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Breakdown Voltage Measurement in Insulating Oil of Transformer According

to IEC Standards

Chapter · January 2021

DOI: 10.1007/978-981-15-6259-4_57

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Breakdown Voltage Measurement
in Insulating Oil of Transformer
According to IEC Standards

Mohamed Seghir, Tahar Seghier, Boubakeur Zegnini,

and Abdelhamid Rabhi

Abstract The current research paper deals with contribution to the worldwide
problem of transformers which are essential parts to maintain the power flow in
the electrical power system, the stability is significant for the reliability of the whole
supply. The oil used in all transformers is used for insulating and cooling purposes.
Degradation of transformer oil occurs because of the ageing, high temperature and
chemical reactions such as the oxidation. It is also affected by contaminants from the
solid materials. Therefore, the oil condition must be checked regularly and reclaimed
or replaced periodically, to avoid the sudden. In this work is devoted to study the
transformer oil behavior under AC voltage at industry frequency (50 Hz). The mineral
used mineral oil Borak 22 is examined for different parameters such as, the distance
between electrodes and geometry of electrodes. The experiment results concerning
the evolution of the breakdown voltage into new oil and another old. The results
showed that the spacing of the inter-electrode distance causes an increase in the break-
down voltage of the oil, and that the point-plat electrode configuration was the worst
form of the configurations. Finally, the used oil was better than new oil. He current
research paper deals with contribution to the worldwide problem of transformers.

Keywords Transformer · Mineral oil · Borak 22 · Ageing · Breakdown voltage

(BDV)

1 Introduction

An essential component of electrical networks which alters voltage levels and trans-
forms energy is the transformer. The status and properties of insulation materials

M. Seghir (B) · T. Seghier · B. Zegnini

Laboratoire d’étude et de développement des matériaux semiconducteurs et diélectriques,
Amar Telidji University of Laghouat, 03000 Laghouat, Algeria
e-mail: seghirmohammed@yahoo.com
A. Rabhi
Laboratoire Modélisation Information and Systèmes, Université de Picardie Jules Verne,
Amiens, France

© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2021 543

B. Hajji et al. (eds.), Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Electronic
Engineering and Renewable Energy Systems, Lecture Notes in Electrical Engineering
681, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-6259-4_57
544 M. Seghir et al.

are very important for the functional reliability and lifetime of transformers. Oils
that combine a high flashpoint with high dielectric strength have long been used as
an insulating medium in transformers, switchgear and other electrical apparatus. To
ensure that the dielectric strength of the oil does not deteriorate however, proper
maintenance is essential, and the basis of proper maintenance is testing.
The insulation fluid in power transformers performs two main functions; insu-
lating and cooling. The highly refined mineral oils (transformer oils), typically used
as insulating fluids, have low thermal conductivity and thus perform low cooling
efficiency [1].
The electrical breakdown in transformer oil and characteristic properties of this
process are very important for many applications. I bn bn insulating liquids such as
transformer oils are critical components for high voltage and pulsed power system.
The insulation liquid basically executes two primary actions in high voltage equip-
ment: insulation and cooling. Insulating and thermal features of mineral oil typically
restrain the minimal size and maximal transfer of power.
One of the most significant parameters of liquid insulation is BDV. The BDV of
oils is the value of voltage at which the oil is unable to oppose the flow of electricity
and that the electricity will go through it. Determining the dielectric breakdown
voltage of insulating liquids is important to understand the insulating liquid’s ability
to withstand electric stress without failure. A low breakdown voltage value can be
a clear indication of contamination within the liquid from the degradation processes
that occur during the lifetime of a transformer. Publications indicated that dielec-
tric breakdown is based on complex interactions of hydrodynamic and electronic
phenomenon [2–4]. It is known that breakdown in transformer oil can be described
by the bubble mechanism that leads to streamer propagation between the electrodes.
The breakdown processes are also dependent on mechanisms, which play role on
interface of the liquid and the surface of electrodes. The dielectric breakdown voltage
test is a relatively quick and easy way of determining the amount of contamination
in insulating oil. Usually the contaminant is water, but it can also be conductive
particles, dirt, debris, insulating particles and the by-products of oxidation and aging
of the oil.
In this investigation we present the experimental techniques carried out in the High
Voltage Room, and the results obtained concerning the dielectric study insulating oil
of transformer under 50 Hz AC voltage. The mineral oil Borak 22 is of naphthenic
type, with a dielectric constant Er = 2 and dielectric strength Ec = 30 kV/mm which
is generally used in power transformers and circuit breakers in the Algerian company
SONELGAZ networks (Table 1).
Two samples were carried out from the company SONELGAZ in Laghouat city
the first is new and the second is old (used) from a transformer after a certain operating
period. We were interested during our tests in the variation of the breakdown voltage
according to the distance between electrodes, electrode system and the influence of
ageing on the breakdown voltage.
Breakdown Voltage Measurement in Insulating Oil of Transformer … 545

