ELECTRICAL PERFORMANCES OF PALM OIL

AND RICE BRAN OIL UNDER ALTERNATING

CURRENT AND IMPULSE STRESSES FOR
TRANSFORMER APPLICATION

MARDHIAH HAYATI BT ABD HAMID @ SIDEK

DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY

NATIONAL DEFENCE UNIVERSITY OF

MALAYSIA

2020
ELECTRICAL PERFORMANCE OF PALM OIL AND RICE BRAN OIL
UNDER ALTERNATING CURRENT AND IMPULSE STRESSES FOR
TRANSFORMER APPLICATION

MARDHIAH HAYATI BT ABD HAMID @ SIDEK

Thesis submitted to National Defence University of Malaysia, in fulfilment of

the requirements for the Doctor of Philosophy Engineering.

SEPTEMBER 2020
This thesis is dedicated to my families and my friends

For their endless love, support and encouragement

 ABSTRACT

Transformer oil does not only serve as an insulating liquid but also in
removing heat from the windings and cores. Mineral oil (MO) has been widely used
in transformers for more than 150 years. Recently, researchers have attempted to
search for alternative insulating oils due to the possibility that MO will run out in
future and the concern on fire safety and environmental pollution. Among the
potential oils are palm oil (PO) and rice bran oil (RBO). These oils offer attractive
characteristics such as non-toxic, highly biodegrade, and higher flash and fire points
than mineral oil. To use these oils in transformers, the oil physicochemical properties
and dielectric properties must be thoroughly investigated. This work presents the
studies of the physicochemical properties such as the viscosity, flash point, pour point
and moisture content of these vegetable oils. Besides that, this research also
investigates the dielectric properties of the oils (permittivity, resistivity, tan delta, AC
breakdown voltage and lightning impulse behaviour) under various electric fields and
gap distances. The results revealed that the viscosity, flash and fire points of PO and
RBO fulfilled the minimum requirement of the IEC standards. In terms of dielectric
properties such as the resistivity of the oil samples, RBO has the highest resistivity
with 6.372 TΩcm followed by PO with 5.341 TΩcm and MO with 3.042 TΩcm.
Based on this resistivity study, RBO and PO have fulfilled one of the important
criteria to be transformer insulation oil. However, the dielectric dissipation factor and
relative permittivity of RBO and PO were 93% higher than MO. Further assessment
was carried out on the 50% AC breakdown voltage which shows that RBO has the
highest breakdown voltage for all gap distances. This is followed by PO and MO. The
electrical performances of lightning impulse tests show that RBO and PO have lower
LI breakdown voltage than MO under both uniform and non-uniform electric fields.
However, the difference in LI breakdown voltages between RBO, PO and MO is
slightly small which is less than 20%. In addition, there is no significant effect in the
various testing methods under both uniform field and non-uniform field where the
percentages of difference are less than 12% and 8% respectively. The data of AC and
lightning impulse breakdown voltage were statistically analysed using Weibull
distribution to predict the withstand voltage (1%) of the oil samples. From the results,
the Weibull distributions of MO, PO and RBO have fitted well with the experiment
data at higher probability. The withstand voltages of the oil samples obtained in this
study were higher than the Weidmann curve (normally used in the transformer
industry for transformer insulation design). Finally, the relationship between
lightning impulse voltages under a non-uniform field with various parameters of PO
and RBO was obtained and proposed. From this work, it can be concluded that PO
and RBO show promising results to be considered as an alternative to MO in
transformer applications.

ii
 ABSTRAK

Minyak pengubah tidak hanya berfungsi sebagai cecair penebat, tetapi juga
untuk menghilangkan panas dari belitan dan teras. Minyak mineral (MO) telah
digunakan secara meluas dalam pengubah selama lebih dari 150 tahun. Kebelakangan
ini, terdapat penyelidik yang telah berusaha mencari alternatif minyak penebat kerana
MO akan kehabisan sumber pada masa akan datang dan terdapat kebimbangan
terhadap keselamatan kebakaran dan pencemaran alam sekitar. Antara minyak yang
berpotensi adalah minyak sawit (PO) dan minyak dedak padi (RBO). Minyak-minyak
ini mempunyai ciri-ciri yang baik seperti tidak toksik, mesra alam, dan mempunyai
takat kilat dan kebakaran yang lebih tinggi daripada MO. Sebagai minyak pengganti
dalam pengubah, sifat fisiokimia dan sifat dielektrik minyak mesti dikaji dengan teliti.
Kajian ini mengkaji sifat fizikokimia seperti kelikatan, takat kilat, titik tuang dan
kandungan kelembapan minyak sayuran ini. Selain itu, kajian ini juga menyelidik
sifat dielektrik minyak (kebolehtelapan, kerintangan, faktor pelesapan, voltan
kegagalan AC dan voltan kegagalan kilat) dalam pelbagai medan elektrik dan
perbezaan jarak antara elektrod. Hasil kajian mendapati bahawa kelikatan PO dan
RBO jauh lebih tinggi daripada MO.. Kelikatan RBO dan PO yang lebih tinggi
daripada MO dapat membantu untuk perolakan haba dalam minyak. Pengukuran titik
kilat bagi PO dan RBO adalah lebih tinggi daripada MO dan memenuhi had minimum
yang ditetapkan oleh standard IEC untuk cecair penebat iaitu 135 °C. Selanjutnya,
kerintangan sampel minyak mendapati bahawa RBO mempunyai kerintangan
tertinggi dengan 6.372 TΩcm diikuti oleh PO dengan 5.341 TΩcm dan MO dengan
3.042 TΩcm. Berdasarkan kajian kerintangan ini, RBO dan PO telah memenuhi salah
satu kriteria penting untuk menjadi minyak penebat dalam pengubah. Walau
bagaimanapun, faktor pelesapan dielektrik dan kebolehtelapan relatif menunjukkan
RBO dan PO adalah 93% lebih tinggi daripada MO. Pengujian seterusnya dilakukan
pada 50% voltan kegagalan AC yang menunjukkan bahawa RBO mempunyai voltan
kegagalan lebih tinggi dalam semua situasi. Ia diikuti oleh PO dan MO. Kekuatan
elektrik pengujian voltan kegagalan kilat menunjukkan bahawa MO mempunyai
kegagalan voltan yang paling tinggi, diikuti oleh RBO dan PO. Di samping itu, tiada
signifikan dalam pengujian voltan kegagalan kilat dalam kaedah yang berbeza di
mana peratusan perbezaan ujian pada medan seragam dan medan tidak seragam
adalah kurang daripada 12% dan 8%. Data kegagalan voltan AC dan voltan kegagalan
kilat dianalisis secara statistik menggunakan taburan Weibull untuk meramalkan
ketahanan voltan pada 1% bagi sampel minyak. Dapatan menunjukkan taburan
Weibull bagi MO, PO dan RBO sesuai dengan data eksperimen yang diperolehi.
Ketahanan voltan pada 1% bagi sampel minyak yang diperoleh dalam kajian ini lebih
tinggi daripada lekuk Weidmann (biasanya digunakan dalam industri untuk reka
bentuk penebat pengubah). Akhirnya, hubungan antara voltan kegagalan kilat pada
medan tidak seragam dengan pelbagai parameter PO dan RBO diperoleh dan
dicadangkan. Kesimpulannya, kajian ini menunjukkan PO dan RBO boleh
dipertimbangkan sebagai alternatif kepada MO dalam aplikasi pengubah.

iii
 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

First and foremost, I thank Allah SWT, who created everything and gave

me the ability to begin and complete this thesis. I would like to thank my

supervisor, Associate Professor Dr. Mohd Taufiq bin Ishak, for his guidance,

beneficial advice, helpful discussion and hard work to ensure that this project has

been a success. My sincere appreciation is also extended to the other members of

my teams who always support my journey.

