Transformer oil Tests

Mineral insulating oil

 Petroleum origin

Other type
 Oil with PCB content, Synthetic oil
USES
 Used in HV equipments like
Transformers, Reactors ,
CBs, Switchgear,Cables,Capacitors.
TRANSFORMER:
An equipment to Transform power from one circuit (primary) to another circuit
(secondary) normally with change in voltage and current but with no change in
frequency through mutual induction;

BASIC COMPONENTS IN A TRANSFORMER

 Core

 Winding

 Insulation
Life of transformer  Life of insulation
TRANSFORMER OIL
An essential part of oil filled Transformers (there
are other types of Transformers like dry type , SF6 etc)

OIL IN TRANSFORMER
 Acts as an insulant (paper is the other major
insulation and is termed the solid insulant).
 Acts as a coolant (heat from the core and

windings dissipates through oil)

 Preserves core and coil assembly

 Impregnates winding Insulation

 Replaces air cavities

 Improves PD behaviour
 NATURE AND CHARACTERISTICS
OF TRANSFORMER OIL
DEPENDS ON CRUDE NATURE (ORIGIN OF CRUDE )

DEPENDS ON REFINING PROCESS.

 Hydrocracking
 Hydrogenation
 Acid treatment
 Clay treatment.
MANUFACTURING PROCESS
Crude
Distillation
TOBS
Refining/Treatment
(acid, hydrotreatment, solvent extrn)
Clay treatment
Filtration
Transformer oil
 TRANSFORMER OIL TYPES

 PARAFFINIC TYPE

 NAPTHENIC TYPE

 MIXED TYPE
 NATURE AND COMPOSITION
OF OIL
CHAIN OF HYDRO CARBONS (CH)
84% carbons,14% hydrogen ,1-3 % sulphur,
1% N2,O2 metals &salts

MAIN CONSTITUENT TYPES

 Napthenic
 Paraffinic
 Aromatic
 PARAFFINIC TYPE

Derived From Crudes Having Substantial Contents of

Naturally Occurring N Paraffinic (Wax ) – require
Dewaxing

Chain Structure

Most Commonly Used in India

High Viscosity, Low Resistivity

 NAPTHENIC TYPE

Derived From Crudes Having very Low Naturally

Occurring N Paraffinic(wax)contents

Has Low Natural Pour Points,no Dewaxing

Requirement
Cyclic Structure and Hence Stronger
Bonding

Used Abroad &Now Also in India

Low Viscosity, High Quality, Costlier

 IDEAL TRANSFORMER OIL
 Low Density & Low Viscosity - Better Heat Transfer

 Low Pour Point- Avoid Solidification

 High Flash Point - Fire Resistance

 Low Dissipation Factor - Less power loss

 High BDV -High Voltage Application

 High Resistivity - Better Insulation Resistance

 STANDARDS
Important Indian Standards for Acceptance,
Limit Values and Interpretation

 IS 335/1993 for New Oil

 IS 1866/2000 for Oil in Service
 IS 10593 for DGA

There Are Other Standards for Testing Methods.

 OIL TESTS
PHYSICAL TESTS

 Appearance
 Density
 Viscosity
 Pour point
 Flash point
 Inter Facial Tension
CHEMICAL TESTS

 Acidity
 Oxidation stability
 Water content
 SK value
 Inhibitor content
 Corrosive sulphur
 Sludge
ELECTRICAL TESTS

 Electric Strength(BDV)

 Resistivity

 DDF
 SIGNIFICANCE AND MEANING OF
TESTS
APPEARANCE

Clear, Transparent : No suspended

matters and sediments

COLOUR OF OIL:
Clear pale yellow : Good
Bright yellow : O.K.
Amber,Brown: Start of deterioration/Sludge

Green :Dissolved Cu or metallic contaminants;

Investigate and Repalce oil

Bad smell oil : Investigate and replace oil

Applicable Standards: IS 335, 1866

DENSITY
 Mass per unit volume;

