F E A T U R E A R T I C L E

Recent Progress in Nanofluids Based

on Transformer Oil: Preparation
and Electrical Insulation Properties
Key words: transformer oil, nanofluid, synthesis method, breakdown strength, insulating properties,
modification mechanism

Introduction Y. Z. Lv
Given the adoption of ultrahigh-voltage ac and dc power
transmission, it is desirable to develop a new kind of oil-paper
Beijing Key Laboratory of High Voltage
insulation system, with higher dielectric strength and smaller and EMC, School of Electric
volume compared with conventional insulation systems, in order and Electronic Engineering,
to reduce the volume and mass of high-voltage power transform- North China Electric Power University,
ers and improve their long-term operational reliability [1], [2].
Methods of improving the dielectric properties of the oil-paper Beijing, China
insulation have therefore been widely investigated [3], [4]. The and School of Energy, Power
most influential factors affecting the performance of oil-paper and Mechanical Engineering,
insulation systems are the low dielectric strength of transformer
oil and its degradation caused by water and other contaminants North China Electric Power University,
[5]. The dielectric strength of oil-paper insulation may be in- Beijing, China
creased by filtering the oil in order to remove water and other
contaminants [6]. However, further increase in the dielectric Y. Zhou, C. R. Li, Q. Wang, and B. Qi
strength of the oil is required in order to achieve reduction of Beijing Key Laboratory of High Voltage
transformer volume and mass. and EMC, School of Electric
Recently, transformer-oil-based nanofluids have been devel-
oped by dispersing nanoparticles in the oil. It has been demon- and Electronic Engineering,
strated that some of these nanofluids have much greater dielec- North China Electric Power University,
tric breakdown strengths or thermal conductivities than the host Beijing, China
transformer oil [7]–[25]. Several review articles have been pub-
lished recently, but most of them focus on the thermo-physical and State Key Laboratory of Alternate
properties of water- or oil-based nanofluids [26]–[28]. It would Electrical Power Systems
seem that no review dealing specifically with transformer-oil- with Renewable Energy Sources,
based nanofluid has been published to date. This article presents
such a review.
North China Electric Power University,
Beijing, China
Preparation of Nanofluids
Nanoparticle Selection Recent progress on the preparation
Several different nanoparticle additives have been investigat- of nanofluids based on transformer
ed with the aim of improving the dielectric properties of liquid
insulating materials [7]–[25]. These additives may be divided oil is reviewed, and their electrical
into three groups, namely conducting nanoparticles (Fe3O4, insulation properties are discussed.
Fe2O3, ZnO, SiC), semiconducting nanoparticles (TiO2, CuO,

September/October — Vol. 30, No. 5 0883-7554/12/$31/©2014/IEEE 23

 Table 1. Transformer-Oil-Based Nanofluids Systems Reported in Literature.

Percentage increase
Average Nanoparticle in breakdown
Nanoparticle/ Synthesis nanoparticle loading strength relative
oil system method size (nm) (vol%) to host oil Ref

Fe3O4/MO Two-step 10 Not specified 42.8% ac [7]

82.5% positive impulse

Fe3O4/MO Two-step 8.6 0.25 21.4% dc [9]

Fe2O3/MO Two-step 7.4 0.016 12.8% ac [10]

Fe3O4/VO Two-step 30 Not specified 19.8% ac [11]

37.3% positive impulse

ZnO/MO Two-step 34 0.0005 8.3% ac [12]

SiC/MO Two-step 80 0.005 Breakdown strength reduction [13]

TiO2/MO Two-step 20 0.075 19% ac [14]

24% Positive impulse

TiO2/VO Two-step 20 0.00625 31% ac [15]

Al2O3/MO Two-step 80 0.1–1.0 Breakdown strength reduction [11]

SiO2/MO Two-step 15 0.0074 17% ac [16]

MO = mineral oil; VO = vegetable oil.