I would also like to thank all the sponsors for their sponsorship and

technical support. Thank you to colleagues from Sultan Abdul Samad Vocational

College especially from the Electrical Technology Program who gave me the

space to finish up my PhD.

Most importantly, I wish to give my special thanks to my beloved late

mother, arwah Aishah binti Musa for giving your shoulder and ears and for

holding my hand. You listened to all my expressions. You gave moral and spiritual

encouragement and understanding even if for only half of my PhD journey. Not

forgetting to my father, Abd Hamid @ Sidek bin Abidin who always remind me

to not fall down and keep encouraging me to finish what I started. Then, last but

not least to my beloved husband, Mohammad Ikmal bin Abdul Rashid, my

precious princess Nur Inas Sofea and Nur Iman Safya and my adorable hero

Mohammad Iyaz Syauqi, thank you for all your supports and love.

iv
 APPROVAL

I certify that the Examination Committee has met on the date of viva voce to
conduct the final examination of MARDHIAH HAYATI BT ABD HAMID @
SIDEK on her degree thesis entitled ‘Electrical Performance of Palm Oil and
Rice Bran Oil under Alternating Current and Impulse stresses for
Transformer Application. The committee recommends that the student be
awarded the Doctor of Philosophy Engineering.

Members of the Examination Committee are as follows.

Signature
Name of Chairperson, PhD
Title
Name of Faculty
National Defence University of
Malaysia

(Chairman)

Name of Examiner, PhD

Title
Name of Faculty
National Defence University of
Malaysia

(Internal Examiner)

Name of External, PhD

Title
Name of Faculty
Name of Organisation

(External Examiner)

v
 APPROVAL

This thesis was submitted to the Senate of National Defence University of

Malaysia and has been accepted as fulfilment of the requirement for the Doctor

of Philosophy. The members of the Supervisory Committee are as follows.

Signature
Name of Chairperson, PhD
Title
Name of Faculty
National Defence University of
Malaysia
(Chairman)

Name of Member 1, PhD

Title
Name of Faculty
National Defence University of
Malaysia

(Member)

Name of Member 1, PhD

Title
Name of Faculty
National Defence University of
Malaysia

(Member)

vi
 UNIVERSITI PERTAHANAN NASIONAL MALAYSIA

DECLARATION OF THESIS

Author’s full name : MARDHIAH HAYATI BT ABD HAMID @ SIDEK

Date of birth : 14th JULY 1987

Title : ELECTRICAL PERFORMANCE OF PALM OIL AND

RICE BRAN OIL UNDER ALTERNATING CURRENT
AND IMPULSE STRESSES FOR TRANSFORMER
APPLICATION

Academic Session : 2014/ 2020

I declare that this thesis is classified as:

CONFIDENTIAL (Contains confidential information under the Official

Secret Act 1972)*

RESTRICTED (Contains restricted information as specified by the

organisation where research was done)*

OPEN ACCESS I agree that my thesis to be published as online open

access (full text)

I acknowledge that Universiti Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia reserves the right as

follows.

1. The thesis is the property of Universiti Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia.

2. The library of University Pertahanan Nasional Malaysia has the right to
make copies for the purpose of research only.
3. The library has the right to make copies of the thesis for academic exchange.

_______________________ ________________________
Signature Signature of Main Supervisor

________________________
IC/ Passport No. Name of Main Supervisor

Date: Date:
Note: * If the thesis is CONFIDENTIAL OR RESTRICTED, please attach the letter
from the organisation starting the period and reasons for confidentiality and
restriction.

vii
 TABLE OF CONTENTS

Page

ABSTRACT ii
ABSTRAK iii
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS iv
APPROVAL v
DECLARATION vii
TABLE OF CONTENTS viii
LIST OF TABLES xi
LIST OF FIGURES xiv
LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS xviii

CHAPTER

1 INTRODUCTION 1
1.1 Background 1
1.2 Problem Statement 5
1.3 Research Objectives and Scope 8
1.4 Major Contribution 10
1.5 Thesis Summary 11

2 LITERATURE REVIEW 14
2.1 Introduction 14
2.2 Use and Application of Transformer 15
2.3 Insulation oil used in transformer 16
2.3.1 Mineral Oil 17
2.3.2 Vegetable Oils 20
2.3.1 Palm Oil 22
2.3.2 Rice Bran Oil 23
2.4 Dielectric and Physicochemical Properties of Vegetable 26
oil
2.4.1 Viscosity 26
2.4.2 Flash Point 27
2.4.3 Pour Point 28
2.4.4 Dielectric Dissipation Factor (Tan δ) 29
2.4.5 Relative Permittivity 30
2.4.6 Resistivity 31
2.4.7 AC Breakdown voltage 31
2.5 Lightning Impulse Breakdown Voltage 38
2.5.1 Lightning impulse breakdown voltage under 41
uniform field
2.5.2 Lightning impulse breakdown voltage under non- 44
uniform field
2.5.3. Effect of different Testing method 46
2.6 Effect of Various Gap Distances 49

viii
 2.7 Statistical analysis 58
2.7.1 Weibull Distribution 58

3 METHODOLOGY 61
3.1 Introduction 61
3.2 Sample Preparation 65
3.3 Physicochemical Properties of samples 67
3.3.1 Viscosity 68
3.3.2 Flash and Pour Point 69
3.4 Pre-processing of Oil Samples 69
3.5 Dielectric Properties Test of Samples 71
3.6 AC Breakdown Voltage 72
3.6.1 AC Breakdown Voltage under BAUR Trainer 73
3.6.2 AC Breakdown Voltage under HV Laboratory 74
3.7 Lightning Impulse Test 76
3.7.1 Testing Methods of Lightning Impulse Test 78
3.7.1.1 Rising voltage 78
3.7.1.2 Up and down voltage 79
3.7.1.3 Multi-level voltage 81
3.7.2 Electrode Configuration of Uniform Field 81
3.7.3 Electrode Configuration of Non-Uniform Field 82
3.8 Statistical Analysis 84
3.9 Summary 85

4 PHYSICOCHEMICAL, DIELECTRIC PROPERTIES 87

AND AC BREAKDOWN VOLTAGE
4.1 Introduction 87
4.2 Physicochemical Properties of samples 88
4.2.1 Viscosity 88
4.2.2 Flash point and pour point 89
4.3 Dielectric dissipation factor, relative permittivity and 90
resistivity
4.3.1 Dielectric Dissipation Factor (DDF) 92
4.3.2 Relative permittivity or dielectric constant 95
4.3.3 Resistivity 96
4.4 AC Breakdown Voltage 97
4.4.1 Effect of AC Breakdown Voltage using BAUR 98
DTA 100 C and High Voltage Laboratory Setup
4.5 Effect of AC Breakdown Voltage of MO, PO and RBO 106
under various gap distances
4.6 Statistical Weibull Distribution under AC Breakdown 110
Voltage
4.7 AC Withstand Strengths of Transformer liquids 116
4.8 Summary 118

