ISSUE 17

January 2022 transformer-technology.com ISSN 2642-2689

T r a n s f o r m e r
L i fe b l o o d :
O i l s & F l u i d s
PA RT I I

Interview with Prabhat Jain CEO-CTO of Virginia Transformer Corp

Insulating Liquids: The Lifeblood of Transformer Reliability
The Data Behind the Numbers: IEEE C57.104TM-2019 DGA Interpretation Guide
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4 TABLE OF
CONTENTS

Index Contents

Table of
Table of Contents_04

Editors & Impressum_10

Editor’s Letter_14

Interview with Mr. Prabhat Jain,

CEO-CTO of Virginia Transformer

Corp_16

The Data Behind the Numbers:

IEEE C57.104TM-2019 DGA

Interpretation Guide_26 16
Insulating Liquids: The Lifeblood Interview with Mr. Prabhat Jain
CEO-CTO of Virginia Transformer Corp
of Transformer Reliability_36
Transformer Technology January 2022 5

Issue 17

26
The Data Behind the Numbers:
IEEE C57.104TM-2019 DGA
Interpretation Guide
This paper describes the process followed by
the revision working group to obtain the new
set of norms for acceptable gas concentration
levels, published in the “new” guide in 2019
based on a vastly larger DGA data set than the
first edition of IEEE C57.104TM, published
in 1978.

36
Insulating Liquids: The
Lifeblood of Transformer
Reliability

You may know that your transformer is filled

with a liquid known as an insulating or dielectric
liquid, but do you know why? This is a concise
overview of the benefits of insulating liquids
and their types.
6 TABLE OF
CONTENTS

Index Contents

Table of
44
Materials Compatibility: Lessons

Learned from the Transformer Oils

Study_44 Materials Compatibility:

Lessons Learned from the
Pre-Show Feature: Power in
Transformer Oils Study
Innovation_52 This article describes the test methodology
and discusses the study results that may be
An Innovative and Efficient Way of interest to transformer manufacturers and
operators when selecting insulating materials or
to Control Consequences of qualification processes.
Oil Ageing_56

Decay Particles and

Regeneration of Ester

Dielectric Liquids:

A Challenge!_64

Coming in February_70
Transformer Technology January 2022 7

Issue 17

52
Pre-Show Feature:
Power in Innovation

64
Decay Particles
and Regeneration
of Ester Dielectric
Liquids:
A Challenge!
This article reports on the feasibility
of Fuller's earth as an adsorbent for
regenerating aged ester liquids.

56
An Innovative and
Efficient Way to Control
Consequences of Oil
Ageing
Highly refined oils usually contain less
aromatic and other unsaturated compounds
due to the hydrogenation process.
Consequently, the gassing tendency of the
mineral oils becomes more positive. This
phenomenon and a way to deal with it will be
described more precisely in this article.
8

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Transformer Technology January 2022 9

Issue 17

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10 EDITORS &
IMPRESSUM

Impressum Editors

Editor in Chief
Alan M. Ross, CRL, CMRP
Editor in Chief
Associate Editor in Chief and Alan M. Ross CRL, CMRP
Chair of the Technical Advisory Board Transformer maintenance
Corné Dames and reliability
Independent transformer consultant

Technical Advisory Board Member

Edward Casserly, PhD
Senior Scientist, Transformer oils
Maria Lamorey Associate Editor in Chief
Industrial OEM manufacturing and Chair of the Technical
Advisory Board
Contributing Editors Corné Dames
Diego Robalino, PhD, PMP Independent transformer
IEEE Senior Member
consultant
Alan Sbravati, ME, MBA
Transformer oils
Transformer insulating materials
Marco Tozzi, PhD
Diagnostics and asset monitoring
Curtus Duff
Power transformer design
Traci Hopkins, IEEE Member
Transformer Condition Assessment
Contributing Editor
Jon Trout, PE
Electric utility
Diego Robalino PhD, PMP
IEEE Senior Member
Graphic design Transformer condition
BE Koncept Communication Boutique assessment and
diagnostics
Photo Cover
Shutterstock

Sales & Marketing

Rachel Linke
[email protected]
Kevan Sears
[email protected]
Technical Advisory
Board Member
Sales & Marketing Americas Edward Casserly, PhD
Maria Salamanca Senior Scientist,
[email protected] Transformer oils

Sales & Marketing Mexico

Fernando Campos
[email protected]

Sales & Marketing Brazil

Marcelo Braga
[email protected] Technical Advisory
Board Member
Marketing Global Maria Lamorey
Marin Dugandzic Industrial OEM
[email protected] manufacturing
Transformer Technology January 2022 11

Issue 17

ISSN 2642-2689 (Print)

ISSN 2642-2697 (Online)
Contributing Editor
DIGITAL Membership Alan Sbravati ME, MBA
Free Transformer insulating
materials
Transformer Technology magazine is a quarterly
magazine published by APC MEDIA LLC, 11210
West Rd, Roswell, GA 30075, USA. Published
content does not represent official position of APC
MEDIA LLC. Responsibility for the content rests
upon the authors of the articles and advertisers,
and not on APC MEDIA LLC. APC MEDIA LLC
maintains the right to keep the textual and
Contributing Editor
graphical documents submitted for publication.
Marco Tozzi ME, MBA
Diagnostics and asset
Copyright and reprint permission
monitoring
Abstracting is permitted with credit to the source.
Libraries are permitted to photocopy isolated
pages for private use of their patrons.
For other copying, reprint or republication
permission requests should be addressed to
[email protected]

Publisher:
APC MEDIA LLC
1317 Winding River Trail Contributing Editor
Woodstock GA 30075, USA Curtus Duff
Power transformer design
transformer-technology.com

Contributing Editor
Traci Hopkins
Transformer Condition
Assessment

Contributing Editor
Jon Trout PE
Electric utility
12

SUB
SCR
I B E TO

DIGITAL

FREE
MEMBERSHIP

To subscribe visit transformer-technology.com

 Transformer Technology January 2022 13

Issue 17

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14 LETTER FROM
THE EDITOR

Dear Readers,

In Part 1 of the Oils & Fluids Issue we presented a At Transformer Technology we are committed to
variety of technical content about the different give you, our community, actionable information
types of fluids, both mineral and vegetable, ap- that can help you make key decisions for all stages
plication information about how these fluids of the life cycle of transformers: from design,
are being used, and comparative information on to manufacturing, to installation, to testing and
different types of fluids. finally to maintaining and disposal.

If we are to build more reliability into the electrical With two issues focusing on Oils & Fluids we
system, whether that be for the grid or for a data believe we are bringing insight that educates, in-
center or steel mill, then it stands to reason that forms, and inspires. Enjoy!
the selection, testing and treatment of the fluid
within the transformer is a critical decision.

If we are to build more then it stands to reason

reliability into the that the selection, testing
electrical system, whether and treatment of the fluid
that be for the grid or for within the transformer is
a data center or steel mill, a critical decision.
Transformer Technology January 2022 15

Issue 17

The February issue of Transformer Technology is

themed, Transformers: The Heart of the Generation,
Transmission and Distribution System. We will also
preview the upcoming IEEE PES Conference and

Alan M Ross
Exhibition coming in April in New Orleans. While
we are already working on great content, it is still
not too late to contribute to the February issue
and add your voice to our Body of Knowledge,
so please contact me at alan.ross@transformer-
technology.com if you want to add your voice to
the community.
Curator of the Community
Transformer Technology
Alan M Ross
Editor in Chief

President of EPRA
CRL, CMRP
 16 FEATURE
INTERVIEW

Prabhat Jain
CEO-CTO of Virginia
Transformer Corp

I am a lifelong learner
and I have always
learned from people,
and companies, that
Interview with Prabhat Jain

have been successful.

When I see success,
I think - Well, it can
be done!
 Transformer Technology January 2022 17

Issue 17
Photo: Virginia Transformer Corp
18 FEATURE
INTERVIEW

Transformer Technology talked to Prabhat Jain, CEO-CTO of Virginia

Transformer Corp, a leader with a fascinating biography, a mechanical
engineer with an MBA who originally worked in the company and had
nothing to do with transformers but then turned a transformer guru as
Virginia Transformer and Georgia Transformer (formerly Efacec), became
arguably one of the very largest power transformer manufacturers in the
world.
 Transformer Technology January 2022 19

Issue 17

Alan Ross: Prabhat, welcome! This is an amazing So, to answer your question, it has been a
accomplishment. How many years has it taken wonderful journey for me to learn from people
for you to do that? who have been successful, learn from the people
who work in the company and then, of course,
Prabhat Jain: Thank you, Alan. It has taken work with and then learn from the companies
40 years now. that have been successful in the past. And I see
the leaders of these companies on the news,

AR 40 years of anything with a committed

vision can create growth. The vision
of your company is to be “an internationally
I listen to the interviews, and I say, “Yes, that
makes sense”.

recognized manufacturer and supplier of Process is what makes

high quality, specialized power transformers,
associated equipment and services by fulfilling
the companies grow and
our commitments to the customer and our continue to thrive and
employees through continued growth and
improvement.” This is a bold statement that says
provide products and
We are global and high quality. But as you were services.
a mechanical engineer, from that time to
now, a lot of people and companies
have impacted you. So, your
company is impacted
AR You mentioned
three things: teams,
leadership, and process.
by you, but who has The most successful
impacted you? organizations in my
history, have a real

PJ People have.
I learn
from people, from
major commitment
to teams and
collaboration
everybody. I am around teams.
sure I am going Collaborative
to learn from teams have a real
you as well, with commitment
what you have to build up
accomplished leadership. And
and the things then they have
you are doing. That a commitment
is what I do. Even to process. So,
when I listen to news, it's not all about
it's always educational Superman. For the
for me. When I watch most part, people come
sports, it's educational to work, and they want to
for me. When people are participate.
successful, I say “Well, it can be
done.” As long as we have the desire, that's You now have Virginia Transformer,
the most important thing. and you have Georgia Transformer (formerly
Efacec). Tell me a little bit about how you create
The next thing is to put together teams of people, and standardize a corporate culture around
to encourage them and excite them. We give collaborative teams.
them a vision and then, Voila, things happen!
That has been my life story as I have continued
to grow. Have companies impacted me? Yes. I
watch companies that have been very successful
that have existed for the last 100 years in our
PJ It just evolves. Let's put it this way. It is
not something which one would go out
and say, “I'm going to do this collaborative team
economy. And I say “Well, they must have a culture and team building.” It's an evolution, at
system or a process in place which sustains least in my case. As people came to work for me,
them”. And then I say, “I must have that, too,” I see their skills and then their natural instinct.
because process is what makes the companies And then you work around people to make their
Photo: Virginia Transformer Corp

grow and continue to thrive and then provide world, as opposed to me saying “This is the world
the product and the services. Without the and I want you to fit in it.” This is how I have done
process, we could be just a bunch of renegades it. You see the people, you see what they can do,
trying to do a lot of different things. But unless and you go “Wow, this is great! Let's do this and
we have a process and an organization, we are let's do this.” And as they continue to grow, then
not going to achieve the results. you can say “Hey, Joe, you want to hire a couple
20 FEATURE
INTERVIEW

of people for yourself, and then you can do more

of what you like to do, and continue to grow?”
At that point it kind of evolves into teams that
PJ They did, Alan, you are right. Because
it was run by expat, for the most part.
That was the big difference. Then the expat left,
then grow bigger and bigger. And, of course, as which was in 2014 or thereabouts, just before we
you build with the success of the people that bought the company. I didn't realize that when
are leading, then certainly they enjoy what they we bought the company, what we will find.
are doing. And that is the substance of success, And that was a challenge. The culture was that
really: Making people enjoy what they do; the expat would tell people what to do and they
giving them the intellectual satisfaction. That's did it. And then when the expat left, we found
how I think Virginia Transformer has grown that, yes, there were processes, paperwork,
continuously. Because accomplishment is an systems, but nobody knew how to follow them.
acceleration. I think when you accomplish, you That was the big thing. The other thing I found
say, “Well, it can be done, and I will do more of was, that in Portugal, and for that matter, other
that.” And then we find other things to do as well. European countries as well, the longevity of
people in their job is much longer. And thus,