 Higher Density Means Higher Viscosity Which Will

Reduce Oil Flow and Hence Affects Heat Dissipation.
 Transformer Oil Density Max =0.89g/cm3

 Applicable Standards : IS 1448 ,335, 1866/2000

 VISCOSITY

 Resistance to Flow;
 High Viscosity Means Higher
Resistance to Flow.
 Hence Low Viscosity Oils to Be Preferred.
 More heat transfer;
 Value-27 cst
 Applicable Standards : IS 335, 1866
 POUR POINT

 Temperature at Which Oil Begins to

Solidify

Lowest temperature at which oil flows

Cold weather application
Value : -6°c
Applicable Standards : IS 1448 , 1866
 FLASH POINT
The minimum temperature at which oil when heated gives off enough
vapour to form a flammable mixture with air.

This test assumes significance after an arcing fault inside a

transformer.

If FP is low -- Fire risk

Flash point can reveal presence of volatile and flammable materials
in oil
APPARATUS :
Fully Automatic Flash Point Test Kit has Been Procured
Recently for the Chennai R&D Lab.

LIMITS:
New oil: 140 C (Min)
 Transformer New Before commissioning 140 C
(Min)
 In service 125C (Min) and should not to decrease by

more than 15 C from previous value.

Applicable Standards : IS 1448 ,335, 1866
 Prepare the brass cup of the FP kit for
filling the oil ; 75 ml of oil is taken;
 Prepare the kit with appropriate settings
 The flame is automatically dipped for
every 3 deg(settable value), starting
from 105 deg till the flash point occurs.
The flash point is displayed
automatically.
IFT
Interfacial tension between oil and water surface.
It is the force necessary to detach a planar ring.
IFT is a good indicator of oil quality and it should be
high.
Very low IFT oil indicates sludge and deterioration.
IFT helps in the detection of polar contaminants .
Apparatus: KRUSS / German make
Limits:
New oil :0.040 N/m
Transformer New before commissioning : 0.035 N/m
For in service Transformer : min 0.015 N/m
Applicable Standards : IS 6104,335,1866
 CORROSIVE SULPHUR

 To detects corrosive and free sulphur compounds in oil.

 If present they are hazardous and deteriorates metal

parts of transformer .

 Requirement – Non corrosive

 Applicable Standards : IS 335

Acidity
The acid content in the oil and plays a major part in
oil contamination.
High Acidity: Metal parts corrosion, Insulation
deterioration,Sludge formation.

Limits:
New oil:0.03 mg KOH / gm(Max)
Transformer New before
commissioning : 0.03 mg KOH / gm (Max)
For in service Transformer : 0.3 mg KOH /
gm(Max)
Applicable Standards: IS 1448, 335, 1866
 OXIDATION STABILITY

 Stability of oil under oxidation .

 Acidity & Sludge are tested after subjecting oil to

ageing .

 Acidity max: 0.4 mg KOH/g

 Total Sludge : Max 0.1%

 Applicable Standard : IS 335

WATER CONTENT
Amount of dissolved water in oil.

The test is carried out using automatic coulomatric

titration and expressed in PPM.

If high, affects BDV,IR value/winding PF.

Apparatus

 Automatic water content test kit swiss make

 TEST PROCEDURE

 Take 2ml of the oil in a Syringe;

 Weigh it in an accurate digital balance;

 Inject the oil in the syringe into the
Automatic Titrator kept ready; Titration
is started and goes on until end point is
detected;
 Weigh the empty syringe to find the
weight of oil alone; The weight of oil is
automatically transferred to the
titrator for calculation;
 The software does the necessary
calculations and the water content is
displayed automatically in ppm.
Limits : New oil 50 (max)
New Tr. In service Tr.
Before commg
For V >170KV 10ppm 20 ppm
For V between 72.5 to
170 KV 15 ppm 40 ppm
For V < 72.5 KV 20 ppm 50 ppm

Applicable Standards : IS 13567, 335, 1866

 SK VALUE

 Degree of refining of oil .