Cu2O) and insulating nanoparticles (Al2O3, SiO2, BN). The host
oils are mineral or vegetable oils. Some transformer-oil-based
nanofluids systems are listed in Table 1.
The mechanisms through which the nanoparticles increase
the breakdown strength of the oil are still not fully understood.
Synthesis of Nanofluids
The methods of synthesis of transformer-oil-based nanofluids
can be classified as one-step or two-step methods. In the former
nanoparticles are prepared and dispersed in the host oil simul-
taneously, i.e., the processes of drying, storage, and transporta-
tion of the nanoparticles are avoided, so that agglomeration is
minimized and the stability of the nanoparticle dispersion in the
oil is improved [26]. Thus, in mineral oil-based silver nanofluids
prepared via a one-step chemical method by decomposing sil-
ver lactate in the oil, with silver nanoparticle concentrations of
0.011 and 0.3 vol%, the nanoparticles remained well dispersed
for about a month [29]. However, residues in the nanofluid re-
sulting from incomplete reaction or stabilization could limit the
applicability of one-step methods [28].
In the two-step methods, solid nanoparticles are prepared by
chemical or physical methods, and then dispersed in the host oil
using magnetic stirring, ultrasonic treatment, high-shear mixing,
or ball milling. These methods are more widely used than the
one-step methods because of their low cost, and the wide range
of nanoparticles with which they are compatible [7]–[14]. How-
ever, nanoparticle agglomeration may occur during both stages
of the two-step methods because of the large surface area and the
high surface activity of the nanoparticles.
Surfactants and dispersants [28], [30], [31] can be used to im-
prove the nanoparticle dispersion stability in the oil. It has been
reported that iron oxide nanoparticles surface-functionalized us-
ing an oleic acid surfactant showed good long-term dispersion
stability in transformer oil at room temperature over a period
of 24 months [31]. However, the preparation of nanofluids for
use in industrial transformers, with good long-term dispersion
stability under electrical, thermal, and magnetic stresses remains
challenging.
Electrical Properties of Nanofluids
Transformer-oil-based nanofluids incorporating Fe3O4
conducting nanoparticles have considerably greater dielec-
tric strengths than the base oil [7], [32]–[34]. However, Fe3O4
nanoparticle agglomeration in the presence of an external mag-
netic field causes problems [9]. Researchers have therefore in-
vestigated semiconducting and insulating nanoparticles in an at-
tempt to avoid aggregation [13], [14], [35]–[37]. The ac, dc, and
impulse breakdown strengths and partial discharge behavior of
these nanofluids have been studied [7]–[9], [13]–[15], [32]–[37],
[41]–[45]. The thermal aging characteristics of some nanofluids
have also been investigated [20], [46].
AC Breakdown Strength
Segal et al. [7] found that the increase of ac breakdown
strength, in mineral oil-based nanofluids incorporating conduct-
ing Fe3O4 nanoparticles, increased with increasing water con-
tent of the oil, as shown in Figure 1. This finding was not fully
explained, but the authors suggested that some of the dissolved
water might be bound to the nanoparticle surfaces. More spe-
cifically, some multimolecular water clusters might be broken
up into single water molecules, which might then be attached
to some of the nanoparticle surfaces. Because multimolecular