AR Did you find a different culture when there is far less need for monitoring and oversight
Photo: Virginia Transformer Corp

you brought in Georgia Transformer processes. By far less. I visited several plants
(formely Efacec)? Did you have to change that in Europe, and I found that there are very few
culture, or was that also much more of just inspectors and technicians. People just do the
an organic move? Because I know they had a work themselves because they've been there for
different culture than what you had at Virginia 20, 30 years. Here we don't have people with
Transformers 25-year experience, so that was the challenge.
Transformer Technology January 2022 21

Issue 17

AR I am passionate about safety and

engaged, committed leadership.
The CEO must lead the whole safety effort.
AR Your value statement says: “We pride
ourselves on premium quality
customer service and our expert engineering
And we are moving to what we call behavioral staff that works from 15,000 designs. We have
safety. Any organization has to have a behavioral an archive to assist us in designing the perfect
safety mindset. transformer to meet your specific needs.
We supply Transformers for utility, industrial
Talk a little bit about how you have been able to transit, commercial alternative energy. Engineers
implement that. How do you take your passion making Transformers for engineers.”
for safety and push that down through the
organization, not mandating it, but creating it as Could you talk about how you build quality
a behavioral safety model? into the systems? I know Virginia Transformer
is committed to quality. But how do you build it

PJ You know, we are safe at home, we are

safe when we travel, so obviously, it is
ingrained in us. That’s number one. Number two
today when we deal with specifications and often
the customer’s purchasing department will say,
“We're going to get the cheapest cost.”
is the sense of caring for people that drives me to
be safe. Because I believe that people who come Reliability begins at design. And today, design
to work for Virginia Transformer, they want to go is often purchasing driven, which leaves a lot of
home safe. That is what drives me and I always room for quality problems. How do you battle
talk about it. I say, “We must be safe”. When that in the marketplace?
I'm on the floor, if I see something, I call the
supervisor, I call the people and say, “Hey, this is Quality is the essence of
not safe”. So, this is how I really practice safety.
And it has been very successful.
success and growth. It has
three components: one is
the design, another is the
process, and the last one is
oversight by engineers.

PJ That is the essence of success and growth.

Quality has, I would say, just three
components. One is the design, and the design
is based upon experience and analytical tools
to make sure that we are going to be successful;
that the design will work for what it is intended
to do. Number two is the process in the shop,
how the product is put together. It's a custom-
Certainly, we can always be safer, there's no made product. There's very little opportunity to
question about that. But the primary thing is to automate. What that means is that the training
not just talk the talk but to walk the walk as well. of the people, their knowledge of what they're
That's what we have to do. Just saying things and doing, has to be adequate. But as I mentioned
then just going away, won’t have an impact. earlier, it is difficult because the longevity
The impact comes from continuously of shop people is very short here. So, we
communicating and monitoring. Saying “Okay, supplement that by engineers on the shop floor.
what did you do last month or last week for So, it's the engineers designing, it’s the engineers
safety? Yes, we had talks. I understand we had overseeing the product being built and then the
talks, but talks are one thing. What did you product being handled. Product handling
actually do? Did you see things?” Then they will is critical.
say, “Yes, we saw things.” And I will say, “That's
great. That means now we've seen things, we can Then we have another layer of engineers who
change them.” And they would say “I didn't see have been around for 15 or 20 or 30 years. They
anything. Everything was right”. I will say, “No, have a set of experienced eyes and they can
no, that's not the real world”. spot things faster than a younger engineer or a
technical person who is going through a check
So, I think this is what we must keep doing as sheet. Check sheets will only take you so far and
leaders, especially in manufacturing areas, will not deliver the quality and the reliability
which have a lot more safety hazards, if you will. that exceeds the marketplace and that excites
Our plant has a 0.6 of what we call the the customer who will then say, “This company
experience factor. gives me a more reliable product than others.”
22 FEATURE
INTERVIEW

That's where we are. So, it's three components: us to achieve our no-field-failure rate. I mean,
One is the design, one is the process, and the last it's a huge effort, and it is very satisfying when
one is oversight by engineers. That's a part of engineers learn that my product works well. It
quality. is the engineers who are the key to success and
reliability and quality. As you said, everybody
Now, besides quality, what differentiates Virginia says, “We have quality”, and it's a relative term.
Transformer is also customer satisfaction. You
mentioned specifications. It's a significant effort
within our company all the way from the sales
I launched an initiative
engineer to the field service technician, the last ‘Pursuit of Perfection’,
person. And then I profess, I train, I encourage
all the people who are, as I call it, customer
and I wrote a series of six
facing, to make sure that we understand and we articles called ‘Legacy of
respect and we service the customer. Engineers,
technology, people. That's the mixture. But at the
Excellence’ to share with my
end of the day, a transformer is a highly involved employees what I have seen
design machinery, even though there are no
moving parts. It has invisible forces which are
and achieved in the last 40
causing the stresses. We develop the designs and years.

analyze them on a continuous basis. Continuous I launched an initiative three-four years ago,
basis means every time all the time. We then called Pursuit of Perfection. And I wrote a series
analyze the data, we analyze the results of the of six articles called Legacy of Excellence to
tests, the results from the field, et cetera. We do share with my employees what I have achieved
this to assess, to see why we had this situation. in the last 40 years and to share what I have
Through this analysis we have been able to seen. How do we achieve excellence? People
bring these stresses to a uniform level. So, that have to learn that. They have to learn what
there is far less variation of either dielectric or made Virginia Transformer successful, so
mechanical stresses, so there are no what we call they understand the company and what the
high points. That has been one of the keys for measure of success is for us. There are many
 Transformer Technology January 2022 23

Issue 17

small measures of success. Low sound is one,

low partial discharge is another, very low failure
rate, the field issues or lack thereof, performing
on time and so on. Those are some of the
measurements. However, as you said, there is no
one lever which says, “This is the quality lever
and if you twiddle it, it will go up.” No. But it is
easy, it is not difficult.

People coming to Virginia

Transformer have to learn
what made the company
successful, so they
understand the company
and what the measure of
success is for us. you damage it. I mean, that's how simple it is.
And these principles are not difficult to
understand, but they must be practiced
continuously because we have new people
coming all the time. And that's also part of the
challenge. So, the challenge is communication
and upkeeping of the flow of handling and
assembling and designing. We have lots of
tools. As many tools as you can ever imagine for
analysis. They are so wonderful that we can see
all these color graphs, the red and the green and
so forth. You can identify this is the hot spot
or this is the high stress. Now, how do I make it
uniform, so this will go away and everything will
work at the same safety level?

There are many small

measures of our success:
low sound, low partial
discharge, very low failure
rate, lack of field issues,
performing on time and
so on.

AR You just hit onto two major hot topics

for me. Engineer to engineer. You
have engineers out at the customers’ site that
are engineering a system. So, they're buying
transformers to engineer that system, and then
by having more engineers involved at your site.
That ought to be your new tagline: Engineers
The difficult part is to communicate and to serving engineers.
get the whole team together and saying, “We
are going to build a better quality”. That's the Prabhat, thank you so much for talking to us.
difficult part - Communication and getting
Photo: Virginia Transformer Corp

people on board, getting people to get going and

understanding the principle and then to work
as a team. So, the engineer, the designer, the
PJ Thank you very much for taking an
interest and allowing me to speak to
the industry as to how we and every other
technical and the operator and then the trainer transformer manufacturer should function,
of the operator need to understand why the so we can service our country's grid with more
insulation is so critical. If you fold the insulation, reliable transformers. That's my goal.
24

YOUR PASSION
AND KNOWLEDGE
ARE IMPORTANT
TO US

JOIN OUR
#COLLABORATIVE COMMUNITY

Are you passionate and knowledgeable

about your area of business or expertise?

Now You can contribute to knowledge

sharing in the transformer industry by

sharing your field experiences, case

studies, research results, or simply your

knowledgeable opinion on a topic of

interest to the industry.

Contact us at
[email protected]

to find out how you can

become part of the
Transformer Technology
community.
 Transformer Technology January 2022 25

Issue 17

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26 THE
STANDARDS

The Data
Behind the Numbers:
IEEE C57.104TM -2019
DGA Interpretation
Guide
by Claude Beauchemin
Luiz Cheim
and Norman Field
 Transformer Technology January 2022 27

Issue 17

Dr. Luiz Cheim has been working with

Hitachi-ABB Power Grids (Transformers) as a
Sr. Principal R&D Engineer for a number of
years, having over 30 years of experience in
the power transformers industry. His major
activities as part of a global R&D team are in
the development of transformers condition
assessment and performance models and
algorithms, as well as the development of
new sensors and state of the art monitoring
technologies. Dr. Cheim is the proponent of
Claude Beauchemin, OCQ, graduated from the new Hitachi-ABB Transformer Inspection
Université de Montréal in chemistry in 1976. Robot. In August 2018 Luiz was granted the
He has been working for GE Canada (formerly Best Paper Award by the Cigre organization in
Syprotec) for 30 years where he specialized Paris, Study Committee A2/PS2 on the use of
in the development and application of on-line AI/Machine Learning techniques in support
monitoring of power transformer physic- of transformer diagnostics. Dr. Cheim has
ochemical parameters (Hydran and Intellix filed for over 20 patents over the last 10 years
systems). Claude joined TJ|H2b Analytical alone. He has been a member of the IEEE and
Services in 2011 as Director of Technical Devel- Cigre since the 1980s and has taken several
opment and Director of Quality Assurance. prominent roles in both organizations. He was
He is IEEE C57.104 WG Chair, member of the appointed as Technical Chairman oftwo Cigre
IEEE Transformer Committee, CIGRE, CSC, SCA2 International Colloquia, in Moscow 2005
ASTM and the Ordre Des Chimistes du Québec. and Shanghai 2015, respectively.

One of the earliest

set of norms for
acceptable gas
concentration levels
was developed in the
1970s. These values
were used in the
first edition of IEEE Norman Field, P. Eng, has over 30 years of
experience in the transformer industry. This
C57.104TM published includes 14 years in design and 16+ years

in 1978 and had providing a combination of electrical power

apparatus asset management for end users
remained virtually clients, while continuing to perform in-factory

unchanged for four and on-site transformer inspections and de-

Image reproduction authorized by Hitachi Energy

sign reviews. Currently he is Supervising En-

decades. gineer at Stantec. Norman is member of
the IEEE Transformer Committee and IEEE
C57.104 WG Vice Chair. He has enjoyed living
and working in three countries and can occa-
sionally be heard discussing DGA in Spanish.
28 THE
STANDARDS

Some data points were discarded

for lack of essential information.
Additional data was discarded if
the DGA results did not belong
to transformers, or were from
transformers out of service, or from
in-factory testing.

