝜋𝑅3 ∇(∇𝑉𝑃 )2 . (18)
(𝜀𝑔 + 2𝜀𝑙 ) bubble motion along the stagnation line is very slow
(duration is ∼230 ms), which means that bubbles may
Substituting Eqs. (2)–(4) and (18) into Eq. (1), the
assemble and form a bubble bridge along the electrode
motion function of the bubble in the electric field of
gap.
cylinder-to-plane electrode system can be rewritten as
The relationship between velocity components
4 3 1 (𝑑𝑥/𝑑𝑡, 𝑑𝑦/𝑑𝑡), 𝑡 with the coordinate 𝑦 is shown in
𝜋𝑅 (𝜌𝑔 + 𝜌𝑙 )𝑣˙ = 6𝜋𝜇𝑅𝑣 Fig. 4. When 𝑡 ∼ = 3 ms, the 𝑥 component of veloc-
3 2
𝜀𝑙 (𝜀𝑔 − 𝜀𝑙 ) ity reaches its maximum (∼750 mm/s) and then the
+ 2𝜋𝑅3 ∇((∇𝑉𝑃 )2 ) bubble slows down smoothly under the resultant force
(𝜀𝑔 + 2𝜀𝑙 )
effect. When 𝑡 = 20 ms, the bubble reaches the stag-
4
+ 𝜋𝑅3 (𝜌𝑙 − 𝜌𝑔 )𝑔. (19) nation line and the velocity approximates to zero, and
3
then bubble moves to the plane electrode along this
On the basis of the motion equation, the trajectory line. The whole process lasts ∼230 ms, which illus-
and effects of bubble radius and release position on trates that the bubble-bridge could be formed between
the bubble motion are solved by using finite-element electrodes with a higher probability.
software (Comsol Multiphysics 3.5a). The main input The relationship between the electrode voltage 𝑈
parameters are listed in Table 1. with characteristics time (𝑡1 and 𝑡2 ) is shown in Fig. 5.
037701-3
 CHIN. PHYS. LETT. Vol. 30, No. 3 (2013) 037701

Here 𝑡1 refers to the duration of a bubble reach-
ing the stagnation line from the release position (see
Fig. 3(a)); 𝑡2 indicates the time interval of the bub-
ble moving along the stagnation line. According to
Fig. 5, 𝑡2 is proportional to the electrode voltage 𝑈
while 𝑡1 increases relatively smaller. This means that
the forming probability of the bubble bridge is pro-
portional the electrode voltage 𝑈 , which is used to
generate the non-uniform electric field.
From Eq. (20), it is obvious that the bubble motion
has a relationship with bubble radius 𝑅. In addition,
according to the ordinary law of solving the second-
order partial differential bubble motion equation, the
release position and original velocity of bubble are def-
inite conditions. Thus, the bubble radius and release
position have a certain influence on the bubble motion
trajectory.
(a) (b) (c)

0.6
39

36
B1 B1 B1
0.5
B2
33
B2
B2
(ms)

30 0.4

(s)
2
(e) (f)
1

27
(d)
B1 B1
0.3 B1
24

21
0.2
2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13
B2
B2 B2
5
(10 V)

Fig. 5. Characteristic time (𝑡1 and 𝑡2 ) versus the elec-

trode voltage 𝑈 .
Fig. 7. Original position of bubbles effect on trajectory
(a) (b) (𝑈 = 0.1 MV, 𝑑 = 35 mm, 𝑅 = 1 mm, B1 : 𝑥 = 2.9 mm,
Original 𝑦 = −1.4 mm, B2 : 𝑥 = 1.2 mm, 𝑦 = −0.3 mm): (a)
position 𝑡 = 0 ms; (b) 𝑡 = 5 ms; (c) 𝑡 = 20 ms; (d) 𝑡 = 150 ms;
(e) 𝑡 = 200 ms; (f) 𝑡 = 250 ms.

(c) (d)

(e) (f)

Fig. 8. Preliminary simulation of the bubble bridge.