24 IEEE Electrical Insulation Magazine


Figure 1. AC breakdown voltages for mineral oils and corre-
sponding nanofluids incorporating Fe3O4 nanoparticles, as
functions of the water content of the oil [7].
water clusters reduce the breakdown strength of oil more than
single water molecules [38], the breakdown strength of the oil
might be significantly increased as a result of the addition of the
nanoparticles.
Du et al. [39] measured the ac breakdown voltages of mineral
oil and corresponding nanofluids incorporating TiO2 nanoparti-
cles (0.075 vol%) at relative humidities in the range 10% to 80%.
The results are shown in Figure 2. Once again incorporation of
the nanoparticles caused an increase in ac breakdown strength
at high relative humidities, although the increase is not a simple
function of the humidity. It was found that TiO2 nanoparticles
can reduce distortion of the electric field caused by water, result-
ing in improved nanofluid breakdown strengths.
Figure 2. AC breakdown voltages for mineral oils and cor-
responding nanofluids incorporating semiconducting TiO2
nanoparticles, as functions of relative humidity. The nanopar-
ticle content was 0.075 vol% [39].
September/October — Vol. 30, No. 5 25
Figure 3. Influence of two TiO2 nanoparticle surface modifica-
tion agents on the ac breakdown voltage of mineral oil-based
TiO2 nanofluids, as functions of the TiO2 concentration. The
standard deviation of the breakdown voltages was 10% [41].
Lv et al. [40] compared the effects of TiO2 semiconduc-
tive nanoparticles with the effects of SiO2 and Al2O3 insulating
nanoparticles of similar shape and size, on the ac breakdown
strength of mineral oil. They found that the ac breakdown volt-
age of the TiO2 nanofluid was up to 13% higher than that of the
mineral oil. However, the addition of SiO2 or Al2O3 insulating
nanoparticles reduced the breakdown strength of the oil, as
might be expected from the dielectric properties of mineral-oil-
based SiO2 and Al2O3 nanofluids measured in nondestructive
breakdown tests [13].
Surface-modified TiO2 nanoparticles can significantly in-
crease or decrease the ac breakdown strength of mineral oil-
based nanofluids, depending on the choice of surface modifying
agent, as shown in Figure 3 [41].
Fe3O4 and TiO2 nanoparticles can also increase the ac break-
down strength of vegetable oil, a fire-resistant and environmen-
tally friendly substitute for mineral oil [15], [42].
DC Breakdown Strength
The dc dielectric strength of mineral oil can be increased by
adding nanoparticles [9], [32], [35], [43]. The effect of the addi-
tion of Fe3O4 nanoparticles at 0.2 to 2.0 vol% to the breakdown
voltage of mineral oil is shown in Figure 4 as a function of elec-
trode distance [32].
It should be noted that the dc breakdown voltage was affect-
ed by the presence of a 20-mT external magnetic field at two
of the measured nanoparticle concentrations. The authors sug-
gested that this is due to the formation of micrometer-sized ag-
glomerated Fe3O4 particles, as a result of magnetic dipole-dipole
interaction between individual nanoparticles under the external
magnetic field [32], [44].
Du et al. [43] found that the negative dc breakdown strength
of mineral oil containing TiO2 nanoparticles at a concentration
of 0.075 vol% was 1.27 times that of the base oil. However, no
increase in the positive dc breakdown voltage was observed.