Second Level Filtering

Additional filtering was applied to

eliminate duplicate results. Next,
judicious corrections were made to
some data point values with incorrect
units for rating (kVA versus MVA)
and voltage class (volts versus kV).
Erroneous values could be corrected
for some of the data by examining
other accompanying variables
such as oil volume and transformer
type. While these corrections were
cumbersome, this was necessary
to not discard or misuse a
disproportionate number of large or
small transformers.

Data Anonymity and Security

Introduction The cleansed dataset was made

anonymous by removing contributor
The analysis of gases dissolved in analysis methods. Contributors names and replacing transformer
transformer insulating liquid (DGA) provided the data voluntarily, in good serial/ID numbers with generic ID
was introduced in the 1960s to faith that it would be utilized for the numbers. Furthermore, to address
detect early signs of incipient faults. sole purpose of revising the Guide. concerns from some of the data
One of the earliest set of norms for The raw dataset (“raw” meaning prior suppliers regarding its potential use
acceptable gas concentration levels to any data processing) contained outside of the guide revision, and in
was developed by the former CEGB over 1,500,000 DGA reports from the absence of a formal Transformers
in the 1970s based on DGA results 18 contributors. Each report Committee data repository, it was
from one geographic region [1]. presented values of 9 dissolved gas decided to permanently discard
These values were used in the first concentrations: hydrogen, methane, the data set after final processing
edition of IEEE C57.104TM published ethane, ethylene, acetylene, carbon and to limit the number of persons
in 1978 [2] and had remained virtually monoxide, carbon dioxide, oxygen, accessing and processing it to the
unchanged for four decades. and nitrogen. Reports also contained three Officers of the Working Group.
information on equipment type,
In 2000, a complete review of the transformer type, number of phases, It was also agreed that no single
IEEE guide was initiated. A slightly rating (MVA), voltage (kV), age, individual had the full data set in their
Photo: Copyright © 2019 by The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.

updated version was released in manufacturer, serial/ID number, oil possession at any time. Each Officer
2008 [3] and the "new" guide, with preservation system, oil volume/ was responsible for only a subset of
new norm values, was published in weight, sampling date, analysis the data. The complete data set was
2019 [5] based on a vastly larger DGA date, and the reason for the analysis assembled only once onto a single
data set than the first edition. (routine or investigation). memory stick for the final analysis,
handled in the presence of the three
This paper describes the process Data Cleansing Officers and Working Group member
followed by the revision working witnesses.
group to obtain the new set of norms. Initial Data Preparation
After the analysis was completed and
Data Sourcing Once collected, the data “clean up” results were preserved independently
process began with the goal of of the raw data, the memory stick
The revision began with discarding any data points deemed was reformatted and destroyed.
accumulating a large dataset of inapplicable, unreliable, or invalid, While not optimal, this was a
recent DGA results from sources resulting in a processed, or “clean”, practical solution to address the data
using current oil sampling and high quality dataset. security concerns of the contributors.
 Transformer Technology January 2022 29

Issue 17

General Characteristics of the

Data Set

The data set population

characteristics are as follow:

• Number of data contributors: 18

• Total number of usable DGA
reports: 1,391,436
• Total number of transformers:
313,076
• Total number of DGA reports with
transformer age: 618,715
• Total number of DGA reports with
transformer rating: 738,188

Figures 1 to 4 are graphical presentations of some characteristics of the data set: analysis year, transformer age,
transformer rating, and number of days between successive DGA samples.

20000
120000

100000
15000
Number of DGA
Number of DGA

80000

60000 10000

40000
5000
20000

0 0
1990 1995 2000 2005 2010 2015 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70
Year of analysis Transformer age in years

Figure 1. DGA report distribution Figure 2. DGA report distribution as a function

as a function of the year of the analysis of transformer age at the time of sampling

300000 500000

250000
400000
Number of DGA

Number of DGA

200000
300000
150000
200000
100000

50000 100000

0 0
<= 1 > 1-5 > 5-25 > 25-50 > 50-100 > 100-250 > 250- Single DGA 0 to 30 31 to 100 101 to 250 251 to 400 401 to 700 > 700
1000
MVA Time between sampling in days
Figure 3. DGA report distribution Figure 4. DGA report distribution
as a function of transformer rating as a function of time between samples

Table 1 provides the DGA report distribution as a function of the two principal factors used to segregate DGA: O2 /N2 ratio
and transformer age.

O2 /N2 <0.2 O2 /N2 >0.2

Age in years

All 1–9 10 – 30 >30 All 1–9 10 – 30 >30

Number of DGA 876,314 84,215 179,829 113,264 495,561 59,320 86,983 72,039

% of DGA 63.0% 6.1% 12.9% 8.1% 35.6% 4.3% 6.3% 5.2%

Table 1. DGA report distribution as a function of O2 /N2

ratio and transformer age
30 THE
STANDARDS

90th Percentiles in ppm and delta in %

Average
Factor DGA H2 CH4 C2H6 C2H4 C2H2 CO CO2
all gases

O2 Ratio <0.2 876314 83 87 91 54 0 901 9263

O2 Ratio >0.2 495561 41 20 14 50 2 481 5011 95.4%

Max-Min /Average 67.7% 125.2% 146.7% 7.7% 200.0% 60.8% 59.6%

Age 1 to 10 Years 147472 65 38 21 20 1 699 4076

Age 10 to 30 Years 275286 58 67 59 47 1 896 7591

67.2%
AgeYear >30 years 189415 82 73 84 65 2 697 7851

Max-Min /Average 35.1% 59.0% 115.2% 102.3% 75.0% 26.0% 58.0%

Manufacturing Year
331028 54 46 26 31 1 865 6171
>1987

Manufacturing Year 55.4%

288202 84 81 90 65 2 705 7634
<1987

Max-Min /Average 43.5% 55.1% 110.3% 70.8% 66.7% 20.4% 21.2%

Maximum MVA <10 568682 69 64 56 59 1 884 9449

Maximum MVA >10 356038 63 76 74 50 2 652 5689 31.0%

Max-Min /Average 9.1% 17.1% 27.7% 16.5% 66.7% 30.2% 49.7%

HVkV <60 626153 66 65 56 58 1 864 9126

HVkV >60 347877 69 79 83 52 2 643 5687 30.9%

Max-Min /Average 4.4% 19.4% 38.8% 10.9% 66.7% 29.3% 46.4%

Oil Volume Galllons

554687 72 67 58 58 0 912 9792
<2000
Photo: Copyright © 2019 by The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.

Oil Volume Gallons 20.6%

218857 68 62 62 44 0 600 5527
>2000

Max-Min /Average 5.7% 7.8% 6.7% 27.5% 0.0% 41.3% 55.7%

Total Dissolved
1043500 63 65 62 50 1 770 7300
Gases <100000 ul/l

Total Dissolved 14.2%

328907 83 67 60 62 1 848 10328
Gases >100000 ul/l

Max-Min /Average 27.4% 3.0% 3.3% 21.4% 0.0% 9.6% 34.4%

Table 2. Influence of various factors on limit values

 Transformer Technology January 2022 31

Issue 17

Extracting Usable In transformers, gas levels and

Information generation rates are influenced by
several factors. Therefore, it was
The primary interest of analyzing the initially attempted to establish
dataset was to obtain the limits used various norms as a function of many
to detect an abnormal condition. such factors to discern between
The distribution of gas levels was normal and abnormal DGA. To
not Gaussian, but rather follow a decide which factors to use in the
highly skewed inverse distribution, final analysis, a table was created of
therefore classic sigma analysis was the gas concentration 90th and 95th
not applicable. On the other hand, the percentile values as a function of a
data distribution for a calculated gas split in 2 categories (low VS high) for
concentration differential between each factor considered. The percent
successive analyses (called "Delta" difference was computed between
in the guide) and for trend (rate of the two values for each gas and the
change) was almost Gaussian with results were ranked as a function of
an average of zero. To address this the average differential. The factors
difference of data distribution types, evaluated were the O2 /N2 ratio
we used percentile values for the (less or more than 0.2), age (an
norms, as the percentile value will exception with three split points:
always, by definition, represent the 1-10, 10-30 and >30 years), year of
90th%-point (or 95th%-point) of the manufacturing (before or after 1987),
population, irrespective of the type rating (less or more than 10 MVA),
of distribution. There is precedent in voltage class (less or more than
several industries to use the 90th and 60 kV), oil volume (less or more than
95th percentiles values as limits for 2000 gallons) and total amount of
anomaly detection in data sets, and dissolved gases (less or more than
these were likewise chosen for DGA. 100,000 ppm).

Data Analysis It was deemed that more than

two factors would render the 90th
Preliminary Analysis and 95th percentile limit tables too
complex for practical use. Therefore,
The three authors, independently the two most influential factors
of each other, performed several were selected for the limit tables:
preliminary data evaluations of O2 / N2 ratio and transformer age.
their data subsets of data, using Manufacturing year was strongly
both spreadsheets and R scripts, to correlated to age, so it was not used
determine how the complete data as a separate factor. Segregating
set should be analyzed and what the data further by MVA, kV, oil
parameters should be investigated. volume, and total gas content did
The analysis needed to be unbiased not significantly influence the limit
and applied consistently to all DGA values and those factors were not
reports from the clean data set. used (see Table 2).

200 O2/N2 <= 0.2

180
O2/N2 > 0.2
90th percentile for H2 in uL/L

160
140
120
100
80
60
40
20
0
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17
Source

Figure 5. Example of the variations of percentile values

observed between the sources (90th percentile for H2 )
32 THE
STANDARDS

O2 /N2 Ratio <=0.2 O2 /N2 Ratio >0.2

Transformer Age in Years Transformer Age in Years

Unknown 1–9 10 – 30 >30 Unknown 1–9 10 – 30 >30

Hydrogen (H2) 80 75 75 100 40 40 40 40

Methane (CH4) 90 45 90 110 20 20 20 20

Ethane (C2H6) 90 30 90 150 15 15 15 15

Gas Ethylene (C2H4) 50 20 50 90 50 25 60 60

Acetylene (C2H2) 1 1 1 1 2 2 2 2

Carbon monoxide (CO) 900 900 900 900 500 500 500 500

Carbon dioxide (CO2) 9000 5000 10000 10000 5000 3500 5500 5500

NOTE: During the data analysis, it was determined that voltage class, MVA, and volume of mineral oil in the unit did not
contribute in significant way to the determination of values provided in Table 1.

Figure 6. Example of the final result: Table 1 of the new IEEE C57.104TM-2019 "Guide for the Interpretation of Gases
Generated in Mineral Oil-Immersed Transformers"

Final Analysis from the real-life situation, where it

is well known that typical (i.e.: 90th
For guide revisions, Final data analysis was performed percentile) gas concentrations can
with R software [4] scripts developed vary widely from one transformer
it should be expected specifically for this task by the network to another. So, for each
to spend at least first author. In total, those scripts of the 18 data subsets, percentile
contained approximately 3000 lines limits were computed for each gas.
as much time in of code and comments in native Comparing the calculated limits
data collection and R (V3.3.2). To facilitate witness between the 18 subsets confirmed
oversight of the final analysis, the their large variability, as illustrated in
cleaning as in data "Read" and "Save" functions of the Figure 5 example. This also led to the
processing. code, were specifically designed to necessity of limiting the number of
read and write data to specific file significant digits used in the various
locations in such a manner that tables of the guide, to not present a
the witnesses could verify that the false sense of precision.
original data was not copied to
anywhere else other than onto a With the merged data, the next step
single memory stick. The final data was to process it to extract the
analysis session, including several desired information. This included
iterations and adjustments, was generating percentiles for all possible
completed in two days. combinations of factors, including
Photo: Copyright © 2019 by The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Inc.

those unlikely to result in usable data.