5 LIGHTNING BREAKDOWN VOLTAGES UNDER A 119

UNIFORM FIELD
5.1 Introduction 119

ix
 5.2 Effect of Lightning Impulse Breakdown Voltage of 121
Sphere to Sphere Configuration under Smaller Gap
Distances
5.3 Effect of Various Testing Method under Sphere to Sphere 124
Configuration
5.4 Comparison Lightning Impulse Breakdown Voltage with 128
Previous Study
5.5 Weibull Probability Plots for MO, PO and RBO under 129
Sphere to Sphere Configuration
5.6 Summary 131

6 LIGHTNING BREAKDOWN VOLTAGES UNDER 133

NON-UNIFORM FIELD
6.1 Introduction 133
6.2 Effect of Lightning Impulse Breakdown Voltage of 134
Needle to Sphere Configuration under Small gap
distances
6.3 Effect of Testing Methods under Needle to Sphere 137
Configuration
6.4 Effect of Various Gap Distance under Needle to Sphere 140
Configuration
6.5 Weibull Probability of Needle to Sphere Configuration 144
under Smaller Gap Distances
6.6 Weibull Probability Plots of Needle to Sphere 146
Configuration under Larger Gap Distances
6.7 Determination of Empirical Equation 148
6.7.1 Determination of Empirical Equation under Non- 148
uniform Field
6.8 Summary 151

7 CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR 153

FUTURE RESEARCH
7.1 Conclusions 153
7.1.1 Summary of Results and Main Findings 154
7.2 Recommendations 156

REFERENCES 158
APPENDICES 181
CURRICULUM VITAE 203
LIST OF PUBLICATIONS 204

x
 LIST OF TABLES

TABLE NO. TITLE PAGE

2.1 Failure of transformers 15

2.2 Hydrocarbon Structure of Paraffinic oil 18

2.3 Hydrocarbon Structure of Naphtenic oil 19

2.4 Hydrocarbon Structure of Aromatic oil 19

2.5 Properties of uninhibited mineral oil 20

2.6 The fatty acid composition of vegetable oils. 22

2.7 The properties of the RBD and crude palm oils 23

2.8 Dielectric and physicochemical of the rice bran oil. 26

2.9 The kinematic viscosity of palm and rice bran oils. 27

2.10 The pour point standard of mineral oil and vegetable 28

oil.

2.11 Specified limits of dissipation factor of transformer 30

insulating oil in different standard according to IEC
60247 and ASTM D924

2.12 Common values of breakdown various insulating 33

fluids.

2.13 AC breakdown voltages of different type of oils. 33

2.14 Comparison between ASTM and IEC impulse test 40

methods

2.15 Lightning breakdown strength breakdown voltage for 42

ester oil and mineral oil at 3.8mm gap distance

2.16 Lightning breakdown voltage for ester oil and 42

mineral oil at 3.8mm gap distance according to
ASTM D3300.

xi
2.17 Lightning breakdown strength of natural ester and 44
mineral oil using type 1 and type 2 electrodes at
various gap distances from 12 mm to 50 mm

3.1 Properties of Hyrax mineral oil 66

3.2 Fat, Vitamin E contents of PO and RBO 67

3.3 The particle contamination and moisture content in 70

MO, PO and RBO before and after pre-processing.

3.4 Specification of Oil Test Cell. 72

4.1 The kinematic viscosity of MO, PO and RBO. 88

4.2 The flash point and pour point of MO, PO and RBO 90
according to ASTM D92.

4.3 Dielectric dissipation factor (DDF) of oil samples as 93

measured according to IEC 60247 at 90°C.

4.4 Relative permittivity of oil samples as measured 96

according to IEC 60247 at 30 ºC.

4.5 Resistivity of oil samples accroding to IEC60247 at 97

30ºC.
.
4.6 The percentage different of 50% breakdown voltage 102
(kV) and the standard deviation (SD) of MO, PO and
RBO between using BAUR Trainer and HV
laboratory at 2.5 mm gap distances.

4.7 The percentage different of 50% breakdown voltage 108

(kV) and the standard deviation (SD) of MO, PO and
RBO under various gap distances.

4.8 50% of Breakdown voltage of MO, PO and RBO at 114

1%, 50% probabilities of failure by Weibull
distribution for various gap distances test.

4.9 Weibull distribution of 1% probability withstand 116

voltage of AC breakdown voltage.

4.10 The 1% of electric field strength of MO, PO and 117

RBO.

5.1 The 50% breakdown voltages and standard deviation 123

(SD) of sphere to sphere configuration at 2.0 mm, 3.8
mm and 6.0 mm gap distance.

xii
5.2 50% breakdown voltages using sphere to sphere 127
configuration under various testing methods at 2.0
mm, 3.8 mm and 6.0 mm gap distances.

5.3 Comparison of 50% lightning breakdown voltages 129

with previous study.

5.4 Breakdown voltages sphere to sphere configuration 130

at 1% and 50% probabilities of failure by Weibull
distribution at 2.0 mm, 3.8 mm and 6.0 mm gap
distance.

6.1 50% breakdown voltages and standard deviation 136

(SD) of needle to sphere configuration at 2.0mm,
3.8mm and 6.0mm.

6.2 50% breakdown voltages of needle to sphere 139

configuration under various testing methods at
various small gap distances.

6.3 50% breakdown voltages of needle to sphere under 142

various larger gap distances.

6.4 The 1% and 50% probabilities of MO, PO and RBO 145

at 2.0 mm, 3.8 mm and 6.0 mm gap distances under
needle to sphere configuration.

6.5 1% and 50% probabilities of MO, PO and RBO at 147

larger gap distances under needle to sphere
configuration.

xiii
 LIST OF FIGURES

FIGURES TITLE PAGE

2.1 The structure of triglycerides of vegetable oils 21

2.2 The structure of a rice grain 24

2.3 A cell for liquids measurement proposed by IEC 60247 30

2.4 The variation of breakdown voltage in five types of oil 34

2.5 The VDE configuration under AC breakdown voltage 35

2.6 The VDE configuration with d = 2.5mm, 5mm, 10mm 36

and 15mm

2.7 The AC breakdown voltage of VDE configuration under 36

various gap distances

2.8 The comparison of breakdown voltage for all samples 37

across mushroom electrodes

2.9 Example of lightning impulse waveform 39

2.10 Comparison of lightning breakdown voltage between 41

ester oil and mineral oil at 3.8mm gap distances.

2.11 The type 1 and 2 electrode configurations under quasi 43

uniform field

2.12 Lightning breakdown voltages in quasi-uniform field at 43

various gap distances.

2.13 50% breakdown voltages for all samples based on rising- 45

voltage method

2.14 Breakdown voltages of ester liquids based on rising- 46

voltage method

2.15 Comparison of lightning breakdown voltages between 47

ester liquids and mineral oil using various testing
methods

2.16 Testing methods effect on 50% lightning breakdown 48

voltages of all samples at gap distances of (a) 2.0 mm
and (b) 3.8 mm

xiv
2.17 Influence of voltage polarities on the 50% break- down 49
voltages of all samples at gap distances of (a) 2.0 mm, (b)
3.8 mm and (c) 6.0 mm [38].

2.18 A point-plane geometry configurations of point (300 µm 51

tip radius) with a) 2 cm diameter and b) 16 cm diameter
plane geometry.

2.19 Lightning impulse breakdown voltage of PMO, BTO and 51

NE.

2.20 The 50% breakdown voltage of Gemini X, Midel 7131 52

and FR3 versus gap distances [197].

2.21 The breakdown voltage of three type of palm oils and 53

mineral oil at (a) 25mm and (b) 50 mm gap distances

2.22 The 50% breakdown voltages for all samples based on 54

rising voltage method.