Table 1 New Borak 22

Electrical Unit Value Temperature (°C)
characteristics
properties
Dielectric strength kV 30–50 kV
(2.5 mm)
Resistivity G. . 20–2000 90
m
Dielectric losses 0,001–0,005 90
Permittivity ≤5,00 E−03 90

2 Experiment an Procedure

The test circuit (Fig. 1) includes test transformer that can generate 100 kV (AC), test
cell, measurement and protection elements.
A testing transformer (HV9105) is connected as shown in Fig. 2. Single phase to
earth; a measuring capacitor (HV9141), an oil test vessel (HV9137) and AC Peak
voltmeter (HV9150) are connected on the high-voltage side.
Computation of Critical F Put simply, a dielectric breakdown voltage test is a
measure of the electrical stress that insulating oil can withstand without breakdown.
The test is performed using a test vessel that has two electrodes mounted in it, with
a gap between them.
A sample of the oil to be tested is put into the vessel and an AC voltage is applied
to the electrodes. This voltage is increased until the oil breaks down—that is, until a
spark passes between the electrodes.
The breakdown voltage should be measured using a standard testing vessel and
alternating voltages of supply frequency. The spherical caps with spacing s = 2.5 mm
shown in should be chosen as electrodes. Hemispheric geometry is part of the labo-
ratory equipment, and other geometries such as tips and plans have been made in the
turning workshop. The electrode size is shown in Fig. 3a,b .

Fig. 1 AC circuit for testing

the breakdown in insulating
oil of transformer
546 M. Seghir et al.

Fig. 2 Experimental set up

a) Hemispherical b) plane-tip

Fig. 3 The dimensions of the electrodes (mm) plane and tip

The test voltage should be increased from zero at a rate of about 2 kV/s up to
breakdown. Six breakdown experiments should be conducted for each 2nd to the 6th
measurement may not be less than certain minimum values (Fig. 3).

3 Results and Discussion

During the electrical breakdown tests, we found two modes of breakdown: “direct
breakdown” and “burst breakdown”. This last mode of breakdown has also been
observed by other authors [4, 5]. All tests are performed at atmospheric pressure and
room temperature. Three different insulating oil breakdown parameters that can be
Breakdown Voltage Measurement in Insulating Oil of Transformer … 547

a) Hemispherical b) plane-tip
Fig. 4 The electrode configurations

analyzed: The distance between electrodes, the electrode system configuration and
ageing (oil condition). Results are shown in the Figs. 5 and 6.
For both oil samples, we find that the increase in the distance between electrodes
leads to an increase in the breakdown voltage. This is due to the decrease in the effect
of the electric field. The results obtained are in good agreement with those found by
other authors, under alternating voltage [6–8]
Each value of the breakdown voltage shown in the following figures is an average
value of six breakdown tests.
Two different electrode configurations were used to study its effect on the break-
down voltage of the insulating oil. Figures 5 and 6 show that the breakdown
voltage in the tip-plane configuration was lower than in the hemisphere-hemisphere
configuration.
The reason for the low breakdown voltage in the tip—plane configuration was
due to the high non-uniformity of the generated electric field compared to a uniform

Fig. 5 Variation of the breakdown voltage as a function of the distance between electrodes for
tip—plane
548 M. Seghir et al.