Prior to data merging, each cleaned This was done for two reasons: a)
data subset (18 in total) was For each factor, the optimal breaking
analyzed to verify the integrity of point was not known in advance so it
the data and to compute general was necessary to perform analyses
statistics of interest to gauge with several different partition
variance among the 18 different data sets, and b) As the data would be
contributions. Given the large amount destroyed after the final analysis, this
of data, one could be tempted into was the only opportunity to collect
a false sense of analytical precision as much analytical information
by theoretically obtaining extremely as possible, and decide later what
"precise" results (calculating 90th output would be used, discarded, or
percentile limits to the nearest ppm, kept for future work.
for example) and falsely assume that
the result is perfectly representative Furthermore, some of the factor
of the industry condition. This is far split points depended on the values
Transformer Technology January 2022 33

Issue 17

References
[1] I. Davies, P.J. Burton, "A review
of the methods for interpreting
the analysis of dissolved gases
in insulating oil", Unpublished
unclassified report, Central
Electricity Generating Board,
SouthEastern Region, Scientific
Services Department, UK, July
1972
[2] Guide for the detection and
determination of generated
gases in oil-immersed
obtained by the analysis itself. To be To account for the large variations transformers and their relation
able to adjust those criteria during between sources (see Figure 5), the to the serviceability of the
the process, the various factor break 90th and 95th Percentile values for equipment, ANSI/IEEE C57.104,
points were separated from the dissolved gas concentrations, deltas 1978
analysis script and stored in the form and rates norms were rounded as [3] IEEE Guide for the
of loadable tables. As the analysis follows: Interpretation of Gases
was progressing, it was possible Generated in Oil-Immersed
to adjust those points based on 1 to 10: No change Transformers, IEEE C57.104-
intermediate results, update the files 10 to 50: 5 2008, February 2009
and repeat the process in an iterative [4] R Core Team. R: A language
way without having to change the 50 to 100: 10 and environment for statistical
script proper (which risks introducing computing. R Foundation for
100 to 250: 25
new undetected errors). As an Statistical Computing, Vienna,
example of such iteration, delta and 250 to 500: 50 Austria, 2016, URL https://
rate computation (Tables 3 and 4 of www.R-project.org/
the new guide) were to be computed 500 to 1000: 100 [5] IEEE Guide for the
only from data below the selected Interpretation of Gases
1000 to 2500: 250
90th percentiles for level values, which Generated in Mineral Oil-
was not known until the first part of 2500 to 5000: 500 Immersed Transformers, IEEE
the analysis was completed. C57.104TM-2019, November
Above 5000: 1000 2019
For each transformer, the gas
level increase or decrease (delta) Furthermore, the values from
was computed from each pair of different age groups were combined Acknowledgements
successive DGA (approximately 1 in one when they differed by less The authors wish to take
million pairs). Using the same data than 35%. Figure 6 illustrates the final this opportunity to thank all
for each transformer, a series of Table 1 [5] of the guide. participating IEEE C57.104TM
successive overlapping sequences Working Group members,
of 3 to 6 points were created and Lesson Learned data contributors (utilities
evaluated by a linear best fit (slope), and laboratories), and their
providing approximately one million For work requiring the collection of employers, for their confidence
sequences. The 95th percentile values large amounts of data from volunteer and support throughout
of these deltas and slopes were sources, especially if this data could this lengthy and challenging
used to create tables 3 and 4 of the be commercially sensitive, it is revision process. Without them,
guide. To perform this operation on imperative that a legal framework this work would not have been
a standard PC in a single day (due to (NDA, waiver, Terms & Conditions possible.
the necessity to perform the analysis of Use, etc.), secure data storage
in the presence of several persons) facilities, and accessibility protocols
a large amount of preparatory work are in place before collecting any A Note
was needed to simplify and optimize data. A standardized form is needed The figures and tables are
the script. The analysis generated for the collection of the data, noting copyright of IEEE and Claude
several files, containing all the that a singular date format is Beauchemin:
information needed to generate the especially important. It should be Copyright © 2019 by The
final tables now shown in the guide. expected to spend at least as much Institute of Electrical and
Those files were saved and are all time in data collection and cleaning Electronics Engineers, Inc.
that remain of the data analysis. as in data processing.
34 TOPIC
MISSING

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36 THE LIFEBLOOD
OF TRANSFORMER
RELIABILITY

hese four functionre widely recognized and the

liquid inside t hese transformers is crucial to the

Insulating Liquids:
The Lifeblood of
Transformer Reliability
by Jason Dennison

You may know that your transformer is filled transformers’ size was limited – otherwise the
with a liquid known as an insulating or dielectric heat was simply too much, and the transformer
liquid, but do you know why? would fail due to overheating.

The very first transformers did not have an Elihu Thomson patented the use of mineral
insulating liquid in them. Air acted as the oil as an insulating liquid in 1893 as a way to
dielectric medium inside early transformers manage the heat and improve the operation of
and this became a problem as energy transformers, and within about five years this
needs expanded, given the early designs of advancement was commercially available.
transformers. In early transformers, energy The early intent was focused on dissipating heat
Photo: SDMyers

losses generated a significant amount of heat while also dielectrically protecting the energized
in the core and coils and the air wasn’t effective parts of the transformer, and mineral oil proved
at drawing away the heat. As a result, early to be a very good medium for this.
Transformer Technology January 2022 37

Issue 17

If the transformer is the heart of the electric power

system, the insulating liquid is the blood, and it can
tell you an incredible amount of information about
the transformer’s condition.

Jason Dennison is the Director of Diagnos-

tic and Analytical Services at SDMyers, LLC.
Dennison leads the world’s largest trans-
former liquid testing laboratory with a team The Functions of filled transformers grew in use, four
focused on safe operation while generating Insulating Liquids primary functions of the insulating
high volume data analysis and diagnostics. liquid became well-known:
He obtained a bachelor’s degree in Chemical Fast forward several decades, and
Engineering from the University of Akron with mineral oil became the de-facto 1. Dielectric Strength
Polymer Specialization and is a Lean/Six Sig- insulating liquid in large transformers. 2. Heat Transfer
ma Black Belt with project management ex- For smaller applications, transformers 3. Protection of Solid Insulation
perience spanning industries such as rubber that use air as the dielectric also 4. Diagnostics
processing, metal machining, petrochemi- became popular for many applications,
cals, compliance, software development, lab- commonly referred to as “dry type” These four functions are widely
oratory chemical hygiene and processes, and transformers. Into the 1940s, vacuum- recognized and the liquid inside these
data analytics and diagnostics. He is a mem- filling as a process opened further transformers is crucial to the normal
ber of IEEE and ASTM and presents nationally advancement in transformers’ operation of transformers from
as an authority on transformer fluid analysis. application and size. As larger, liquid generation to distribution.
38 THE LIFEBLOOD
OF TRANSFORMER
RELIABILITY

The very first transformers did not have an insulating

iquid in them. The use of mineral oil as an insulating
These functions point to why these
liquids are so crucial:
liquid was patented in 1893 and within about five
Dielectric Strength – The liquid
insulates energized components years, this advancement was commercially available.
inside the transformer, helping to
ensure routine operation of the
transformer. While the liquid is an
insulator, there is another insulation
medium in transformers – called
the solid insulation. Solid insulation Liquid dielectric liquid, which
is comprised of paper and board Types has strong performance
that serve to insulate the winding. in terms of cooling and
Interestingly, it is the combination of In early is known to have high
the solid and liquid insulation that is transformers, dielectric strength. Due
so profound due to a synergy between the insulating to its long history of
the two that yield a dielectric strength liquid of use in this application,
improvement of 20 – 25% greater than choice was mineral oil characteristics
expected. The combination is greater mineral oil, are well-understood as
than the sum of its parts! due to its they relate to performing
dielectric diagnostics on the liquid.
Heat Transfer – Transformers, strength and Mineral oils also perform
depending on size and load, can ability to well in applications
generate a significant amount of heat. handle heat difficult for other
The liquid helps dissipate that heat and generated liquids such as load tap
enables transformer designers to use in the changers where arcing
natural and generated convection to transformer. occurs in the insulating
keep the transformer within operating It was so liquid, or in free-breathing
parameters for temperature and load. common that to this day, the applications where exposure to
Liquid properties such as viscosity, insulating liquid inside transformers oxygen causes polymerization of
heat capacity, relative density, and the is generically referred to as the “oil” some liquids. Mineral insulating
thermal expansion coefficient are all inside the transformer, even though liquids generally have a price
key properties affecting the liquid’s other liquids have been used for advantage compared to other
performance in heat transfer. years as well. For a time, pure PCBs liquids. Mineral oils are also readily
were used as an insulating liquid processable and can be restored
Protection of Solid Insulation – but due to environmental and health to near-new condition by hot oil
Transformers contain solid insulation concerns, PCBs are now a rarity cleaning processes.
comprised of paper and board that in transformers. Let’s look at the
lend strength to the transformer in common insulating liquids used in Silicone Liquids
normal operating conditions. This liquid-filled transformers: Silicone liquids are a synthetic oil
paper is susceptible to damaging that can be used as a dielectric
effects of oxidation, and the liquid Mineral Oils liquid. Silicone has high dielectric
acts as a barrier between the solid Today, many transformers are still strength, high flash and fire points,
insulation and “bad actors” that lead to filled with naphthenic or paraffinic and is chemically inert. These
oxidation such as oxygen, heat, and mineral oil, often called “transformer characteristics have led to the use
moisture. oil”. This is a derivative of petroleum of silicone oil in indoor applications
oil that is well-established as a where flammability is a significant
Diagnostics – The liquid inside the
transformer is analogous to the blood
in our body, and just as a blood sample
can tell the doctor about our health, the These four functions are widely recognized and the
liquid can be tested to help evaluate
the condition of the transformer.
This was not part of the original liquid inside these transformers is crucial to the
intent of adding insulating liquid to
normal operation of transformers from generation
Photo: SDMyers

transformers, yet it has become an

incredibly useful aspect to help ensure
the reliable operation of a transformer. to distribution.
Transformer Technology January 2022 39