2.23 50% breakdown voltage of all samples at a) 2.0mm and 55

b) 3.8mm gap distances.

2.24 Impulse breakdown stress for coil electrode 56

configurations.

2.25 Mean breakdown voltage of mineral oil at various gap 57

distances.

3.1 Experiment flow chart. 62

3.2 AC Breakdown Voltage Test 63

3.3 Lightning Impulse Test 64

3.4 The samples of MO, PO and RBO. 65

3.5 Brookfield R/S Plus Rheometer. 68

3.6 The flow of the pre-processing procedures for the test 70

samples.

3.7 ADTR-2K PLUS with Automatic oil cell heater. 72

3.8 BAUR DTA 100 C for AC breakdown voltage test. 73

3.9 Mushroom to mushroom configuration for AC 74

breakdown voltage test using BAUR Trainer.

xv
3.10 The AC breakdown voltage test setup under HV 75
Laboratory.

3.11 The AC breakdown voltage test of mushroom to 76

mushroom configuration setup under HV Laboratory

3.12 Test configuration for lightning impulse. 77

3.13 The lightning impulse test configuration with maximum 77

voltage 800kV.

3.14 Sketch procedures of rising voltage method for 1 79

shot/step

3.15 Sketch procedures of up and down method. 80

3.16 Sketch procedures of multiple level method 81

3.17 Electrodes configuration for quasi uniform field 82

3.18 Electrodes configuration for non-uniform field. 84

4.1 Comparison of dissipation factor of MO, PO and RBO 93

under various temperatures.

4.2 Comparison of relative permitivity of MO,PO and RBO 96

under various temperatures

4.3 Comparison of resistivity of MO, PO and RBO under 97

various temperatures.

4.4 Comparison of MO, PO and RBO under HV laboratory 99

and BAUR Trainer test set up at 2.5mm.

4.5 Effect of water on the AC Breakdown voltages 100

4.6 Comparison of (a) vertical and (b) horizontal electrode 104

configurations

4.7 The 50% and standard deviation of AC breakdown 107

voltage for of oil samples under various gap distances.

4.8 The electric field strength of oil samples under various 109
gap distances.

4.9 Weibull probability plot for the AC breakdown voltage at 111

(a) 1.5 mm, (b) 2.5 mm, (c) 3.5 mm, (d) 5.0 mm and (e)
10.0mm gap distances.

xvi
4.10 1% probability breakdown field in comparison with 117
Weidmann curve for inception field at various gap
distances

5.1 50% breakdown voltages and standard deviation of 122

sphere to sphere configurations under various gap
distances.

5.2 Comparison of 50% breakdown voltage of all samples 125

using sphere to sphere configuration under various
testing methods at (a) 2.0 mm, (b) 3.8 mm and (c) 6.0
mm gap distances.

6.1 50% breakdown voltages and standard deviation of 135

needle to sphere configuration under various gap
distances.

6.2 Comparison of 50% breakdown voltage of all samples 137

using needle to sphere configuration under various
testing methods at (a) 2.0 mm, (b) 3.8 mm and (c) 6.0
mm gap distances.

6.3 50% breakdown and the standard deviation of needle to 141

sphere configuration under various gap distances.

6.4 Lightning breakdown voltage of all samples for (a) 1% 150

withstand voltage and (b) 50% breakdown voltage at
various gap distance under non-uniform field.

xvii
 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS

MO - Mineral oil
PO - Palm oil
RBO - Rice bran oil
HV - High voltage
VDE - Verband Deutscher Electrotechniker
α - Shape parameter
β - Scale parameter
σ - Standard Deviation
µ - Mean value
µs - Micro Second
ø - Diameter
°C - Celsius
∆U - Step Voltage Increment
∆V - Different Voltage
∆T - Time Interval
AC - Alternating Current
ASTM - American Society for Testing and Materials
cSt - CentiStokes
d - Gap Distance
E - Electric Field
FR3 - Fire Resistant Natural Ester
g/ml - Gram per Millilitre
IEC - International Electrotechnical Commission
f(x) - Probability density function of breakdown voltage
k - Number of Breakdown
kV - Kilo Voltage
kΩ - Kilo Ohm
mm - Milimetre
N - Total Sample Size
V - Voltage

xviii
 CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background

The transformer is one of the most expensive and critical components in electrical

power system transmission and distribution. A transformer failure could be a very

catastrophic event which may cause server disruption and complete blackout of the

system [1]–[4]. Based on the literature [2], [5]–[7], the post-failure analyses of

transformers showed that insulation failure is a contributor to transformer failures.

Oil and paper have been used as insulation materials for power transformers over the

past century [4]. Transformer oil is used to fill the void in the paper insulation and

also fill the gaps between components in the transformer tank which increases the

dielectric strength of the insulation system. The oil not only serves as an insulating

liquid but also as a heat remover from the windings and cores [8]. The heat is a result

of the losses from the transformer windings and cores. The oil is also used as an

indicator in monitoring the condition of a power transformer.

1
 Mineral oil (MO) has been widely used in power transformers for more than

150 years. MO originated from petroleum and has a number of attractive electrical

and thermal properties for transformer application. Among the advantages of using

MO are low cost, widely available and low viscosity. It is used in oil-filled

transformers of all voltage ratings, from distribution to transmission level. However,

MO also has some undesirable properties which affect oil performance. Somehow,

MO is poorly biodegradable and can cause serious environment pollution to the soil

and waterways if serious spills occur during incidents such as transformer explosion

[7] - [9]. Also, MO is a combustible liquid with a flash and fire point of 170 °C and

transformer fires do sometimes unavoidably occur. Hence, the concern of fire safety

and the inability to comply with environmental laws have encouraged the search for

alternative dielectric fluids in power transformers. In recent years, vegetable oils were

introduced as an alternative to the MO. Vegetable oils have a higher flash and fire

point than MO and are biodegradable which reduced environmental impact and are

non-toxic to organisms and humans [9]–[13]. Besides that, their superior thermo-

physical and enhanced dielectric properties help to speed up the preference in using

vegetable oils as transformer oil. Before vegetable oils can be accepted as an

alternative to MO, they must be safe, economical and offer a high standard of

electrical properties over the transformer lifespan. Recently, extensive works were

carried out to investigate the suitability of vegetable oils as the alternative to MO [3],

[9] - [59]. The studies evaluated dielectric properties, physical and chemical

performances under different conditions and ageing properties.

Vegetable oil is derived from natural sources plants and seeds. The most

attractive features of vegetable oil are its high biodegradability and non-toxic

2
property, hence posing no risk to the environment in case of spillages. Vegetable

oils also have higher fire safety and high moisture absorption ability [17] - [18].

Indeed, vegetable oils have the highest fire point in the dielectric fluid category.

According to IEC 61100, they have a fire point of 360 °C [19], ensuring more

operation safety for in-service transformers compared to MO. The high moisture

saturation levels of vegetable oils result in the absorption of water from the cellulose

materials, thus protecting the insulation paper from ageing and deteriorating.

Natural ester oil consists of total fat classified as saturated fatty acids,

monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fatty acids. This fatty acid concentration

determines the range of natural ester oil behaviour [22], [60].

