A GUIDE TO TRANSFORMER OIL ANALYSIS

INTRODUCTION

The fault free operation of power transformers is a factor of major economic importance and
safety in power supply utilities and industrial consumers of electricity.
In the current economic climate, Industries/Supply Utilities tighten their control on capital
spending and make cutbacks in maintenance, an increased awareness is placed on the reliability of
the existing electric power supply. Down time is at a premium. Often, the loading is increase on
present units, as this will defer purchasing additional plant capacity. Thus the stress on the
transformer increases. The net total effect of the thermal, electrical and mechanical stress brought
on by increased service needs to be monitored to ensure reliability

Regular sampling and testing of insulation oil taken from transformers is a valuable
technique in a preventative maintenance program. If a proactive approach is adopted based on the
condition of the transformer oil, the life of the transformer can be extended.

Transformer Oil Properties

Some specific properties of insulating oil should be considered to determine the serviceability of the oil.

The properties (or parameters) of transformer oil are:

Electrical properties: Dielectric strength, specific resistance, dielectric dissipation factor.
Chemical properties: Water content, acidity, sludge content.
Physical properties: Interfacial tension, viscosity, flash point, pour point.

Why is Transformer Oil Testing Important?

 Transformer oil testing is important to:
 Determine essential electrical properties of transformer oil
 Identify if a certain oil is suitable for future use
 Detect whether regeneration or filtration is needed
 Reduce oil costs and enhance component life
 Prevent untimely failures and maximize safety

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Some important transformer oil tests and their significance

DIELECTRIC STRENGTH / BREAKDOWN VOLTAGE TEST

The dielectric strength of an insulating oil is a measure of the oils ability to withstand
electrical stress without failure. The test involves applying a ac voltage at a controlled rate to two
electrodes immersed in the insulating fluid. The gap is a specified distance. When the current arcs
across this gap the voltage recorded at that instant is the dielectric strength breakdown strength of
the insulating liquid.
Contaminants such as water, sediment and conducting particles reduce the dielectric strength of an
insulating oil. Combination of these tend to reduce the dielectric strength to a greater degree.
Clean dry oil has an inherently high dielectric strength but this does not necessarily indicate the
absence of all contaminates, it may merely indicate that the amount of contaminants present
between the electrodes is not large enough to affect the average breakdown voltage of the liquid.

Authorities now agree that careless sampling and testing technique has been the source of 99 percent of “bad
“dielectric readings

SPECIFIC RESISTANCE / RESITIVITY TEST

This is another important property of transformer oil. The specific resistance of oil is a
measure of DC resistance between Two opposite sides of one cm block of oil. Its unit is ohm-cm at
a specific temperature. With increase in temperature the resistivity of oil decreases rapidly.
Just after charging a transformer after long shut down, the temperature of the oil will be at
ambient temperature and during full load, the temperature will be very high and may go up to 90
°C at an overload condition. So resistivity of the insulating oil must be high at room temperature
and also it should have good value at high temperature as well.
That is why specific resistance or resistivity of transformer oil should get measured at 27°C as
well as 90°C. Minimum standard specific resistance of transformer oil at 90°C is 35 × 10 ohm–cm
and at 27°C it is 1500 × 10 ohm–cm.
DISSIPATION FACTOR / TAN DELTA TEST

The Dissipation test measures the leakage current through an oil, which is the measure of the
contamination or deterioration i.e. Reveals the presence of moisture resin, varnishes or other
products of oxidation oil or of foreign contaminants such as motor oil or fuel oil. The test is not
specific in what it detects i.e. is more a screening test
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WATER CONTENT TEST

Water, in minute quantities, is harmful in power equipment because it is attracted to the

places of greatest electrical stress and this is where it is the most dangerous. Water accelerates the
deterioration of both the insulating oil and the paper insulation, liberating more water in the
process (heat catalysed).
This is a never ending circle and once the paper insulation has been degraded (loss of
mechanical strength) it can never (unlike the oil) be returned to its original condition.

Origins of Water
Water can originate from two sources.
Atmospheric
Via the silica gel breather (dry silica gel is always blue).
Via leaks into the power equipment, i.e. bad casketing, cracked insulation, a loose manhole cover, a
ruptured explosion diaphragm etc. (if oil can get out, water can get in).
Internal Sources
Paper degradation produces water.
Oil degradation produces water.
Wet insulation contaminates the oil, (temperature dependent)

ACIDITY OR NEUTRALISATION NUMBER TEST

Acids in the oil originate from oil decomposition/oxidation products. Acids can also come
from external sources such as atmospheric contamination. These organic acids are detrimental to
the insulation system and can induce corrosion inside the transformer when water is present. An
increase in the acidity is an indication of the rate of deterioration of the oil with SLUDGE as the
inevitable by-product of an acid situation which is neglected.
The acidity of oil in a transformer should never be allowed to exceed 0.15mg KOH/g oil. This
is the CRITICAL ACID NUMBER and deterioration increases rapidly once this level is exceeding.