Issue 17

In early transformers, the insulating liquid of choice

was mineral oil, due to its dielectric strength and
concern. Silicone also has a slow
oxidation rate in the presence of
oxygen at elevated temperatures
ability to handle heat generated in the transformer.
(>175°C); when oxidation does
occur over time, it results in It was so common that to this day, the insulating
polymerization of the liquid, which
is measurable by the viscosity liquid inside transformers is generically referred to
of the liquid, but does not form
harmful acids or sludges. Use of as the “oil” inside the transformer, even though other
silicone oils in transformers has
been decreasing over recent years,
as arguably better performing and
liquids have been used for years as well.
definitively more environmentally
friendly liquids (natural and
synthetic esters) have become
available at lower prices. The Heart of Power System temperature can be used to
Reliability calculate the percent saturation
Natural Esters of water. This is an important test
Natural esters are a type of If the transformer is the heart of the because elevated moisture results
environmentally friendly dielectric electric power system, the insulating in accelerated aging of the solid
liquid that is readily biodegradable, liquid is the blood, and it can tell you insulation and if high enough can
derived from agricultural crops an incredible amount of information even result if the failure of the
such as corn, rapeseed, soybean, about the transformer’s condition. transformer. Moisture in dielectric
and sunflower. While this is an Liquid sampling and testing is cost- liquids can also lead to oxidation
advantage in itself related to effective and highly informative, and and formation of acids that
spill containment and material the liquids also play a key role in degrade the solid insulation.
handling, these liquids have some other diagnostics such as infrared • Dissolved Gas Analysis (DGA) –
performance advantages compared (IR) thermography and continuous DGA detects the presence of key
to mineral oil as well. They typically monitoring devices. gases that can identify incipient
have high flash and fire points, faults from low- to high-energy
making them great for indoor Typical Tests events and can point towards
applications where flammability is The most common tests are issues with the solid insulation.
a concern. Esters also have a high indicators of general aging • Power Factor – This test can indicate
capacity for moisture saturation, and contamination, moisture liquid breakdown, contamination,
leading to claims that retrofilling incursion, and incipient faults. It is and in some cases, moisture.
an oil-filled transformer with a imperative that the sample pulled is • Inhibitor – Transformer oil typically
natural ester can aid in dehydrating representative, and methods exist includes an inhibitor to help
the solid insulation. These esters to help define the sampling process prevent oxidation, which can lead
polymerize when exposed to oxygen, such as ASTM D923. Once you have to premature aging of the liquid;
typically have higher viscosity than a good sample, there are many tests this test quantifies the amount of
mineral oils, and are not as readily available. Typical tests are: inhibitor in the liquid.
processable for restoration to near- • Liquid Screen – A group of tests • Furan Analysis – A byproduct of
new condition. Natural esters are that looks for signs of premature paper degradation is the formation
compatible with mineral oils, making aging of the dielectric liquid. of certain compounds, called
retrofills feasible when service is A liquid screen can also point furans, which can be quantified
needed. There are also synthetic to contamination from internal and correlated to the state of
ester liquids available with similar issues such as coking or sludge, aging of the solid insulation in the
characteristics but improved low- or external issues such as transformer.
temperature performance and contamination from other liquids. • Metals in Oil – This test can
formulated to prevent oxidation if • Karl Fischer – This test measures determine very low quantities
exposed to air, as in free-breathing the amount of moisture in the of dissolved metals such as
applications. dielectric liquid, and the liquid aluminum, copper, and iron.

hese four functionre widely recognized and the

liquid inside t hese transformers is crucial to the
40 THE LIFEBLOOD
OF TRANSFORMER
RELIABILITY

liquid inside t hese transformers is crucial to the

hese four functionre widely recognized and the
Infrared Scanning / Thermography
Liquid-filled transformers also
provide an opportunity to use
The data shows that insulating oil maintenance results
infrared scanning to look for
signs of thermal issues in your in about six years of additional service life each time it
transformer. Infrared scanning,
or thermography, can identify is performed!
anomalies such as overloading,
unbalanced loads, low liquid levels,
issues with the cooling system,
hot spots, loose connections, and
faulty gauges. While thermography
can be used on any electrical asset
for thermal profiling, the insulating
liquid helps highlight issues such
as hot spots, liquid level, or other
cooling issues due to the heat
transfer properties of the liquid.

Photo: SDMyers
Transformer Technology January 2022 41

Issue 17

These devices often offer additional

data collection as well, such as liquid
temperature or even load on the
transformer to aid in diagnostics.
The ability to closely watch trends
in these important insulating liquid
related values is a significant step in
ensuring the reliable life of a liquid-
filled transformer.

Ensuring the Reliable Life

of your Transformer
The insulating liquid in your
transformer is at an intersection where
Liquid Monitoring its use is ubiquitous and the potential
Another benefit of the insulating to learn about the health of the
liquid is that technology advances in transformer is enormous. It is crucial
the past several years have created to the reliability of your transformer,
the opportunity to monitor some so it should be a priority to keep in
health characteristics in addition to excellent condition and correct any
laboratory testing. Monitoring devices deficiencies quickly. The data shows
are readily available that can monitor that insulating oil maintenance (oil
moisture levels and dissolved gas reclamation, moisture reduction,
(DGA) levels, which have long been or re-inhibit) results in about six
only available by laboratory testing. years of additional service life each
time it is performed! Keeping the
transformer in good condition via
routine and responsive maintenance
and maintaining the insulating liquid
are sure-fire ways to help ensure the
reliability of your electrical power
system and extend the useful life of
your critical power assets.
Tech Talks

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Transformer Technology January 2022 43

Issue 17
44 CASE STUDY:
MINERAL OILS

Materials Compatibility:
Lessons Learned from the
Transformer Oils Study
by David Holland

A study was conducted to assess

the compatibility between each
of four leading transformer
oil products and each of eight
common transformer component
materials. The sample of four
transformer oil products tested
included two primarily naphthenic
oils and two isoparaffinic-based
transformer oils. Results of the
test were twofold. First, both
isoparaffinic-based transformer
oils demonstrated compatibility
across a wider set of transformer
component materials than
either of the tested naphthenic
oils. Second, two commonly
used materials in transformer
components, neoprene and nitrile,
demonstrated poor compatibility
across all four of the tested
transformer oils. This article
describes the test methodology
and discusses the study results
that may be of interest to
manufacturers and operators of
transformers.
Photo: ExxonMobil
Transformer Technology January 2022 45

Issue 17

Introduction and Scope properties of the oil after immersion

of the solid materials are important
Transformers include many types for determining the presence and
of insulation materials in addition to extent of contamination and therefore
the oil, each material critical to the the suitability of the oil and materials
system performance. Solid insulation in that system. The test method
materials like rubber seals/gaskets or utilized may also help confirm the
elastomers are frequently examined quality of the solid materials since
The quality of the for compatibility. Separate from both high quality and commercial
gasket material these, resin, laminate, silicon, paper grade options are available for use in
and others may also be included. transformers. In the case of power
plays a key role Materials compatibility testing is transformers where longevity and
in achieving essential for the understanding of long-term performance are important,
long-term performance of transformer it is important to use high quality
compatibility with oil design. One well known issue in grades, especially for any elastomeric
mineral oil. transformer operation is oil leakage components.
from gaskets. In fact, seal gaskets
have the potential to become a critical Standard and Experiment
root cause of failure in transformers.
CIGRE’s working group conducted a The standard method ASTM D3455
survey and found that 13% of power Compatibility of Construction
transformer failures were due to Material with Electrical Insulating Oil
leakage [1]. According to a Renewable of Petroleum Origin was used. The
and Sustainable Energy Review [2], method is quite involved in terms
damaged seals and oil leakages of preparation, execution, and it
account for 32% of outages. Another requires accurate measurement of
study on failures in power system the oil properties in the analysis. In
transformers concluded that the most the method, each oil sample receives
common cause of failure in an oven-treated test specimen (solid
David S. Holland is currently Global Fluids 20-400 MVA transformers was general components) immersed in it and
Customer Applications Development Tech- ageing and insulation deterioration [3]. together each sample is treated in an
nical Professional at ExxonMobil Chemical Therefore, understanding compatibility oven at 100°C for a duration of
Company. Employed by the company since is necessary to ensure safe operation. 164 hours. After this period, the
2010, he has previously held positions in The less influence the oil has on the sample is removed, allowed to cool,
chemicals manufacturing, supply chain and gasket materials, the less deformation and the test specimen is removed. The
technology. David received his B.Sc. degree and deterioration of the gasket will oil is then tested for select physical,
in Chemical Engineering from the University occur. Not only is the choice of a high- electrical, and chemical properties
of Florida. David can be contacted with ques- quality transformer oil important in this to detect and quantify the resulting
tions at [email protected]. equation, ensuring the use of high- contamination that may come from
quality materials is also necessary immersion at high temperature.
for safe and long lasting transformer At this point,
design. It is known that rubber gaskets the oil and solid
Compatibility can leach particles into the oil due
Sample material
material can
testing between to the solvency nature of the oil. Not be evaluated
only will this degrade the quality of Neoprene for suitability in
the transformer the gasket, but it can also reduce the transformer
Nitrile
oil and other solid the electrical insulating properties design. Table
of the oil and impact the overall 1 lists the test
insulation materials insulation performance of the system.
Nylon
specimens
in the transformer It is evident from the study outlined
Copper with resin
chosen for the
here that the quality of the gasket test.
is essential for material plays a key role in achieving Copper
the understanding compatibility with mineral oil. The method
Paper itself provides
of long-term Significance and Use guidance for
performance of Silicon steel (1) the types
The compatibility between the of materials
transformer oil transformer oil and other solid Painted laminate typically
design. insulation materials in the transformer analyzed, (2) a
is important for long term reliability. Table 1. Solid test
specified solid
The magnitude of changes in the specimens for quantity to oil
electrical, physical, and chemical compatibility testing volume ratio,
46 CASE STUDY:
MINERAL OILS

and (3) the analytical methods 70

recommended to assess oil quality
after the immersion period. Though 60
specifications for the oil tests are
50
recommended, they do not define
the compatibility of a system per

Percent, %
40
se because values for these limits
were derived from typical values of 30
most mineral oils available on the
20
market at the time the method was
finalized. For this reason, it is often 10
helpful to do comparative testing, e.g.
testing multiple oil products or testing 0
alongside a known baseline. Naphthenic Oil 1 Naphthenic Oil 2 Univolt™ TO Univolt Plus TO
Ca, % Cn, % Cp, %
The Transformer Oils Being
Compared Results

Figure 1 shows the composition The 2021 analysis by Doble Engineering

of the four distinct transformer oil shows high variation in the compatibility
products chosen for this study. Two results for neoprene, nitrile, nylon and
typical transformer oils containing less variation for copper, paper, and
high naphthenic carbon content were laminate. In fact, all oils are determined
compared with two oils (Univolt™ to be compatible with laminate, copper,
and Univolt Plus transformer oil) silicon steel and paper. Therefore,
containing higher isoparaffin content the focus of the discussion is on the
and lower naphthenic carbon content. more susceptible materials: neoprene,
While containing both naphthenes nitrile, nylon and copper with resin.
and isoparaffins, these two oils will be Table 2 shows the final compatibility
referred to as “isoparaffinic oils”. determination for each oil.

The magnitude of changes in the electrical, physical,

and chemical properties of the oil after immersion of
the solid materials are important for determining the
presence and extent of contamination and therefore the
suitability of the oil and materials in that system.

Sample material Naphthenic Oil 1 Naphthenic Oil 2 Univolt TO Univolt Plus TO

Neoprene NC NC NC NC

Nitrile NC NC NC NC

Nylon NC NC C C

Copper with resin NC NC C C

Copper C C C C

Paper C C C C
Photo: ExxonMobil

Silicon steel C C C C

Painted laminate C C C C

Table 2. Compatibility results of ASTM D3455.