Although some poor features of esters limit their usage, e.g. low oxidation

stability for vegetable oils, they have been used worldwide for many years in either

small or medium distribution transformers up to 66 kV [61] - [62]. The technical

challenges faced in recent years include extending the use of vegetable oils from

within distribution transformers to high voltage power transformers. Some power

industries have already tried to apply vegetable oils in large power transformers, e.g.

a 132 kV/90 MVA transformer filled with FR3 manufactured by ALSTOM Grid

(previously AREVA T&D) and put into service by UK Power Networks (previously

EDF Energy) in 2009 [63] and a 238 kV/135 MVA transformer filled with Midel

7131 being operated in Sweden [64]. In the USA, some transformers up to 230 kV

and 200 MVA have been retro-filled with esters to extend their working lives [65].

Since the physical and chemical properties of vegetable oils are different from those

of mineral oil, both the design and manufacturing process of power transformers

3
might be affected. Thus, a complete understanding of the dielectric properties of

vegetable oils and their impact on transformer design and operation is required.

Among the vegetable oils being seriously considered for application in

transformers is palm oil (PO). To date, a lot of experiments have been carried out

by researchers to compare the breakdown voltages and characteristics of PO

covering different basic electrical, physical and chemical aspects [18], [20], [22] -

[27], [33] - [34], [38] - [39], [45] - [49], [53], [56], [66] – [72]. The results showed

that PO has a good potential as an alternative insulating fluid since the AC and

lightning breakdown strength of PO were comparable to mineral oil [10], [12], [22],

[27] - [28], [42], [47], [49], [53], [56], [66]. Another type of vegetable oil that

showed good performance is rice bran oil (RBO). Only limited numbers of studies

were done on RBO especially on the physical, chemical, and electrical properties.

In 2016, S. Senthil Kumar investigated rice bran oil (RBO) for the ability to be used

as alternative transformer oil. The initial study showed that the AC breakdown

voltage of RBO has comparable performance to other natural esters [5], [19], [22],

[39], [84]. The finding observed that RBO has better properties among other

vegetable oils.

Furthermore, no one has reported any study on the lightning impulse

performance of RBO until now. A lightning impulse study on transformer oil is

normally carried out to test its breakdown and withstand ability since in-service

failures could be costly to the utility’s providers. Lightning studies can be carried

out under a uniform field or a quasi-uniform field and a non-uniform field. However,

current PO studies are only limited to smaller gap distances under both electric fields

4
[38], [45] and no studies reported on RBO under lighting impulse. When the

structural arrangement inside a transformer is considered, the conductors and

earthed components create a very complex situation in terms of electric field

distribution. It is, therefore, essential to study the breakdown mechanisms of PO and

RBO in various electric fields. A good understanding of the dielectric properties of

esters is of critical importance in the application of esters in large power

transformers.

Therefore, in this thesis, a detailed study of electrical properties such as

permittivity, resistivity and tan delta is carried out to know the capability of PO and

RBO to meet the industrial standard. Besides that, an AC breakdown and impulse

breakdown voltage under uniform and non-uniform fields of PO and RBO,

especially under larger gaps, is also observed. It is important to determine whether

the limitation specified for MO is relevant to PO and RBO before these vegetable

oils can be used in power transformers.

1.2 Problem Statement

Among the vegetable oils that are attractive and could be proposed are palm oil (PO)

and rice bran oil (RBO). Malaysia is one of the largest palm oil producers in the world.

Palm oil is extracted from the palm nut. There are different types of palm oil produced

including Crude Palm Oil (CPO), Refined Bleached and Deodorized Palm Oil (RBDPO),

Red Palm Oil, Oleic Acid, and Palm Fatty Acid. Palm oil is one of the few vegetable oils

relatively high in saturated fatty acid and thus it is in the semi-solid form at room

temperature [28]. Rice oil, also called rice bran oil, is extensively used in Asian

5
countries [85] - [91]. Rice bran oil is produced from the rice bran and germ of Oryza

sativa seeds [92]. Due to an economic and efficient method for recovering the oil,

RBO should be acquired to avoid the wastage of rice mills. Rice bran oil is widely

used for various purposes such as cooking, fuel, biodiesel, lighting and power

generation [89], [93] - [94].

Although PO and RBO are quite attractive for transformer application due to

their environmental-friendly feature, there are, however, several aspects that need be

addressed before these new vegetable oils can be applied into service. To become

acceptable as alternatives to mineral oil, both PO and RBO must be safe, economical,

and offer a high standard of electrical performance standard over a long working

lifetime and an extensive period. Therefore, for any new dielectric fluids to be used

in transformers, the viscosity, pour point, flash point, AC and lightning characteristics

of these oils need to be thoroughly investigated. Only limited numbers of studies have

been done on RBO and PO, especially on their viscosity, flash point and pour point

properties.

Blume reported that the dielectric strength of mineral oil (in kV/mm)

decreases as the distance between the electrodes increases [95]. The previous studies

for PO and RBO have only considered the AC dielectric strength of oils using small

electrode gaps (1 mm to 2.5 mm). A transformer is usually composed of three-phase

high-voltage windings, low-voltage windings and probably tertiary windings. These

windings can be made in the structures of disk or layer, of which each consists of

many papers wrapped turn conductors. The turn to turn insulation is made by multiple

layer oil-impregnated papers with a thickness of ~1-2 mm. Washers are used to

6
separate the disk conductors and thus oil ducts are formed between the disks with a

thickness of ~3-10 mm. The distance between windings is relatively large, which

could be tens of mm. Therefore, it is necessary to investigate the AC strengths of the

PO and RBO using larger electrode gaps.

According to previous data, lightning causes the highest failure percentage of

35% in high voltage applications. During application, the electrical performance of

vegetable oil subjected to lightning voltage becomes more important for insulation

design. Theoretically, lightning may strike directly to earth near overhead lines

connected to the transformer which in turn could cause overvoltage. Until now, no

one has reported any study on lightning impulse performance of RBO. For PO, most

of the studies covered only on different testing methods and small gap distances.

Larger gap distances should be considered in the practical design of electrical

insulation. Thus, it is also important to study the lighting impulse of PO and RBO

under larger electrode gap distances which is limited in the literature.

Lightning studies can be carried out under uniform, quasi-uniform, and non-

uniform electrical fields. The insulations between turns, disks and windings of the

transformer are in a quasi-uniform electric field, which is experienced by most

insulation materials inside a transformer. Some other special locations of a

transformer may be more challenging for insulation design. At the corner part of the

end winding insulation, although there are contoured angle rings, there are still

tangential electric fields existing on the pressboard surface, which could facilitate the

creepage discharge when it happens. Creepage discharge is one of the failure reasons

for large power transformers. In addition, the bushing lead to the grounded tank could

7
form a long-distance non-uniform field. Finally, manufacturing defects, e.g.

protrusion on the copper conductor, and contaminations resulting from long term in-

service degradation, e.g. particle and moisture in the oil, could cause local electric

field enhancement (non-uniform field) and thus might initiate a discharge. Insulations

stressed in all these non-uniform fields are the weak link of a transformer, which

requires careful attention in the processes of design and manufacture. To sum up, the

insulation system of a transformer is stressed in most quasi-uniform fields and

somewhat exceptional non-uniform fields. Therefore, the lightning impulse study in

this thesis will be covered both in uniform field and in non-uniform field.

To add to the complexity, parameters such as testing method, gap distance and

volume of oil used for the experiment may influence the lightning breakdown voltage

performance of RBO and PO and are also investigated.

1.3 Research Objectives and Scope

This thesis project aimed to investigate the electrical performances through

experimental investigations on factors affecting PO and RBO under AC and impulse

voltage for power transformer applications. The breakdown strength of those PO

and RBO will be investigated at various conditions and compared to the common

transformer insulation oil, MO. By the end of the research, it is expected to achieve

the following objectives:

a) To analyse the viscosity, flash and pour point, moisture content, permittivity,

dielectric dissipation factor, and resistivity of PO and RBO.