 Optimum H2SO4 dosage during refining results
in good quality oil.
 No limits prescribed in standards
 Preferable value 2 to 4%
 Very low over refining, natural anti oxidation
are killed.
 Very high under refined.
 Applicable Standards: IS 335
 BDV
Why oil should have high BDV?
 Transformer insulation composite insulation --Paper and
oil
 Electrical stress = 1/Dielectric constant
 Dielectric constant of cellulose = 4.5
 Dielectric constant of Transformer oil : 2.1 – 2.2
 Electrical stress on Transformer oil is double for the
same thickness. Hence oil should have high BDV .
 The Breakdown Voltage value of oil in KV
measured across 2.5mm gap electrodes.
It is the min. voltage at which the oil breaks down
when subjected to an electric field with a continuously
increasing voltage, contained in a specified apparatus.
Low BDV indicate presence of contaminants such
as water , dirt, cellulose fiber or conducting particles
Limit value :
New oil 30 KV , min (un filtered)
60 KV min (filtered)

 Minimum requirement New Tr. Before commg Inservice Tr.

For V >170KV 60 KV 50 KV
 For V between 72.5 to 170 KV 50 KV 40 KV
 For V < 72.5 KV 40 KV 30KV

 Applicable Standards: IS 6792, 335, 1866

 DDF
 Quality of oil

 Measure of dielectric loss in oil and hence the amount

of energy dissipated as heat.

 Low DDF – Good oil, as it indicates low dielectric

losses and and low level of soluble polar ionic or
colloidal contaminants.
 The dielectric dissipation factor and is a
measure of the quality of oil. It is the tangent of the
angle (delta) by which the phase difference between
applied voltage and resulting current deviate from 90°
when the dielectric of the capacitor consists exclusively
of the insulating oil. Will be high if oil has conducting
impurities, moisture, ageing products like acid and
sludge.
LIMITS:

 New oil 0.002 (max) at 90°C (filtered oil)

 Transformer new before commissioning
 Max : 0.010, for v > 170 KV
 Max: 0.015, for v <170 KV
 In service Transformer (max) : 0.2, v > 170 KV
(Max): 1, for v < 170 KV
 Applicable Standards: IS 6262, 335, 1866
 RESISTIVITY

RESISTANCE PER UNIT VOLUME

RESISTANCE BETWEEN OPPOSITE FACES OF A
CENTIMETRE CUBE OF OIL - - CM.
MEASURE OF ELECTRICAL INSULATING PROPERTY ,
HIGH
RESISTIVITY – LOW FREE ION AND CONDUCTING
CONTAMINANTS.
WILL BE LOW IF OIL HAS CONDUCTING IMPURITIES,
MOISTURE AND FREE IONS. AFFECTS IR VALUE.
LIMITS:
For new oil : 35x1012 Ohm--cm (min) at 90 °C
1500x1012 Ohm-cm (min) at 27 °C
For Transformers New before commissioning : 6x1012
Ohm-cm
For In service Transformers : 0.1x1012
Ohm-cm
Applicable Standards: IS 6103, 335, 1866
SLUDGE
For all voltages should be Nil
 TEST PROCEDURE
 About 40ml of oil is taken in the oil cell
and the entire test is carried out as per
the IS with the help of built in software ;

 The results are displayed as shown;