NC = not compatible, C = compatible
Transformer Technology January 2022 47

Issue 17

Figure 1. Percentage of aromatic carbon

content (Ca), naphthenic carbon content
(Cn), and isoparaffinic content (Cp), based
on ASTM D2140. Naphthenic Oils 1, 2:
Doble TOPS Survey 111. Univolt, Univolt
Plus TO: Doble TOPS Survey 112
48 CASE STUDY:
MINERAL OILS
Neoprene
30
Figures 2-5. Power Factor
25 at 100°C (PF100) of the oil
24.000 after immersion
20
PF100

15

10
9.284
5
2.029 1.993
0

Naphthenic Oil 1 Naphthenic Oil 2 Univolt Plus TO Univolt TO

Nitrile
7

6
5.794
5

4
PF100

1
0.966 0.885 0.852
0

Naphthenic Oil 1 Naphthenic Oil 2 Univolt Plus TO Univolt TO

Nylon
3

2
2.093
PF100

0.272 0.088 0.040

0

Naphthenic Oil 1 Naphthenic Oil 2 Univolt Plus TO Univolt TO

Figures 2-9 show the test results
Copper with resin of the oil properties compared for a
2 single material. Figures 2-5 focus on
the measured Power Factor at 100°C
1.810
(PF100) of the oil after immersion.
1.5
Figures 6-9 show the measured
Interfacial Tension (IFT) after
immersion.
PF100

The isoparaffinic oils exhibited a lower

PF100 for all materials and maintained
0.5
a higher IFT, especially for the most
susceptible elastomer materials like
Photo: ExxonMobil

0.316 0.088 0.099

0 neoprene and nitrile. For Figures 2-9
above, the isoparaffinic grades have
Naphthenic Oil 1 Naphthenic Oil 2 Univolt Plus TO Univolt TO better demonstrated performance.
 Transformer Technology January 2022 49

Issue 17
Neoprene
60
Figures 6-9. The measured
Interfacial Tension (IFT) after
immersion
40
IFT D971, mN/m

40 41
38

30
20

Naphthenic Oil 1 Naphthenic Oil 2 Univolt Plus TO Univolt TO

Nitrile
60

40
IFT D971, mN/m

40 41
37
33

20

Naphthenic Oil 1 Naphthenic Oil 2 Univolt Plus TO Univolt TO

Nylon
60

56 55

40 44 OEMs and utilities that

IFT D971, mN/m

are concerned about

35
the longevity of their
20 transformers should consider
using an isoparaffinic-based
transformer oil to maximize
0
material compatibility.
Naphthenic Oil 1 Naphthenic Oil 2 Univolt Plus TO Univolt TO

Copper with Resin The study informed that both grades

60 of neoprene and nitrile were actually
incompatible with all the oils. This
55 55
result was not unexpected considering
46 neoprene is known to show poor
40
IFT D971, mN/m

compatibility with mineral oils. While

this study shows it is not advisable to
34
use neoprene or nitrile in transformer
construction, higher quality of grades
20
of these types of materials should
be available which may show better
compatibility with mineral oil than the
commercial grades have. For example,
0
nitrile with a high concentration of
Naphthenic Oil 1 Naphthenic Oil 2 Univolt Plus TO Univolt TO acrylonitrile would be a better choice.
50 CASE STUDY:
MINERAL OILS

Photo: ExxonMobil
Transformer Technology January 2022 51

Issue 17

Discussion Conclusion
Good material compatibility There is a lot of focus on the elastomer
between transformer oils and gasket type components because of their
materials is an important property of difficult compatibility with mineral
oils which can help reduce the risk oil products. Neoprene continues to
of seal failure and leaks. This report be the most affected material when
offers a direct comparison of several exposed to mineral oil. Based on
oils’ compatibility performance ASTM D2140 compositional analysis,
with different gasket materials. isoparaffinic-based transformer
Maintaining a low PF100 is desired oils have very low aromatic carbon
as it indicates less dissolved content, and naphthenic-based
impurities due to the oil having less transformer oils can present a range
influence on the elastomer. The of aromatic carbon content, typically
main cause for the difference in 5-20%. From a compositional and
the gathered results is the fact that solvency perspective, naphthenic-
isoparaffinic oils have less aromatic based mineral oils tend to interact with
and naphthenic carbon content than elastomer components more than do
the naphthenic based oils. Aromatics isoparaffinic-based mineral oils, as
and naphthenes are two carbon shown in the PF100 and IFT data. OEMs
constituent types that are related and utilities that are concerned about
to solvency strength and tend to the longevity of their transformers
have low aniline points. Conversely, should consider using an isoparaffinic-
isoparaffinic oils have high aniline based transformer oil, such as Univolt
points. Therefore, improved TO, to maximize material compatibility.
materials compatibility is owed In addition to oil suitability, this study
in part to having a lower solvency also provided insight into the quality of
strength of the oil. materials. Mainly the materials other
than neoprene and nitrile should be
The results for compatibility of considered for elastomeric transformer
mineral oil with common gasket components, as these two materials
materials like neoprene and nitrile demonstrate poor compatibility across
is not surprising as neoprene and the range of tested transformer oils.
nitrile generally do not perform When considering nitrile, preference
well interacting with mineral oils. should be for the higher quality grades
While ultimately not compatible, for use in transformer construction.
the data do show the materials Transformer manufacturers and utility
actually had less of an interaction companies may like to consider this
with the isoparaffinic products information in materials selection or
than with the naphthenic products. qualification processes.
After heat treating, the isoparaffinic
products showed the lowest Power References
Factor response and maintained [1] “An international survey
a higher Interfacial tension. As on failures in large power
said previously, this would for the transformers in service,” CIGRE
most part be due to the base oil Working Group 12.05. Electra,
composition. The isoparaffinic 88 (1983), pp. 21-48
products, having lower naphthenic [2] Christina AJ, et al., “Renewable
content, have directionally lower and Sustainable Review:
solvency. In addition, naphthenic Causes of transformer failures
carbon content is known to have and diagnostic methods”
embedded aromatic constituents [3] J.P. Reynders, P.J. de Klerk,
which will directly contribute M.S.A. Minhas, “Failures in
to solvency. (ASTM D2140 is a power system transformers
Acknowledgements measurement of total aromatic and appropriate monitoring
This work was financially content, whether the aromatics are techniques,” University of the
supported by Exxon Mobil pure compounds or constituents Witwatersrand and Eskom
Corporation. of naphthenes, i.e. embedded Technology South Africa
aromatics.)
52 PRE-SHOW
FEATURE

Power in Innovation
Entergy and IEEE to Host the
2022 PES T&D Conference
and Exhibition April 25-28, 2022 | NEW ORLEANS
ERNEST N. MORIAL CONVENTION CENTER

As the largest gathering of T&D professionals, the

IEEE Power and Energy Society’s T&D Conference
The pace of innovation and new policy and Exposition is more critical than ever for
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diverse group of attendees through numerous
networking opportunities.

Registration for the 2022 event in New Orleans opens January 17

Photo: IEEE

for IEEE members and January 31 for non-members.

Transformer Technology January 2022 53

Issue 17

2022 Technical Program

Featuring some of the best minds in power and
energy, the 2022 technical program offers attendees
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for 2022, helping to produce an exceptional lineup where continuing education is required, as well as for
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their career. objectives.

Visit ieeet-d.org/TechnicalProgram to view the full agenda.

New!
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In addition to more than 700 exhibitors on the exhibit
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Developed in partnership with IEEE Smart Cities, this dedicated
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Transformer Technology 55

Issue 17

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56 OIL AGEING

An Innovative and
Efficient Way to
Control Consequences
of Oil Ageing
by Jérémie Walker
Jerome Blanc
and Irene Mariette-Korotkoff

Photo: Shutterstock
Transformer Technology January 2022 57

Issue 16

Gas accumulation in mineral oil can

make partial discharges persistent
and lead to transformer explosion,
increasing the risk of fire.
A gas-evolving mineral oil
can become gas absorbing Jérémie Walker holds PhD degree in Mass Spec-
by adding a few percent of trometry from Swansea University (Wales, UK).

methylpolyarylmethane derivatives,
a highly efficient additive that
can limit the impact of mineral oil
decomposition for transformers
affected by corona partial discharge.

Jerome Blanc is a Chemical Engineer from

Chimie ParisTech (France).
Working at Arkema Research Centre located
in Pierre-Benite, France.

Irene Mariette-Korotkoff is a Senior Scien-

tist specialized in dielectric applications.
Working at Arkema Research Centre located
in Pierre-Benite, France.

Arkema team has more than 30 years of ex-

perience in the development and analyses of
dielectric and insulating fluids for high volt-
age capacitors and transformers. Beyond
some valuable technical publications made
at international events in these fields, they
are members of CIGRE and of International
Electrotechnical Commissions (IEC) to con-
tribute to the maintenance of standards.
58 OIL AGEING

After being dried and saturated with

hydrogen gas, the insulating liquid
and the hydrogen pocket above the
liquid are subjected in the specific
cell to a radial electrical stress under
following experimental conditions:
• Voltage: 10 kV
• Frequency: 50 Hz
• Temperature: 80°C
• Test duration: 120 min

During the test, the liquid level in the

burette is closely monitored, and the
gassing tendency is calculated from
the difference between the initial level
and the level after 120 min.

A Practical Solution to Solve

Positive Gassing

As mentioned above, due to

health and environmental issues,
mineral oils are almost exempt of
aromatic and mainly poly aromatic
hydrocarbons (PAH). It is known
Figure 1. Schematic diagram of gassing-cell and gas-burette assembly (from IEC 60628 [1]) that the presence of aromatic
hydrocarbons has a strong effect on
the negative gassing
Background tendency of the oil. The
aromatic species act
The oil used in transformers has When the gassing tendency is as hydrogen scavenger
several main functions as it acts as
electrical insulation, cooling medium
negative, the gases are absorbed by ifdecomposed the mineral oil is
due to a
and information carrier. Besides, the oil. When the gassing tendency partial discharge default
there are some additional properties
expected from transformer oil,
is positive, more gases are produced of the transformer.
such as compatibility with cellulose than the absorption capacity of An easy way to cope with
insulation, fire safety consideration
and environmental requirements.
the oil. this consists in using
methylpolyarylmethane
Mineral oils have been widely used in derivatives (carrying
transformers for more than a aromatic rings) as a
hundred years. However, most complement to mineral oils, in a
mineral oils are now highly refined This concept could be characterized range of 4 to 8 weight-% in average
to meet health and environment in the following way: (and depending on the type and origin
requirements as well as more • When the gassing tendency is of the mineral oil). It will restore the
stringent requirements for corrosive negative, the gases are absorbed negative gassing performance of the
sulphur. Highly refined oils usually by the oil. mineral oil.
contain less aromatic and other • When the gassing tendency is
unsaturated compounds due to the positive, more gases are produced Methylpolyarylmethane derivatives
hydrogenation process. Consequently, than the absorption capacity of are available products as they
the gassing tendency of the mineral the oil. have been extensively used as
oils becomes more positive. This heat transfer fluids, at service
phenomenon and a way to deal with The gassing tendency of transformer temperatures up to 330°C, thanks
it will be described more precisely in insulating fluids under partial to their excellent thermal stability.
this article. discharge conditions has become an This use confirms the high stability
increasingly important issue because of this type of molecules. In addition,
About Gassing Tendency the presence of gas increases the since methylpolyarylmethane
potential for failure. To ensure a derivatives are synthetic liquids, they
The gassing tendency refers to the harmonized definition and a reliable have a well-defined composition.
Photo: Shutterstock

behavior of an insulating liquid when measuring method, the gassing Methylpolyarylmethane derivatives
gases have been produced due to low tendency of insulating fluids is fully are not of the same structure of
energy electrical stresses. described in IEC standard 60628-A [1]. polyaromatic hydrocarbons, they are
Transformer Technology January 2022 59

Issue 17

The presence of
aromatic hydrocarbons
has a strong effect
on the negative gassing
tendency of the oil.

synthetic molecules obtained

by coupling toluene molecules,
a widely available raw material,
via Friedel-Crafts reactions.

In practice, when a transformer

with a corona partial discharge
default is detected, several
options may be done to solve
the problem early enough to
prevent it from any risk of fire
or explosion. For high voltage
transformers, the best-preferred
solution is to send back the
transformer to the workshop in
order to repair the default.