8
 b) To determine the AC breakdown performance of PO and RBO under

different testing equipment and various gap distances.

c) To determine the lightning impulse breakdown performance of PO and RBO

under uniform and non-uniform fields at various gap distances with different

testing methods.

d) To estimate the withstand voltage of PO and RBO using Weibull distribution

and compare them to MO.

The research scopes planned are limited to the following aspects:

a) This research focuses on the AC breakdown voltage of PO and RBO under

a uniform field at 1.5 mm, 2.5 mm, 3.5 mm, 5.0 mm and 10.0 mm gap

distances.

b) This research considers the lightning impulse breakdown voltages of PO and

RBO under a uniform field at smaller gap distances of 2.0 mm, 3.8 mm and

6.0 mm.

c) This research considers the lightning impulse breakdown voltages of PO and

RBO under a non-uniform field at gap distances of 2.0 mm, 3.8 mm, 6.0

mm, 10.0 mm, 20.0 mm, 30.0 mm, 40.0 mm and 50.0 mm.

d) Three different testing methods which are rising voltage, up and down and

multiple level methods are used on the lightning impulse breakdown voltage

of PO and RBO.

9
1.4 Major Contribution

The major contributions of this thesis are as follows:

(a) Physicochemical and dielectric properties studies of RBO and PO show

promising results when compare to MO. RBO was observed to be more

suitable to replace MO conventionally due to the physicochemical and

dielectric properties of RBO are more similar to MO than PO. Besides, both

the physicochemical of PO and RBO complied with the physicochemical

standard of ASTM D44, D92, D97 and IEC 60247.

(b) Based on the studies carried out on AC breakdown performance, the

dielectric strength of PO and RBO is comparable to that of MO according to

the IEC 60156 test method. Additionally, the various gap distances showed

good performance of PO and RBO in a replication of power transformer

scenarios.

(c) The lightning impulse breakdown voltage under the uniform field and non-

uniform field at various conditions can be used to test the capability of a power

transformer. Therefore, for new dielectric liquids to be used in a transformer,

the lightning characteristics need to be thoroughly investigated. The 1% and

50% breakdown voltages of PO and RBO parameters are significant in

transformer design and from this study, both oils are comparable to MO.

(d) Based on the investigation carried out on the lightning breakdown

performances under different testing methods, it can be said that PO and

RBO are suitable to be applied as insulation oils in a transformer.

10
 (e) The empirical formula to determine the breakdown strength of PO and RBO

on lightning impulse performance under a non-uniform field at larger gaps

was proposed.

1.5 Thesis Summary

This thesis consists of seven chapters, which cover the introduction, literature review,

methodology, results and discussion and finally conclusions and recommendations

for future work.

Chapter 1 describes the general background of this research and also gives an

overview of the thesis with research objectives, scope and problem statements.

Chapter 2 provides a comprehensive review of the related studies under the following

topics: background of the transformer, the new alternative transformer liquids, brief

introduction of breakdown phenomena in liquids under AC and lightning impulse

voltage.

Chapter 3 elaborates the oil samples to be tested and the preparation procedures for

the oil samples. The experimental setup, test cell configuration and testing methods

used are described in this chapter.

Chapter 4 investigates the findings related to the physicochemical properties,

dielectric properties and AC breakdown voltage performances of PO and RBO.

11
Various conditions of gap distances are investigated. The discussion section contains

the analyses of fifty measurements of AC breakdown voltage results to determine the

dielectric performance.

Chapter 5 investigates the lightning impulse breakdown voltage strength of PO and

RBO in a uniform field under sphere to sphere electrode configuration. The influence

of various testing methods, including the rising voltage method, up and down method

and multiple levels method, are investigated at different smaller gap distances. The

results obtained are used to determine the lightning withstand voltage with a statistical

analysis using Weibull distribution to estimate the breakdown voltage at a low

probability of failure and then, the conclusions are eventually drawn.

Chapter 6 discussed the influence of lightning impulse performances of PO and RBO

under a non-uniform field. The configuration of needle to sphere for various testing

methods, including the rising voltage method, up and down method and multiple level

method at smaller gap distances under the lightning impulse breakdown test, were

observed. Besides that, configuration of larger gap distances using the rising voltage

method were examined. The results obtained are used to determine the lightning

withstand voltage with statistical analysis. The empirical formulas were then

determined from the relationship between the lightning breakdown voltage and gap

distances of PO, RBO and MO.

Chapter 7 provides the overall summaries and conclusions of this research. At the end

of this chapter, recommendations for future work on the ageing assessment of the PO

and RBO-filled transformers are given.

12
13
 CHAPTER 2

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Introduction

This chapter discusses the required oil properties for insulation and coolant in high

voltage equipment (i.e. liquid-filled transformers). Besides, this chapter presents a

brief introduction of pre-breakdown and breakdown phenomena in liquids under an

impulse voltage. It also summarises the most recent research findings on rice bran oil

and palm oil liquids, as well as comparisons with other mineral oils.

2.2 Use and Application of Transformer

A transformer is a piece of widely used equipment in the electrical and electronics

domains. It is an electromagnetic device that is based on the electromagnetism theory

discovered by Michael Faraday. Generally, there are four types of transformers used

in different applications and construction methods such as (i) transformer based on

voltage level, (ii) transformer based on core material, (iii) transformer based on

winding arrangement and (iv) transformer based on usage [98].

 The power transformers play an important role in regulating and ensuring the

flow of electricity in everyday life as a majority of devices require electricity to

function. Transformers produce heat as a by-product in its operation. Transformer oil

is often used to protect the core windings of the transformer. It is because they are

fully submerged in the oil. Another essential property of the insulating oil is its ability

to avoid the oxidation of the insulating paper made from cellulose. The transformer

oil serves as a buffer between the cellulose and the ambient oxygen. This can prevent

any direct contact and thereby reduce oxidation. Furthermore, the numerous failures

of transformers discussed in the literature are shown in Table 2.1.

Table 2.1: Failure of transformers

Failure Failure causes at Failure during Major failures in

attributed to the working power
users manufacturer’s condition transformers
1. Prolonged 1. Faulty design 1. Deterioration 1. Oil leakage
over loading 2. Poor material of oil 2. Deterioration
2. Single phase quality 2. Faults in the of oil
loading 3. Bad magnetic 3. Ventilation
3. Un-balanced workmanship circuit failure
loading 4. Improper 3. Inadequate pre 4. Loose
4. Faulty transportation shrinkage of clamping
termination 5. Sharp edges of the winding 5. Bushing
5. Power theft by conductor 4. Inter turn flashover
hooking 6. Incomplete faults 6. Fault in OLTC
drying 7. Inter-turn fault
7. Bad insulation
covering on
conductor

In this case, the main challenge to the engineers is to increase the reliability

and performance of the transformers as it is located in extreme outdoor environments.

Since transformers with low-temperature rise operate more efficiently, manufacturers

need to build transformers with lower temperature rise.

15
2.3 Insulation oil used in transformer

In general, transformer oil or insulating oil is a highly refined mineral oil that is stable

at high temperatures and has excellent electrical insulating properties. It is used in oil

filled transformers. Transformer oil is equivalent to blood within the transformer

body. It must be tested periodically to monitor transformer condition. Transformer oil

serves three basic functions that are to keep the transformer functions isolated, cooled

and maintained at all times. The industry has agreed on certain standards to maintain

these functions. There are many specific requirements and limits in these standards,

based on physical and chemical properties.