Figure 4. DC breakdown voltage versus electrode distance for
mineral oil and oil-based nanofluids containing Fe3O4 nanopar-
ticles at various concentrations. The experimental uncertainty
in the breakdown voltage was ±10% [32]. Some of the samples
were subjected to a 20 mT external magnetic field.
Impulse Breakdown Strength
Significant increases in positive impulse breakdown strength
have been reported in mineral-oil- and vegetable-oil-based
nanofluids [7], [8], [14], [15], [37] [42], [43]. Segal et al. [7]
measured positive and negative impulse breakdown voltages and
time-to-breakdown in mineral oil and the corresponding Fe3O4
nanofluids, using needle/sphere geometry at gap distances of
25.4 and 55 mm (Table 2). Incorporation of the nanoparticles in-
creased the positive impulse breakdown strength of mineral oil.
The authors suggested that the high impulse breakdown strength
of Fe3O4 nanofluids is due more to their intrinsic dielectric sta-
bility than to localized effects on the needle electrode. This sug-
gestion is consistent with the reduction of streamer propagation
velocity in Fe3O4 nanofluids [7].
Table 2. Positive and Negative Impulse Breakdown Voltages and Time-to-Breakdown for Mineral Oils and Corre-
sponding Nanofluids Containing Fe3O4 Nanoparticles [7].
Gap distance
Oils (mm)
U-60 a
25.4
Nytrob 25.4
U-60 nanofluid 25.4
Nytro- nanofluid 25.4
U-60 55
U-60 nanofluid 55
a
Univolt 60 Exxon mineral oil.
b
Nytro 10X mineral oil. The standard deviation was 5% for the breakdown voltages, and 20% for the breakdown times.
26 IEEE Electrical Insulation Magazine
Du et al. [14] found that the positive impulse breakdown
strength of mineral oil was greatly increased by introducing
semiconducting TiO2 nanoparticles (0.075 vol%), and the aver-
age streamer propagation velocity was reduced by 34.8% (Table
3).
Partial Discharge Characteristics
The partial discharge (PD) characteristics of mineral oil are
influenced by the addition of TiO2 nanoparticles [43]. More spe-
cifically, the PD inception voltage (PDIV) is increased and the
PD magnitudes and impulse numbers are reduced, as shown in
Table 4. Although the underlying mechanisms have not been
elucidated, the authors suggest that the changes are probably due
to the uniform internal electric field distribution in the nanofluid
associated with a high density of additional shallow electron
traps created by the TiO2 nanoparticles, and hopping transport of
electrons between these traps [14], [43].
Herchl et al. [45] studied the effect of the addition of Fe3O4
nanoparticles on PD current impulse magnitude in mineral oil,
using parallel plate electrodes at gap distances in the range 0.05
to 0.5 mm. They found that the magnitudes in the nanofluids
first decreased with increasing nanoparticle loading and then in-
creased, at all investigated gap distances. The minimum magni-
tude was observed at a nanoparticle loading of 0.24 vol%.
Thermal Aging
Segal et al. [20] studied thermal aging of mineral-oil-based
Fe3O4 nanofluids and the base oil at 185°C. AC and impulse
breakdown voltage measurements showed that the addition of
Fe3O4 nanoparticles increased the resistance of the oil to thermal
aging (Table 5). The aged Fe3O4 nanofluids fully retained their
increased breakdown voltages for 12 weeks.
Lv et al. [46] investigated the effect of TiO2 nanoparticles on
the insulating properties of aged mineral oil. The oil was aged
at 130°C for 36 days, at which time its acid value exceeded the
Chinese National Standard (GBT 7595-2008) limit for operat-
ing transformer oil (0.1 mg of KOH/g). TiO2 nanoparticles with
a volume concentration of 0.075% were then dispersed into
Time to breakdown
Breakdown voltage (kV) (μs)
Negative Positive   Negative Positive
170 86   27 12
177 88   23 16
154 157   15 26
173 156   17 25
340 225   28 25
321 390   32 46
 Table 3. Positive Impulse Breakdown Voltages and Time-to-Breakdown for Mineral Oil and the Corresponding Nano-
fluid Containing TiO2 Nanoparticles [14].

Positive
impulse
breakdown Std. deviation Time to Std. deviation
Sample voltage (kV) (kV) breakdown (μs) (μs)

Mineral oil 77.6 5.9 15.2 1.16

Nanofluid 95.9 8.6 23.3 0.34

the aged oil. It was found that, compared to the aged base oil,
the mean ac and positive impulse breakdown voltages of the
nanoparticle-modified aged oil were increased by factors of 2.21
and 1.33, respectively (Table 6). The authors suggested that TiO2
nanoparticles greatly reduce the distortion of the electric field in
the modified aged oil by creating shallow traps in which elec-
trons are continuously trapped and de-trapped, thereby increas-
ing the dielectric strength of the aged oil.
larization of nanoparticle grains induced by adsorbed water also
influences the dielectric behaviour of nanofluids [47].
A model based on nanoparticle polarization, including in-
ternal and orientational polarization of charged nanoparticles,
has been proposed to explain the higher relative permittivity
of oil-based nanofluids [48]. The authors suggest that internal
polarization of the ZnO nanoparticles is the main cause of the
increase.

Basic Dielectric Properties of Nanofluids Interaction of Nanofluids With Cellulose