For medium and low voltage

transformers, the preferred
solution consists in a mineral
oil treatment with external tools
in order to eliminate maximum
of dissolved hydrogen, water
traces and other impurities.
This treatment is costly
and requires a transformer
shutdown during a period from
one to several days, depending
60 OIL AGEING

For example, according to IEC

Gassing 60867-1993 standard, it is said to
Methylpolyaryl Gassing
tendency
Power In/Out
methane tendency
mineral
be as low as 130 µl/min for pure
Transformer derivatives mineral methylpolyarylmethane oils [2].
(kVA) (kV) oil with
(weight-%) oil
additive
(µl/min)
(µl/min) In the case of oil pretreatment (Cases 1
and 2 in Table 2), the hydrogen
Case 1 1600 15/0,4 5.6 12.5 -11 increase noticed after few days is
With prior
treatment normal. During the oil treatment,
Case 2 500 63/10 6.3 10 -19 it is not possible to treat all the oil
present in transformer since the
Case 3 2600 34/0,7 8.5 5 -29 oil present in the paper, wood and
cardboard is not completely removed.
Without Case 4 2600 34/0,7 8.5 0 -56
After restarting the transformer this
prior
treatment
remaining fraction of oil is mixed with
Case 5 2600 34/0,7 8.5 5 -48
the cleaned oil and after few days of
Case 6 2600 34/0,7 8.5 8 -25
operation an equilibrium is reached.

Beyond the positive effect observed

Table 1. Overview of the results for the group of transformers
for the gassing tendency, it is
important to know that the addition
of methylpolyarylmethane derivatives
of transformer size and quantity of important to have enough negative does not interfere with other methods
oil to treat. gassing tendency in the liquid to monitor transformer defects.
medium to absorb the hydrogen As an example, let’s consider thermal
Practical Example formed due to the corona partial defects and the role of dissolved gas
discharge phenomenon. analysis (DGA).
To demonstrate the benefits of the
addition of methylpolyarylmethane The oil analyses are done by an Dissolved gas analysis (DGA) is
derivatives in mineral oil of trans- external laboratory specialized in among the most powerful tools
formers affected by corona partial transformers oil analysis. for detecting faults in electrical
discharge several studies have been equipment in service.
launched over the last years. For that reason, DGA
analytical techniques
First, a series of two transformers Thanks to their high aromaticity, and interpretation
underwent a preliminary treatment methods are
of the mineral oil in order to remove methylpolyarylmethane derivatives continuously being
a maximum of dissolved hydrogen exhibit a strong gas-absorbing investigated and
before adding the methylpolyaryl- improved. Indeed, to
methane additives into the mineral oil. ability. follow the technical
trend regarding the
A second series of four transformers increasing use of non-
associated with a group of wind mineral oils (such
turbines were treated by direct The gassing tendency is measured as natural and synthetic esters
addition of the methylpolyaryl- according to the IEC 60628-A [1], and silicone oils), DGA analytical
methane in the mineral oil already see Table 2. techniques for non-mineral oils were
present to the transformer. The oil developed. Among the parameters
from these transformers has been The trend is similar for all the trans- that needed to be adjusted, time is
monitored and evaluated over several formers that received an addition of a critical one. For the extraction of
years. methylpolyarylmethane oil. gases dissolved in oil, the viscosity of
the oil is a key parameter that needs
Table 1 summarizes the result This clearly confirms that the gassing to be considered to allow sufficient
obtained on the different tendency of the transformer oil went time to reach the equilibrium. The
transformers. from a positive status to a negative more viscous the oil, the longer the
status that enables to absorb the equilibrium time. These parameters
The amount of methylpolyaryl- hydrogen formed due to the corona are described in the dedicated
methane derivatives added was partial discharges transformers default. standard IEC 60567 [3].
defined by analysis of mineral oil
gassing tendency. The target is to This comes from the fact that Regarding the results, DGA
Photo: Ekofluid

reach a gassing tendency in the range thanks to their high aromaticity, interpretation methods for mineral
of -10 to -20 µl/min measured for methylpolyarylmethane derivatives oils are based on many cases of
the mineral oil. This target value is exhibit a strong gas-absorbing ability. transformers in service where gas
Transformer Technology January 2022 61

Issue 17

formation could be attributed to a

Hydrogen amount in transformers (mg/l)
specific type of fault. Gas formation
patterns are basically the same in
mineral and non-mineral oils (the Case 1 Case 2 Case 3 Case 4 Case 5 Case 6
same types of gases are formed for
a given type of fault), but with some Before oil
1055 19460 37185 33976 43217 34243
treatment
quantitative differences in the ratios
of gases formed. That is particularly Oil after
66 20
important to make sure that in the treatment
case of the addition of methylpoly- Few days
arylmethane derivatives in mineral after
250 1836
oils, electrical or thermal defects are additive
treatment
not hidden.
6 months 70 1570

1 year 20 1137 24746 23271 17169 32769

2 years 12 14281 16355 10883 24907

3 years 10 270 - - - -

Table 2. Dissolved hydrogen evolution for the group of transformers currently in operation

Figure 2. Wind farm transformer, Nevada USA (courtesy picture from a private company)
62 OIL AGEING

Comments and Conclusions impact of mineral oil decomposition

In the meantime, other electrical
for transformers affected by corona
parameters such as breakdown
The production of gas is the result partial discharge phenomenon is
voltage will remain comparable and
of the electro-chemical degradation important for transformer owners.
the addition of this aromatic fraction
of the fluid into smaller molecules will not bring an issue for
such as hydrogen. In the case of oil breakdown strength.
gas-evolving fluid (mineral oil), Moreover, it was proven
the gas can accumulate and make The addition of that the addition of
partial discharges persistent. The
accumulation of the gas could lead
methylpolyarylmethane derivatives methylpolyarylmethane
derivatives does not
to explosion of the transformer does not interfere with moni-toring interfere with the
and significantly increase the
risk of fire to take place. A gas-
of other defects such as thermal monitoring of other
transformer defects
evolving mineral oil can become gas defects. such as thermal defects.
absorbing by adding a few percent of
methylpolyarylmethane derivatives. Based on these
interesting results
The benefits of the methylpolyaryl- In addition, the treatment cost applied to the case of mineral oils
methane derivatives is their will be strongly reduced as it is in transformers, it would be worth
efficiency even if the mineral oil demonstrated in this article that conducting a similar evaluation for
contains some high quantity of preliminary oil treatment before transformers filled with vegetable oils
dissolved hydrogen. The high additive adding in the transformer and suffering from partial discharge
efficiency of this additive to limit the is not mandatory. issues.

References
[1] IEC 60628:1985, Gassing
of insulating liquids under
electrical stress and ionization
[2] IEC 60867:1993, Insulating
liquids – Specifications
for unused liquids based
on synthetic aromatic
hydrocarbons
[3] IEC 60567:2011, Oil-filled
electrical equipment –
Sampling of gases and
analysis of free and dissolved
gases - Guidance

Photo: Camlin
We let
Transformer Technology January 2022 63

Issue 17

our equipment
speak for itself

www.ekofluid.com
64 ESTER FLUIDS
REGENERATION

Decay Particles and

Regeneration of
Ester Dielectric Liquids
A Challenge!
by U. Mohan Rao U. Mohan Rao, Senior Member, IEEE, holds a
I. Fofana bachelor’s degree in electrical and electron-
and P. Picher ics engineering, and a master’s and doctoral
degrees obtained from the National Institute
of Technology, Hamirpur, India. At present, he
is a lecturer in the Department of Applied Sci-
ences at Université du Québec à Chicoutimi
(UQAC) in Canada. He is also a postdoctoral
researcher at UQAC with the Research Chair
on the Aging of Power Network Infrastruc-
Issouf Fofana, Fellow of the IET, holds a ture (ViAHT). Dr. Mohan is a Senior Member
bachelor’s degree in electro-mechanical en- of IEEE and Member of the IEEE DEIS. He
gineering, and a master’s and doctoral de- is also the Secretary for the IEEE Technical
grees obtained from École Centrale de Lyon, Committee on Liquid Dielectrics. His main
France. He was a postdoctoral researcher in research interests include aging phenomena
Lyon in 1997 and was at the Schering Insti- of high-voltage insulation, condition monitor-
tute of High Voltage Engineering Techniques ing of electrical apparatus, alternative dielec-
at the University of Hanover, Germany from tric materials, transformer insulation in cold
1998 to 2000. He was a Fellow of the Alex- countries, and AIML applications.
ander von Humboldt Stiftung from November
1997 to August 1999. He joined Université du
Québec à Chicoutimi, Canada as an Associ-
ate Researcher in 2000, and he is now a pro-
fessor there. Dr. Fofana has held the Canada
Research Chair, tier 2, of insulating liquids
and mixed dielectrics for electrotechnology
(ISOLIME) from 2005 to 2015. He is the
Research Chair on the Aging of Power Net-
work Infrastructure (ViAHT), director of the
MODELE laboratory and the International
Research Centre on Atmospheric Icing and Patrick Picher, Senior Member, IEEE, re-
Power Network Engineering (CenGivre) at ceived the B.Eng. degree in electrical engi-
UQAC. He is a member of the ASTM D27 neering from the Université de Sherbrooke,
Committee. He is the 2021 IEEE Jidan Chen Sherbrooke, Québec, Canada, in 1993, and the
Award. Since 2018, he is chairing the IEEE Ph.D. degree from the École Polytechnique
Technical Committee on Liquid Dielectrics. de Montréal, Montréal, Québec, in 1997. He is
He has authored/co-authored over 300 currently a Researcher and a Project Manager
scientific publications, three book chapters, with the Hydro-Québec’s Research Institute,
one textbook, edited four books and holds IREQ. His research interests include trans-
three patents. former modeling, diagnosis, and monitoring.
Photo: U. Mohan Rao, I. Fofana, P. Picher
Transformer Technology January 2022 65

Issue 17

Introduction

Ester dielectric fluids are Transformers are considered to emissions and the divestment
be the most critical and expensive from fossil fuels, has spurred
no longer restricted to equipment in the power system the exponential development
laboratory investigations network. In these important of renewable energy-based
machines, the insulation system technologies. This consequently calls
and serve several is composed of oil and paper. for the need, demand and importance
transformers connected Mineral oils, derived from petroleum of ester liquids for use in transformer
(non-biodegradable resources), insulation systems. It is established
to the electric power are typically used in the power that ester liquids favor longer service
network. Along with other transformer industry. However, since life of the solid insulation system
the past few decades, ester dielectric while delivering high workability of the
technical aspects, it is also liquids are being popular [1]. transformer [1].
essential to understand Due to the global warming,
"sustainable development" has
the regeneration aspects become a very important concept
of these alternative for the scientific community. Ester fluids
insulating liquids. Fuller’s
The focus is now on harvesting
renewable resources instead of
(biodegradable
earth is a popular and depleting fossil fuels, and the use resources), which
widely accepted adsorbent
of more environmentally friendly
materials. Ester fluids (biodegradable
exhibit excellent
for regenerating mineral resources), which exhibit excellent thermal performance,
oils. The feasibility of
thermal performance, enhanced fire
safety and increased environmental
enhanced fire safety
using Fuller's earth for protection, are foreseen as the and increased
ester dielectric liquids is
workhorse for the decades to come. environmental
reported in this article. It is no wonder that the most protection, are
recent Paris climate accord (Paris
Agreement) signed by 195 countries,
foreseen as the
dealing with the mitigation and workhorse for the
adaptation of greenhouse gas decades to come.
66 ESTER FLUIDS
REGENERATION