Figure 6 shows the motion trajectory of radius-

various bubbles with the same release position. From
Fig. 6. The effect of bubble radius on bubble motion Fig. 6(a) to Fig. 6(e), bubbles move toward to the stag-
(𝑈 =0.1 MV, 𝑑 = 35 mm, 𝑅𝑏 = 1.5 mm, 𝑅𝑠 = 0.8 mm): (a) nation line, and then the motion direction is different
𝑡 = 0 ms; (b) 𝑡 = 5 ms; (c)𝑡 = 20 ms; (d) 𝑡 = 150 ms; (e)
from each other under the resultant force effect. Ac-
𝑡 = 200 ms; (f) 𝑡 = 250 ms.
cording to the Fig. 6(f), the big bubble moves out of
To the best of our knowledge, the emergence of the electrode gap region. That means bubbles with
bubbles is inevitable during the assembly and opera- a particular radius are more easy to stay longer and
tion of pulsed-power systems. In practical transformer form a bubble-bridge along the electrode gap.
oil, radius-various bubbles may emerge in different po- The effect of the original release position of bub-
sitions of the electrode system for many reasons.[6] Di- bles with the same radius is shown in Fig. 7. From
viding 2𝜋𝑅3 in two sides of Eq. (19) yields Figs. 7(a)–7(c), the dielectrophoretic force reverses
with the buoyancy, and bubbles stay in the electrode
2 1 𝜀𝑙 (𝜀𝑔 − 𝜀𝑙 ) gap. From Figs. 7(d)–7(f), the bubble 𝐵1 moves out
(𝜌𝑔 + 𝜌𝑙 )𝑣˙ = ∇(∇𝑉𝑃 )2 of the region of electrode gap while the bubble 𝐵2
3 2 (𝜀𝑔 + 2𝜀𝑙 )
moves toward the plane electrode with a very small
3𝜇 2 velocity. This result means that bubbles with various
+ 2 𝑣 + (𝜌𝑙 − 𝜌𝑔 )𝑔.
𝑅 3 release positions have different interactions with the
(20)
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 CHIN. PHYS. LETT. Vol. 30, No. 3 (2013) 037701
resultant force.
From the above discussion, bubbles have a very
long residence time between the electrode gap under
the resultant force. Thus, bubbles could form a bridge
along the motion trajectory with a high possibility.
Figure 8 is the preliminary simulation result of the
bubble bridge.
According to the bubble discharge model of liq-
uid breakdown, bubbles may form a bridge between
electrodes and finally lead to liquid breakdown, which
successfully interprets the impact of pressure and con-
ductivity to the liquid electric breakdown threshold.
In this study, the equation of bubble motion under
the cylinder-to-plane electrode system is derived by
using the principle of virtual work and the method of
electrostatic images. On the basis of this equation,
the visualized motion graphics have been simulated
by using finite-element software (Comsol Multiphysics
3.5a). As a result, bubbles move toward to the lower
electric field region (the plane electrode in this study)
under the resultant force effect. This is consistent
with previous works.[4,16] The residence time is about
hundreds of milliseconds, which is proportional to the
voltage of the electrode system. The long residence
time means that a bubble bridge can be formed along
the stagnation line with a high probability. Moreover,
effects of original release position and bubble radius
play an important role in bubble motion. Bubbles
with a particular radius or release position can stay
longer and easily form a bubble bridge between the
electrode gap. As a conclusion, the results of this re-
search could be helpful in designing pulsed power sys-
tems with the goal of compact size, high pulse repeti-
tive rate, and long pulse duration.
Many references[13,17] mentioned that bubbles may
transform their shapes under the effect of an electric
field. In the present study, in order to simplify the
calculation and to gain a regularity understanding of
037701-5
the bubble motion, bubbles are assumed to keep their
shapes during the motion. In the future work, a more
complex and realistic model will be built. Moreover,
the bubble motion in typical pulsed power systems,
such as high voltage transformers and transmission
lines with liquid dielectric material, will also be stud-
ied in the future.
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