Many of these properties and their drawbacks are derived from the chemistry

of processed mineral oils combined with particular application criteria of electrical

insulation. In finding an alternative to mineral oil, it is important to know both what

is feasible and what is likely to be accomplished in technical terms. Although some

transformer oil brands could only satisfy the requirements, others excelled. Most

transformer oils used in Malaysia are mineral oils (uninhibited mineral oils)

containing Paraffic, Naphteric, or mixed. They are supplied by Hyrax Oil Sdn. Bhd.

The transformer oil's principal function is to insulate and cool the transformer, and

the properties of the insulation oil are based on high dielectric strength and good

dielectric properties. Plus, the physicochemical of insulation oil such as low viscosity,

high resistivity, low pour point and high flash point are considered good insulation

oil for transformer applications.

16
 In the context of the breakdown voltage, dielectric force is one of the

important properties in the field of insulation [104]. The breakdown voltage in

insulating material is the maximum electrical field strength that it can withstand

without breaking down and without any failure to its insulating properties. The

dielectric strength also means that a certain dielectric configuration and electrode

material causes minimal damage to the electrical field. The breakdown intensity in

the liquid is caused by different factors in the experiment: electrode material and

surface condition, geometry electrode, presence of chemical or physical pollutant, oil

molecule structure, temperature and strain [105]. Besides, there are several

transformer insulation oils that can be found in the literature.

2.3.1 Mineral Oil

Mineral oils have been used as insulating and cooling material for almost over

a century in transformers due to their thermal and insulating features. Transformer oil

conventionally used mineral oil that has been formulated for better engineering and

environmental properties. Besides, transformer oil is used in oil-filled electrical

power transformers to insulate, stop arcing and corona discharge, and to dissipate the

heat of the transformer.

Mineral oil or liquid petroleum is a liquid by-product of petroleum distillation

in producing gasoline and other crude oil-based petroleum products. In this sense,

mineral oil is a clear, colourless oil mainly consisting of alkenes (typically 15 to 40

carbons) and cyclic paraffin, related to petroleum jelly. It has a density of

17
approximately 0.8 g/cm3. Mineral oil is a relatively low value substance, and it is

produced in very large quantities. Mineral oil in light and heavy grades are available

and are often found in drug stores [109]. There are three basic classes of mineral

refined oils as shown in Table 2.2 to Table 2.4.

i. Paraffinic oils, based on n-alkenes and the basic hydrocarbon of paraffin is

CnH2n+2.. It is a colourless and odourless oil used for a wide variety of

purposes.

Table 2.2 : Hydrocarbon Structure of Paraffinic oil [110], [111].

Basic Structure Example

Paraffinic CH4 (methane)

ii. Naphthenic oils, based on cycloalkanes. Naphthenes is saturated

hydrocarbons that have at least one carbon atoms ring. A common example

is cyclohexane (C6H12) [112].

18
 Table 2.3 Hydrocarbon Structure of Naphtenic oil [112].

Basic Structure Example

Cyclohexane Methylcyclopentane
1,2-dimethlycyclopentane
iii. Aromatic oils, based on aromatic hydrocarbons

Table 2.4 : Hydrocarbon Structure of Aromatic oil

Basic Structure Example

Aromatics C6H6 (benzene)

In most comparison studies of paraffinic and naphthenic, discussions were on

paraffinic oil gaining traction because it is virtually sulphur-free. Paraffinic oil has a

high viscosity index that is good for engine oil but bad for transformers. The

naphthenic oil should achieve a lower viscosity which means more transformer oil on

circulation and provides better cooling.

One of the examples of transformer oil is hyrax hypertrans. Hyrax hypertrans

transformer oil is a premium uninhibited mineral insulating oil made from highly

19
hydro-treated, wax-free naphthenic oil that is excellent as a dielectric and coolant. It

has very strong fluidity at low temperatures, a high flash point and stability to the

material. Table 2.5 described the properties of uninhibited mineral oil. The properties

of mineral oils based on more previous studies are indicated in Appendix A.1. The

properties of mineral oil from [17] – [27] supported the properties gained in this

research.

Table 2.5 : Properties of uninhibited mineral oil [113].

Test Specification
Properties Values
Method
Min Max
Viscosity, cSt at 40 °C ISO 3104 - 12 10.4
Pour Point, °C ISO 3016 - -40 -60
Flash Point, °C ISO 2719 135 - 145
Water Content, PPM IEC 60814 - 30/40 20
Breakdown Voltage, kV IEC 60156 30/70 - 60
Density at 20 °C, g/ml ISO 12185 - 0.895 0.881
DDF at 90 °C IEC 60247 - 0.005 0.0002
Acidity, mg KOH/g IEC 6201-1 - 0.01 0.005

2.3.2 Vegetable Oils

Oil is an essential component of power transformers. Mineral or synthetic oils were

conventionally used. Vegetable oil has been considered as an alternative in an attempt

to overcome some of the drawbacks with mineral oils [119] - [120]. It has proven to

be a viable alternative to mineral oil used in the industry for several decades and has

several advantages over mineral oil [121]. The electric power transmission and

20
distribution industry for complicated environmental requirements seek viable

alternatives to mineral oil. Any alternative that is suitable for the environment, is

economical and has a high electrical efficiency level for an extended life needs to be

considered in current use. Recently, natural ester has been widely used in the industry.

This is due to factors such as characteristic, availability, cost and performance of

natural ester.

For vegetable oils, a different fatty substance can esterify each position on the

glycerol molecule acid, following the patterns of plants. Triacylglycerols (TAG) are

the most common forms in which two or three types of fatty acid molecules are

present. Figure 2.1 presents the hydrocarbon structure of the triglycerides.

Figure 2.1 : The structure of triglycerides of vegetable oils.

All the physical and chemical properties of oils and fats are significantly

affected by the form and proportion of the fatty acids on the triacylglycerol. The

composition of fatty acids in vegetable oils consists of saturated (SFAs) and

unsaturated (UNFAs) fatty acid mixtures classified as monounsaturated (MUFA) or

polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) bonds. However, each of the vegetable oils

analysed has a specific distribution of fatty acids, depending on their plant sources

[122]. Based on previous research, the vegetable oils show that the composition of

the oils is almost similar to each other. Due to the lack of research on rice bran oil
21
dielectric properties, the properties of general vegetable oil were indicated. Therefore,

Table 2.6 presented the fatty acid composition of vegetable oils from different

geographies and origins, based on the previous researches.

Table 2.6 : The fatty acid composition of vegetable oils.

Unsaturated fatty
References Vegetable acids, % Saturated fatty
oil acid, %
Mono Poly
[22], [39], [89], Rice bran
38 - 45 35 - 37 15 - 25
[123]–[126] Oil
[22], [89], [123],[125] Palm Oil 35 - 40 10 - 11 45 - 50
[22], [89], [125], Sunflower
19 - 40 37 - 69 12 - 18
[126] Oil
[89], [125], [127] Soybean Oil 22 - 24 51 - 61 14 - 15

2.3.2.1 Palm Oil

As a biodegradable alternative and a competitor to petroleum based oils, palm based

oils are gaining worldwide attention for their use as insulating liquids in power

transformers [42], [128]. The abundance of palm oil and its derivatives encourages

studies related to the availability and affordability of such insulating liquids for

power transformers [129]. There are different types of palm oil produced including

Crude Palm Oil (CPO), Refined Bleached and Deodorized (RBD) Palm Oil, Red

Palm Oil, Oleic Acid and Envirotemp FR3.