Sartoratto et al. [10] measured some of the dielectric proper-
ties of mineral-oil- based nanofluids containing Fe3O4 nanopar-
ticles, as listed in Table 7. The relative permittivity of the nano-
fluids was the same as that of the mineral oil in the nanoparticle
loading range 0 to 0.016 vol%. However the resistance of the
nanofluids decreased with increasing nanoparticle concentra-
tion. (The significance of the + and − in the resistance columns
is not specified in [10], but they probably indicate the polarity
of the applied dc test voltage). The loss factor increased slowly
with increasing nanoparticle loading up to a loading of 0.016%,
but then increased dramatically when the loading was increased
to 0.8%. The relative permittivity and loss factor of the nano-
fluids could be increased or decreased by applying an external
magnetic field, when the magnetic field was oriented parallel or
perpendicular respectively to the applied electric field [45].
Mergos et al. [47] compared the effects of Al2O3, TiO2, Fe2O3,
CuO, and Cu2O nanoparticles on the dielectric properties of in-
sulating paraffin oil. They found that the dielectric properties of
the nanofluids depended mainly on the nanoparticle grain size
and the chemical composition of the nanoparticles. Surface po-
Segal et al. [8] investigated the interaction of Fe3O4 nanopar-
ticles with the cellulose fibers in nanofluid-impregnated press-
boards. Comparing the magnetization intensity of the pressboard
before and after washing with clean mineral oil, they concluded
that the nanoparticles move freely in and out the pressboard,
since there was no essential bonding between the nanoparticles
and the cellulose. “Essential bonding,” the term used in [8], may
mean hydrogen bonding.
Zhou et al. [17] studied the dispersion of TiO2 nanoparticles
in nanofluid-impregnated pressboard. They dried the nanofluid-
impregnated pressboard and mineral oil-impregnated pressboard
at 40°C for 24 hours. Cross-sectional views of these dried press-
boards were then compared and they found that the nanopar-
ticles were mainly dispersed inside the dried pressboard. TiO2
nanofluid-impregnated pressboard has substantially higher ac
and dc breakdown voltages than mineral oil-impregnated press-
board, as shown in Table 8. The authors suggested that such in-
creases in breakdown voltage are due to a more uniform internal
electric field distribution in the nanofluid-impregnated press-
board, arising from higher space charge dissipation rates than

Table 4. Partial Discharge Inception Voltages (PDIV), Partial Discharge Magnitudes, and Impulse Numbers Measured
at 1.0 and 2.0 PDIV During 10 Minute Measurement Intervals, for Mineral Oil and the Corresponding Nanofluid Con-
taining TiO2 Nanoparticles [43].

Measurements at
Measurements at 1.0 PDIV 2.0 PDIV

Mean discharge Mean discharge

PDIV Std. Pulse magnitude Pulse magnitude
Sample (kV) deviation (kV) number (pC)   number (pC)