The global transformer technology results on some experimental studies and improved workability of the
involves billions of gallons of performed on the degradation and insulation system [2]. It is to be
insulating liquid filled in the treatment of ester liquids. Some recalled that the treatment of
transformer tanks. It is known that information on the factors to be the in-service liquid includes
mineral insulating oil degradation considered for the regeneration of regeneration (or reclamation) and
is reversible by appropriate transformer liquids is also reported. reconditioning. Treatment of the
treatment methods (regeneration, liquid is performed with an aim to
reconditioning, and re-refining). It is removing soluble and colloidal decay
desirable that the degradation of ester particles (regeneration), dissolved
liquids is also reversible. However, The global gasses and water (reconditioning).
the information on the choice of transformer Regeneration is done when the
liquid treatment is challenging and decay concentration (acids, sludge,
has not yet been entirely explored by technology involves polar compounds, furans, and other
the researchers. In addition to the billions of gallons of oil/paper oxidation products) is
choice of treatment, information on high, while the liquid is expected
treatment method, treatment type insulating liquid filled to be in acceptable condition [2].
and materials that are to be adopted, in the transformer Reconditioning is performed when
etc. is tremendous and stands all the liquid parameters are within
challenging for the transformer tanks. limits with having excess dissolved
owners. Although different gasses or water. Regeneration
approaches exist, Fuller's earth involves one or a combination of
treatment is a traditional practice several steps including, adsorbents,
of rejuvenating mineral insulating Regeneration of mechanical agitations, filtration
oils. Therefore, it is interesting Transformer Liquids and scavengers [2, 3]. Recondition
to understand the feasibility of involves dehydration, degassing,
Fuller's earth as an adsorbent for Treatment of transformer liquids is a and vacuum systems. However,
ester liquids. Regeneration is about process carried out to rejuvenate the reconditioning is also performed
removing the decay products (soluble insulating liquid. Increase in aging along with regeneration. Also, the
and colloidal), so the type of decay is reflected by darker oil color that choice of treatment techniques
particles needs to be known as this indicates polar contaminant (Table 1). depends on various factors including,
allows choosing the best regeneration The advantages include extended the condition (ageing) of the oil-
method and adsorbent for ester life of the insulating liquid, enhanced paper, the color of the liquid and other
liquids. This article discusses the solid insulation performance, economic aspects.

Good Acceptable Marginal Bad Very Bad Extremely Bad Disastrous

Effect on transformer

Polar In almost Deposited

Fatty acids
compounds 100% of the sludges
coat the Sludges
Proving these (sludges) in transformers continue Vast
windings. insulate
functions: solution (oil’s in this range, to oxidize quantities of
Sludges in cooling fans,
oxidation sludges are and harden. sludges may
1. Efficient solution ready block vents
byproducts) deposited Insulation require other
cooling for initial fall causing higher
causes the on the core shrinkage is means than
2. Preserving out. Sludges operating
drop in IFT and coils. taking place. desludging
insulation in insulation temperatures
and rise in Sludge is first Premature procedures.
voids highly and hot spots.
Total Acid deposited in failure a good
probable.
Number. fin areas. possibility.

Table 1. Effect of oil quality on transformer

Transformer Technology January 2022 67

Issue 17

The reclamation aspects of mineral Figure 1. Schematic of centrifuge treatment

insulating liquids used in liquid-filled
electrical apparatus are reported in the
IEEE standard C57.637 [2]. Presently,
there is no established standard
for the reclamation of ester liquids.
However, very few authors reported
the regeneration of esters with various
adsorbents [3, 4]. The details of the
adsorbents are not well discussed in
the existing literature. However, high
treatment temperatures influence
the oxidation stability of natural
ester liquids and exhibit a notable
impact on the weight of the available Observations liquid is shown in Figure 1. Due to
antioxidants in the bulk of the liquid. the centrifuge force exerted on the
To the best of the authors’ knowledge, Nature of Decay Particles colloidal decay particles, they moved
this treatment temperature is not to the tip of the centrifuge tube, thus
yet investigated by researchers or To know the type of aging byproducts allowing the separation between the
reported in the existing literature. The in ester liquid vis-à-vis mineral colloidal and soluble particles in the
chemical composition of ester liquids insulating oils, accelerated thermal liquids.
is completely different from that of aging of mineral oil (MO), natural
mineral oils. The aging processes ester (NE), and synthetic ester (SE) It was found that at lower aging
in mineral oil and ester liquids are was performed. The thermal aging conditions (115°C), mineral oil did
therefore completely different. Thus, was performed at 115°C, 150°C, not witness any colloidal particles.
there is a need to understand the and 175°C for two weeks each, thus However, at 150°C and 175°C
nature of the decay particles before totaling to six weeks of age in the colloidal particles were noticed.
investigating the choice of treatment presence of the kraft paper (cellulose) In the case of ester liquids, the
and other avenues of regeneration. and catalyst. The aged liquids were colloidal particles were not evident
This report presents the type of subjected to mechanical agitation through the aging cycle. The view of
decay particles in ester liquids and using a typical centrifuge as per the centrifuge tubes demonstrating
the feasibility of Fuller's earth for the ASTM D 1698. The illustration of the separation of colloidal particles
regeneration of ester liquids. the centrifuge treatment of aged is presented in Figure 2.

(a) Mineral oil (b) Ester liquids

Figure 2. View of centrifuge tubes after treatment of mineral oil and ester liquids at different aging conditions
68 ESTER FLUIDS
REGENERATION

It was found that esters generate Regeneration of Ester Liquids

less sludge or colloids while having Using Fuller’s Earth
a high scope for the generation of The changes in the
soluble decay particles. However, it concentration of Mineral oil (MO), natural ester (NE),
is challenging to comment that ester and synthetic ester (SE) were aged
dissolves sludge or does not generate dissolved decay as per ASTM D1934 under open
any sludge with degradation. contents in esters beaker conditions in the presence
Thus, one may understand that of cellulose and catalyst. Thermal
the treatment of esters may be have not witnessed aging was performed at 115°C with
mostly focused on the removal of any significant an aging history at 500, 1000, and
soluble particles along with water 1500 hours. To perform Fuller's
and dissolved gasses. The detailed change with the earth treatment as per ASTM D
analysis of the results is reported by Fuller's earth 7150, a laboratory-scale apparatus
the author's group in [6]. was fabricated, as shown in Figure
reclamation. 3. The authors have reported the
complete details of the setup
including the control unit in [4]
and [7].

The treatment temperature is a

vital parameter for the insulating
liquid regeneration process. It is a
major parameter that could decide
the efficiency of the sorbent and
the effectiveness of the treatment
process. The sorption process
(adsorption or absorption) is
attributable to the sorbent's surface
properties. The surface properties
of any sorbent are temperature-
dependent and vary based on the
type of the decay products in the
feed liquid. Thus, the aged liquids
are reclaimed (using Fuller's earth)
at a treatment temperature of 70°C,
80°C, and 90°C. Before colloids
appear in a liquid, the first sign is the
drop in the interfacial tension (IFT)
followed by an increase of the total
acid number (TAN) and dissolved
decay products (DDP) [8]. Dissolved
Decay Products (DDP) and turbidity,
which change with a larger rate than
the IFT values, were investigated
as alternative index for insulating
oil degradation assessment. Since
the TAN or IFT, which are used to
reflect the oxidation performance of
mineral oils [2], may not be suitable
for esters, the reclaimed fluid is
collected and tested for turbidity and
UV spectroscopy to understand the
level of reclamation and feasibility
of Fuller's earth for ester liquids.
The changes in the turbidity and
Photo: U. Mohan Rao, I. Fofana, P. Picher

dissolved decay products for

aged and treated (at different
temperatures) liquids are presented
in Figure 4.

It is seen that the turbidity values

Figure 3. View of the laboratory setup for Fuller’s earth reclamation are increasing with aging. However,
Transformer Technology January 2022 69

Issue 17

Figure 4. Changes in the liquid properties before and after reclamation at different temperatures [7] References
[1] U. Mohan Rao, I. Fofana,
T. Jaya, E. M. Rodriguez-
Celis, J. Jalbert and P. Picher,
"Alternative Dielectric Fluids
for Transformer Insulation
System: Progress, Challenges,
and Future Prospects,"
IEEE Access, vol. 7, pp.
184552-184571, 2019
[2] IEEE Guide for the Reclamation
of Mineral Insulating Oil
and Criteria for Its Use. IEEE
Standard C57.637-2015
(Revision of IEEE Standard
637-1985), 2015, pp. 1-141
[3] B. Ward, “Application of
Filtration System for On-Line
Oil Reclamation, Degassing,
and Dehydration”, EPRI Report
1002046, September 2003
[4] U. Mohan Rao, I. Fofana, and
J. S. N’cho. "On Some
Imperative IEEE Standards for
Usage of Natural Ester Liquids
in Transformers." IEEE Access,
Vol. 8, pp: 145446-145456,
2020
[5] H. M. Wilhelm, G. B. Stocco,
and S. G. Batista, ''Reclaiming
of inservice natural ester-
based insulating fluids,'' IEEE
Trans. Dielectrics Electr. Insul.,
vol. 20, no. 1, pp. 128-134,
Feb. 2013
[6] L. Loiselle, U. Mohan Rao,
I. Fofana, and T. Jaya,
the turbidity is not reduced with Also, the selected range of treatment "Monitoring colloidal and
reclamation, especially for the ester- temperatures has the least influence dissolved decay particles in
based liquids. It is noticed that the on the reclamation of ester liquids. ester dielectric fluids," IEEE
increase of turbidity is slightly less However, the reclamation of Transactions on Dielectrics
at 80°C of treatment temperature as esters with Fuller’s earth is found and Electrical Insulation, vol.
compared to 70°C and 90°C. unsatisfactory for the present 27, no. 5, pp. 1516-1524,
The changes in the concentration of experimental conditions. The detailed Oct. 2020
dissolved decay contents in esters analysis of this study has been [7] I. Fofana, B. Yohan, G. Marie-
have not witnessed any significant reported by the author's group in [5]. Pier, T. Jonathan, L. Loiselle, K.
change with the Fuller's earth Also, regeneration for natural esters M. L. Yapi, and U. Mohan Rao
reclamation. in particular is challenging. “Fullers Earth Treatment for
Esters Liquids used in Power
Conclusion Apparatuses: Inferences and
Arguments,” ENP Engineering
The regeneration This report presents the results of the Science Journal Vol. 1, No. 1,
avenues and type of the decay particles and the pp: 38-42, 2021
feasibility of Fuller's earth treatment [8] Y. Hadjadj et al, “Assessing
possibilities of the for ester liquids. It is found that the insulating oil degradation
regeneration of esters soluble decay content mostly governs by means of turbidity and
the degradation in ester liquids and UV/VIS spectrophotometry
are still a challenge the suitability of Fuller’s earth for measurements,” IEEE Trans.
that needs to be ester liquids is questionable. The on Dielectr. Electr. Insul.,
regeneration avenues and possibilities vol. 22, no. 5, pp. 2653-2660,
explored. of the regeneration of esters are still a 2015
challenge that needs to be explored.
70 COMING
IN FEBRUARY

Transformers:
The Heart of the
Power System

In February 2022 we zoom out our focus from the

transformer components to the transformer as the
most critical component of the power system, looking
at it from a range of application perspectives and
technologies, including:

• Generation, Transmission and Distribution

Systems
• Green Energy
• Distributed Energy Resources
• Battery Technology
• Digital Twins

If you, or someone from your organization wishes

to contribute to the February issue and add your voice
to our compilation of knowledge that we distribute
through our community channels, please contact
[email protected].
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