INTERFACIAL TENSION(IFT) TEST

The Interfacial Tension (IFT) measures the tension at the interface between two liquids (oil
and water) which do not mix and is expressed in dyne/cm. The test is sensitive to the presence of oil
decay products and soluble polar contaminants from solid insulating materials. Good oil will have
an interfacial tension of between 40 and 50 dynes/cm. Oil oxidation products lower the interfacial
tension and have an
affinity for both water (hydrophilic) and oil. This affinity for both substances lowers the IFT. The
greater the concentration of contaminants, the lower the IFT, with a badly deteriorated oil having an
IFT of 18 dynes/cm or less.
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FLASH POINT TESTS

Flash point of transformer oil is the temperature at which oil gives enough vapours to produce a
flammable mixture with air. This mixture gives momentary flash on the application of flame under
standard condition. Flashpoint is important because it specifies the chances of fire hazard in the
transformer. So it is desirable to have a very high flash point of transformer oil. In general, it is more
than 140 °C

POUR POINT OF TEST

It is the minimum temperature at which oil starts to flow under standard test condition. Pour point
of transformer oil is a valuable property mainly at the places where the climate is icy. If the oil
temperature falls below the pour point, transformer oil stops convection flowing and obstruct
cooling in a transformer. Paraffin-based oil has a higher of pour point, compared to Naphtha based
oil, but in India like country, it does not affect the use of Paraffin oil due to its warm climate
condition. Pour Point of transformer oil mainly depends upon wax content in the oil. As Paraffin-
based oil has more wax content, it has higher pour point.

VISCOSITY OF TEST
In few words, the viscosity of transformer oil can be said that viscosity is the resistance of flow, in
normal condition. Resistance to flow of transformer oil means obstruction of convection circulation
of oil inside the transformer. Good oil should have a low viscosity so that it offers less resistance to
the conventional flow of oil thereby not affecting the cooling of a transformer. Low viscosity of
transformer oil
is essential, but it is equally important that the viscosity of oil should increase as less as possible with
a decrease in temperature. Every liquid becomes more viscous if the temperature decreases.
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DISSOLVED GAS ANALISIS TEST

Transformers are vital components in both the transmission and distribution of electrical power. The
early detection of incipient faults in transformers is extremely cost effective by reducing unplanned
outages. The most sensitive and reliable technique used for evaluating the health of oil filled
electrical equipment is dissolved gas analysis (DGA).
Insulating oils under abnormal electrical or thermal stresses break down to liberate small quantities
of gases. The qualitative
composition of the breakdown gases is dependent upon the type of fault. By means of dissolved
gas analysis (DGA), it is possible to distinguish faults such as partial discharge (corona), overheating
(pyrolysis) and arcing in a great variety of oil-filled equipment.
Information from the analysis of gasses dissolved in insulating oils is valuable in a preventative
maintenance program. A number of samples must be taken over a period of time for developing
trends. Data from DGA can provide
Advance warning of developing faults.
A means for conveniently scheduling repairs.
Monitor the rate of fault development

NOTE: A sudden large release of gas will not dissolve in the oil and this will cause the Bocholt relay to activate.

ORIGIN OF GASES IN TRANSFORMER OIL

Fault gases are caused by corona (partial discharge), thermal heating (pyrolysis) and arcing.
PARTIAL DISCHARGE is a fault of low level energy which usually occurs in gas-filled voids surrounded by oil
impregnated material. The main cause of decomposition in partial discharges is ionic bombardment of the oil
molecules.
The major gas produced is Hydrogen. The minor gas produced is Methane.
THERMAL FAULTS
A small amount of decomposition occurs at normal operating temperatures. As the fault temperature rises, the
formation of the
degradation gases change from Methane (CH4) to Ethane (C2H6) to Ethylene (C2H4).
A thermal fault at low temperature (<300deg/C) produces mainly Methane and Ethane and some Ethylene.
A thermal fault at higher temperatures (>300deg/C) produces Ethylene. The higher the temperature becomes the
greater the production of Ethylene.
ARCING is a fault caused by high energy discharge.
The major gas produced during arcing is acetylene. Power arcing can cause temperatures of over 3000deg/C to
be developed.
NOTE : If the cellulose material (insulating paper etc.) is involved , carbon monoxide and carbon dioxide are
generated.
A normally aging conservator type transformer having a CO2/CO ratio above 11 or below 3 should be regarded as
perhaps indicating a
fault involving cellulose, provided the other gas analysis results also indicate excessive oil degradation.