Base oil 30.6 2.7 9 435   245 6062

Nanofluid 33.1 1.8 6 245   168 5180

September/October — Vol. 30, No. 5 27

 Table 5. AC and Impulse Breakdown Voltages for Mineral Oil and the
Corresponding Nanofluid Incorporating Fe3O4 Nanoparticles, after Aging at
185°C for 12 Weeks [20].
Impulse breakdown voltage
AC breakdown (kV)
voltage
Sample (kV) Positive Negative
Aged nanofluid 43.1 127 119
Aged mineral oil 32.0 81 129
The standard deviation in ac and impulse breakdown voltages was 10%.
in the mineral oil-impregnated pressboard. (The space charge
includes ions absorbed by fibers or impurities in the pressboard).
The effects of TiO2 nanoparticles on the dielectric frequency
response of oil-paper composite insulation with moisture con-
tents in the range 0.5 to 4.0 wt% have been studied in the tem-
perature range 10°C to 70°C [22]. In the presence of the nanopar-
ticles the real and imaginary parts of the complex permittivity of
the composite insulation increased at low frequency because of a
new relaxation process introduced by the nanoparticles.
Mechanisms of Dielectric Modification
by Nanoparticles
The classical theory of liquid dielectric breakdown cannot
explain the superior insulating properties of transformer-oil-
based nanofluids. New mechanisms through which nanopar-
ticles might modify the properties of insulators have therefore
been proposed.
Hwang et al. [49] proposed a model to explain the signifi-
cant improvement in the dielectric strength of mineral oil when
Fe3O4 nanoparticles are homogeneously dispersed within it.
They suggested that electron trapping by the nanoparticles is
the cause of the observed decrease in positive streamer velocity
in the nanofluid. Fast electrons formed by field ionization are
trapped by the nanoparticles, which then become slow-moving
negative charge carriers. To help explain how the fundamental
electrodynamic processes are affected by the nanoparticles, the
concept of charge relaxation time was introduced. The charge
Table 6. The Effect of TiO2 Nanoparticles on the Breakdown Strength of Mineral Oil Aged at 130°C for 36 Days [46].
Parameter
Minimum ac breakdown voltage (kV)
Mean ac breakdown voltage (kV)
Std. deviation (kV)
Minimum positive impulse breakdown voltage (kV)
Mean positive impulse breakdown voltage (kV)
Std. deviation (kV)
28 IEEE Electrical Insulation Magazine
relaxation time constant τr of the mineral oil/nanoparticle system
is given by
τ r = (2ε1 + ε2 )/(2σ1 + σ2 ) (1)
where ε1 and σ1 are respectively the permittivity and dc con-
ductivity of the mineral oil, and ε2 and σ2 are the corresponding
quantities for the nanoparticles. If the relaxation time constant
of the nanoparticles is shorter than a few microseconds, which is
the time scale involved in streamer development in transformer
oil, the polarized nanoparticles will capture fast electrons and
effectively reduce their mobility. Conversely, if the nanoparticle
relaxation time is much longer than the streamer development
time scale, the nanoparticles will have little effect on the high
electron mobility [49].
The relaxation time of Fe3O4 nanoparticles is 7.47 × 10−14 s,
very short in comparison with streamer growth timescales in
mineral oil. Thus as stated earlier, the Fe3O4 nanoparticles are
polarized rapidly when the electric field is applied, capturing
fast electrons and thereby being converted to slow-moving nega-
tive charge carriers (Figure 5). Because of the low mobility of
these charge carriers the development of a net space charge zone
at the streamer tip is hindered, and this suppresses the streamer
propagation in the oil and results in higher breakdown strength.
However, this model does not explain the decrease in break-
down strength of mineral oil-based SiC nanofluids relative to
the oil, even though the mineral oil/SiC nanoparticle system has
a relaxation time constant (1.1 × 10−12 s) much shorter than the
timescale of streamer development in mineral oil [13]. It also
cannot explain the increased breakdown strength of oil modified
by nanoparticles with relaxation time constants longer than the
timescale of streamer growth in mineral oil [18], [35].
Du et al. [14] proposed that the increase in the dielectric
strength of mineral oil following the addition of TiO2 nanopar-
ticles is due to increased trapping and de-trapping of electrons in
additional traps introduced by the nanoparticles. As shown in the
thermally stimulated current (TSC) plot in Figure 6, the height of
the peak for the TiO2 nanofluid is approximately 2.5 times that of
the host oil peak, suggesting that the density of traps in the TiO2
nanofluids is considerably higher than that in the host oil. (Note
however that, even though the nanofluid peak occurs about 30°C
TiO2 Nanoparticle
Aged modified
mineral oil aged oil
18.8 62.1
28.5 63.1
5.5 4.1
65.19 87.1
69.3 92.5
4.0 3.8
 Table 7. Some Dielectric Properties of Mineral Oil and Corresponding
Fe3O4 Nanofluids at Various Nanoparticle Loadings [10].

Resistance
Nanoparticle (× 1010 Ω)
loading Loss Relative
(vol%) − + factor permittivity

0 36.0 19.7 0.00366 2.1

0.004 2.5 11.3 0.1274 2.1

0.008 1.75 0.95 0.1868 2.1

0.016 0.73 0.63 0.399 2.1

0.800 0.0021 0.0028 2.389 8.8

below the oil peak, the trap depths estimated from assuming first
order kinetics are very similar, i.e., 0.416 and 0.418 eV for oil
and nanofluid, respectively). Increased trapping and de-trapping
would lower the average energy of electrons moving through
the oil, and so the probability of additional electron generation
through impact ionization would also be reduced. Consequently
distortion of the electric field in the oil by the electronic charge
in transit would be reduced, and the dielectric strength thereby
increased.
Applications and Limitations of Nanofluids
Potential Application of Nanofluids
Power transformers require oils with good electrical insula-
tion and cooling properties. A growing acknowledgment of the
performance gains offered by oils incorporating nanoparticles
Figure 6. Thermally stimulated current (TSC) curves for min-
eral oil and a mineral oil-based TiO2 nanofluid [14].
has spurred the use of nanofluids in transmission and distribu-
tion transformers.
Nanofluids containing Fe3O4 nanoparticles can considerably
lower the top-oil and hot-spot temperatures in transformers [50],
typically by approximately 5°C compared with mineral oil not
containing nanoparticles. Furthermore, the weight and volume
of a nanofluid-filled transformer can be reduced because of the
superior cooling capability of the nanofluids [51].
Transformer-oil-based nanofluids containing Fe3O4 or TiO2
nanoparticles have recently been shown to possess superior elec-
trical insulation properties, and increased resistance to thermal
aging and to deterioration caused by moisture [7], [8], [14], [46].