BUCHHOLZ GAS COLLECTION TEST
 Test with Silver Nitrate –solution1(AgNo3)
 COLOR: No color – Air – investigate air
collection
 WHITE BLACK : Presence of CO – Deterioration
of solid insulation – DGA , Furan tests .
 WHITE : Presence of Acetylene – Arcing – Hi
temp oil degradation – DGA – Internal
Inspection.
 TEST WITH AMMONIACAL SILVER
NITRATE SOLUTION
 Color : No color – air
 Red brown to black with Silver gray intermediate – CO
 Green Yellow – Acetylene
 Combustibility Test:
 Collect portion of Gas in a test tube and apply a lighted
match stick to check combustibility of the gas.
 If not combustible -- Air
 BDV TEST
Most commonly carried out test on oil
Test Equipment
 Modern Fully Automatic Kit
STEP BY STEP PROCEDURE
1. Gap between electrode of 2.5mm +/- 0.01
2. Take sample oil, Rinse twice the electrode and
container
3. Take oil in the container sufficiently to immerse the
electrodes
4. Switch on the BDV equipment, keeping in place the
oil container.
5. Allow 10 minutes initial time (as per IS)

6. Raise voltage at 2KV/sec rate and the oil breaks at

a voltage.

7. After the first break (it may be a low value but still
has to be taken), stir oil using magnetic stirrer for 2
minutes and allow stand time of two minutes. Then
raise voltage to get second trip (breakdown) value.
 8. Repeat the above for 6 readings. Take the average
of 6 readings for the BDV value of the oil

Note:

1. Oil for BDV test from the transformer should be

taken from the bottom sampling valve with due
precautions.
2. Care should be taken to avoid air bubbles
3. BDV test should always be done at ambient
temperature.
4. Humidity should not be more than 50%

5. Spheres must be cleaned of deposits preferably by

steel wool. Never use cotton, fibrous materials.

6. Sampling vessel to be dry, clean; Hands also to be

dry and clean; atm. to be dry;

7. Sample to be protected from light, air and moisture

8. Sample to be drawn very quickly and tested within a

few hours
 TEST PROCEDURE

 Observing proper precautions, take about 400ml of

sample oil in the test vessel;

 The gap set is 2.5mm

• The oil is kept in the test kit and the preset test
procedure as per Indian Standard is activated;

• The BDV value is displayed automatically at the end of

the test;
 OIL QUALITY TEST (all the
above tests determine oil quality)
OIL TEST
DGA TEST (determines
transformer healthiness)
AGEING AND DETERIORATION OF
TRANSFORMER OIL
CAUSES OF DETERIORATION
 Thermal stress
 Electrical stress
 Chemical contamination
 Gaseous contamination

ARRESTING DETERIORATION
 Procuring good quality oil
 Proper maintenance
 Prevention of moisture/air entry through leak points,
sealing and breather etc.
How to know oil condition and level of deterioration?
 by periodical testing and comparing the characteristic
with prescribed limit values
Why take action if oil is deteriorated?
Deteriorated oil
 can transfer moisture to paper and lower IR value
(resistivity, water content)
 can reduce heat dissipation (IFT, sludge)
 can affect other components of the transformer (water
content, acidity)
 can contribute to transformer failure
What action to be taken if oil is deteriorated?
--- depends on degree of deterioration
Corrective actions available
---- Reconditioning, Reclamation and Replacement.
Reconditioning
---- When the following characteristic becomes bad on a
sustained basis:
BDV, water content, IFT and sludge.
Also for degassing oil.

Reconditioning normally cannot improve acidity, resistivity and

tan delta significantly.
 Reclamation
 Promising area

 Currently carried out only in Distribution Transformers

Re refining

 some apply refining and filtering to used oil as is

done in the same way transformer oil is manufactured
from crude oil. This involves no addition of inhibitors.
Replacement

Resorted to when
 Acidity, Resistivity, Tan delta and IFT are very poor
 Served more than 10 years
 After confirming deteriorating trend
 Resistivity less than 0.03*1012 with very low IR/PI
value or high winding tan delta value

On line Filtration techniques

Moisture absorbing cartridges
Oil quality summary

We have so far seen

 Type and composition of oil

 Oil quality parameters

 Significance

 Why we should preserve the oil characteristics

throughout the life of the transformer
 How to preserve these characteristics

 Why these parameters deteriorate

 What to do in deteriorated condition

 Periodicity and limit values for these oil test parameters