Fig. 6 Variation of the breakdown voltage as a function of the distance between electrodes for
hemispheric profile

electric field in the hemispheric configuration. Both figures show that the breaking
strength of the insulating oil was very high for a hemispherical configuration.
The aging effect on dielectric strength was discussed, in order to study the impor-
tance of the oil condition, the difference between new oil and used oil. The breakdown
of the transformer oil is complex enough to respond to this phenomenon because it
depends on the condition of the oil, so it is quite possible that the sample of new oil
that it contains water impurities or traces of moisture, in addition the samples are not
from the same drum.
In Figs. 7 and 8 we present the breakdown voltage values obtained at the
LeDMaScD High Voltage laboratory, for a series of six tests and the average value
of the breakdown voltages of the total series.
The tests are carried out at atmospheric pressure and ambient temperature; the
electrode profile and their spacing are fixed by the IEC 60156-1995 standard [9].

Fig. 7 New oil breakdown

voltages according to IEC
60156
Breakdown Voltage Measurement in Insulating Oil of Transformer … 549

Fig. 8 The breakdown

voltages of used oil
according to IEC 60156

These experimental values found are in good agreement with the breakdown
voltage values obtained at Sonatrach-DML’s laboratory-Laghouat for the same new
oil sample; using the BAUR DPA 75 automated tester [10].
These experimental results show that the breakdown voltage measurement
confirms the reliability of our equipment.
The voltmeter imbalance at the moment of breakdown, which makes it very diffi-
cult to measure the breakdown voltage accurately and especially for large values. The
appearance of gusting breakdown for very high voltages of 50 kV and above. The
decrease in voltage applied immediately following a breakdown is manual, which
sometimes causes a burst breakdown due to the high temperature due to the long time
of application of voltage during the increase and decrease lead to the appearance of
the electric flashover effect (Fig. 9).

a) around the cell b) between the electrodes

Fig. 9 Electric flashover effect

550 M. Seghir et al.

4 Conclusion

This paper presents a contribution to the understanding of the dielectric behaviour of

a mineral oil in tip plane and hemispheric geometry under AC voltage (50 Hz) based
on the variation of the inter-electrode distance for samples of new and used oil.
The dielectric strength of the mineral oil is correlated to the electro geometric
parameters of the system. In fact, the results showed that the electrode configuration
in the tip plane was less than the hemispherical configuration, which reduced the
breakdown voltage of the transformer oil due to the development of the non-uniform
field. Indeed, the increase in the inter-electrode distance leads to an increase in the
breakdown voltage.
The comparison of breakdown test results obtained from the BAUR tester ensures
that our tests have been carried out in accordance with IEC 60156, and confirms the
reliability of our equipment;
In addition, the experimental results obtained show that the breakdown voltage
of new oil is less than used oil, the breakdown of transformer oil is complex enough
to respond to this phenomenon because it depends on the condition of the oil, so
it is quite possible that the new oil sample it contains water impurities or traces of
humidity, in addition the samples are not the same, in next study, we would have
made the oil conditioning by heating to operating temperature about 80° C, in order
to conduct physico-chemical analysis.

Acknowledgments This work was financially supported by Directorate General for Scientific
Research and Technological Development (DGRST) Ministry of Higher Education and Scien-
tific research Algeria. The authors gratefully thank the Laboratory of studies and development of
the Semiconducting and Dielectric Materials, (LeDMaScD) Amar Telidji University of Laghouat,
Algeria for their assistance in providing the high voltage equipment, and excellent discussion with
member’s Lab.

References

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 Breakdown Voltage Measurement in Insulating Oil of Transformer … 551

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