Limitations of Nanofluids
Although transformer-oil-based nanofluids are likely to be
used more widely in high-voltage transformers in the future,
problems which will limit their use remain.
A major problem is the long-term stability of the nanoparticle
dispersion in the host oil. The nanoparticles tend to agglomerate
into larger particles under attractive forces and external stress-
es [32], [44], leading to degradation of their design properties.
In recent years, great efforts have been made to improve the
nanoparticle dispersion stability, e.g., by using appropriate sur-
factants or dispersants [30], [31]. However, further improvement
is required.
Preliminary data indicate that the electrical conductivity, rel-
ative permittivity and loss factor of nanofluids differ from the
base oil [10], [45], [47]. These differences will affect the electri-
cal stress distribution within a transformer, and therefore have
implications for transformer structure. Standard oil maintenance
procedures, e.g., filtration, may adversely affect the performance
of nanofluids in transformers. The cost of transformer-oil-based
nanofluids is also of importance to utilities.

Conclusions
Figure 5. Polarization and surface charge distribution of a This paper reviews recent developments in transformer-oil-
Fe3O4 nanoparticle in mineral oil [49]. based nanofluids. Two proposed mechanisms by which nanopar-

September/October — Vol. 30, No. 5 29

 Table 8. AC and dc Breakdown Voltages of Mineral Oil-Impregnated Pressboard (OP) and TiO2 Nanofluid-Impregnated
Pressboard (NP) [17].
AC DC(+)
breakdown Std. breakdown
voltage deviation voltage
Sample (kV) (kV) (kV)
OP 22.4 1.67 118.2
NP 25.1 1.62 125.3
ticles might affect the properties of transformer oil, and the limi-
tations of the use of nanofluids in transformers, are discussed.
Acknowledgments
The authors acknowledge financial support for this work
from the National Natural Science Foundation of China under
Contract Number 51337003, and from the Chinese Ministry of
Education Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Univer-
sities. They are also grateful to Dr. Robert Fleming, Co-Editor-
in-Chief of this magazine, for his useful editorial suggestions.
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performances of transformer oil,” IEEE Trans. Dielectr. Electr. Insul., postdoctoral research fellow, and North China Electric Power
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oil,” Appl. Phys. Lett., vol. 102, no. 13, art. no. 132902, 2013. China. He received the B.S. and Ph.D.
[47] J. A. Mergos, M. D. Athanassopoulou, T. G. Argyropoulos, and C. T. degrees in electrical engineering from
Dervos, “Dielectric properties of nanopowder dispersions in paraffin oil,” Southampton University in 2008 and 2012
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nanofluids,” J. Appl. Phys., vol. 113, no. 20, art. no. 204103, 2013. postdoctoral research fellow. His research
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tam, and R. Liu, "Effects of nanoparticle charging on streamer develop- material and measuring techniques.
ment in transformer oil-based nanofluids,” J. Appl. Phys., vol. 107, no. 1,
art. no. 014310, 2010.

September/October — Vol. 30, No. 5 31

 Bo Qi was born in Shandong Province,
China. He received the B.S., M.S. and
Ph.D. degrees in high voltage and insula-
tion from North China Electric Power
University in 2003, 2006, and 2010, re-
spectively. Now he is an associate profes-
sor in the School of Electrical and Elec-
tronic Engineering, North China Electric
Power University. His research interests
are condition monitoring of power apparatus and new measure-
ment techniques.

32 IEEE Electrical Insulation Magazine