Dielectric properties comparison is commonly used to determine the

suitability of the use of palm oil as an isolating liquid in the literature. A number of

studies have been conducted by comparing several existing insulating liquids [66],

22
[130]. For example, Aditama [66] has studied the comparison of temperature effects

on dielectric properties of palm oil with mineral oil of insulating liquid and silicone

oil types. The parameters measured included the decomposition, dissipation (tan μ)

and dielectric constant. Table 2.7 shows the different findings between RBD and

crude palm oil based on the ASTM standard. Appendix A.2 presented the summary

of the dielectric strength of the palm oils commonly found in previous studies.

Table 2.7 : The properties of the RBD and crude palm oils.

Palm oils
RBD Crude
Property Standard
[131], [66], [81], [11],
[81], [11] [132]
Flash point °C ASTM D92 220-330 >250
Viscosity (cSt) at 40 °C ASTM D445 37-50 42
Acidity (mgKOH/g) ASTM D974 - -
Breakdown voltage (kV) ASTM D 1816 52-86 17-23
Dissipation factor %, at 90 °C ASTM D924 0.0035-0.014 0.006
Dielectric constant, at 90 °C ASTM D924 3.5 2.1

2.3.2.2 Rice Brain Oil

Rice is produced in very large quantities in Southeast Asia countries [86], [87], [89]–

[92]. Rice bran oil (RBO) as a by-product of rice milling is obtained from the outer

layer of the brown rice kernel accounting for 6–8% of the paddy rice. The global

paddy rice production was 741 million tons and this huge amount of production

resulted in more than 50 million tons of rice bran in 2014 [136]. Furthermore, rice

bran is a nutrient-rich by-product mainly due to its high oil, fibre, protein, and

phytochemical contents. Although rice bran is highly nutritious, it has a very short

23
shelf-life due to lipase-induced lipid rancidity that has limited the large use of rice

bran as a food material. The oil content of rice bran varies in each variety and heavily

depends on the processes and conditions obtained during rice milling. Rice bran, as

such, has 15 to 25% of oil associated with it. Rice bran oil can be defined as a natural

oil that is produced using the rice bran inside the hull of the paddy [92]. The

component structure of rice bran is shown in Figure 2.2.

Figure 2. 2 : The structure of a rice grain [92].

Rice bran oil is the oil extracted from the rice's hard brown outer layer called

chaff (rice husk). It is known for its 232 ° C (450 ° F) high smoke point and mild

flavour, making it suitable for high-temperature cooking methods. Rice bran oil is an

edible oil that is used to make vegetable ghee. Rice bran wax, derived from RBO and

palpanese extract, is used in cosmetics, confectionery, shoe creams and polishing

compounds as a substitute for carnauba wax.

In the context of compositional analysis, Yang [137] stated that 90% of rice

bran oil’s fatty acid comprises of palmitic acids (17.0%), oleic acids (47%), and

linoleic acids (32.65%). Similar to other natural ester oil, fatty acid can be categorised

into several groups with different functions, including saturated fatty acid (SFA),

24
monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA) and polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA). Rice

bran oil is similar in composition to peanut oil, with 38% monounsaturated, 37%

polyunsaturated and 25% saturated fatty acids.

In literature, the usage of RBO as insulating oil is widely discussed and

compared with various other vegetable oils emphasising on breakdown voltage, flash

point, fire point, viscosity, acidity, resistivity and loss factor of the natural ester.

Kumar [75] performed an analysis of vegetable liquid insulating medium for high

voltage transformer applications. He investigated RBO properties with measurements

such as breakdown voltage, flash point, fire point and viscosity. Natural ester-based

vegetable oils have shown the ability to substitute conventional mineral oils.

Besides, Mohammed [125] have found that RBO has better properties than

other natural ester oils investigated except for viscosity. Furthermore, [75] discovered

the critical parameter of mixed insulating fluids and found that vegetable oils have

higher biodegradability and are environmentally friendly. Kannan [138] studied an

attempt to find an alternative insulating fluid with better insulating properties and

environmentally friendly nature. This study focused on scientific studies on edible

natural ester oils and mixed combinations of olive oil, rice bran oil and soya bean oil

base. Khor [139] explored the dielectric mixture characteristics, low-frequency

intervals between raw rice husk and RBO due to inadequate literature on the low-

frequency response. Additionally, potential applications of raw rice husk and RBO

could be explored in an effort to reduce waste disposal and improve environmental

protection. The summarised dielectric and physicochemical properties for RBO based

on previous studies can be obtained in Table 2.8.

25
 Table 2.8 : Dielectric and physicochemical of the rice bran oil.

Breakdown Flash Point, Fire Point, Viscosity,

Researchers
Voltage (kV) °C °C cst
[41] 31 240 260 118.9
[21] 37.2 260 275 132.26
[42] 32 240 260 117.9
[22] 26.2 210 230 238.49
[39] 39.8 274 - 119
[89][19] 37.2 260 - 132.6

2.4 Dielectric and Physicochemical Properties of Vegetable oil

This section discusses the properties of commercially available esters that vary with

the product and typical representational values as the most important properties for

using vegetable oils as transformer oil. All transformer oils must withstand AC

voltage, flash impulse and flipping the impulse norms. The AC test for breakdown

voltage is the main method to assess the ability of the liquid to carry electrical stress

at the power frequency.

2.4.1 Viscosity

The viscosity of the insulating fluid affects the conductive heat transfer

capability. Viscosity is known as the measurement of resistance for oil to flow and

can be used to determine its oxidation stability. Viscosity can be measured using the

time of oil flow under controlled conditions [141]. Conduction cooling in

transformers is the primary heat removal method, and thus, a higher oil viscosity

26
within the transformer would be expected to result in higher hot spot temperatures.

Some tests showed that using vegetable oils in transformers leads to higher

temperatures within 1 to 3°C [142]. Besides, the viscosity of oil within the normal

operating temperature range is significant because it affects the oil's cooling

efficiency. Low viscosity oil will have good natural convection and forced convection

characteristics. IEEE Standard 637 and ASTM D3487-00 recommend a kinematic

viscosity limit (maximum) of 12 mm2/s at 40oC for mineral oil, while IEEE Standard

C.57.147 recommends 50 mm2/s at 40oC for natural ester oils [143]–[145]. Some of

the previous studies in Table 2.9 investigated the kinematic viscosity of the samples.

Table 2.9 : The kinematic viscosity of palm and rice bran oils.

Kinematic viscosity
Reference Vegetable oil
(mm2/s)
[92] Rice bran 42.87
Rice bran 40.88
[93]
Palm 43

[133] Palm oil 54. 6

2.4.2 Flash Point

The flash point is a primary indication for the chances of fire hazard in the

transformer; thereby preventing the nearby surroundings from transformer explosion

[75]. So the transformer oil should possess a very high flash point [11]. By

continuously applying flame, the minimum temperature at which oil starts to flow

under the standard test condition is said to be the fire point. The transformer oil flash

point is the minimum temperature at which the oil gives out vapour, the transformer

27
oil (mineral oil) flash point value is usually 140 °C [72]. The insulating oil is

considered good when it has a high flash point, high breakdown voltage and low

partial discharge [146]. A high flash point means that the oil will only give enough

vapours to produce a flammable mixture with air at high temperatures [29], [147].

The flash points refer to standard ASTM D92.

Generally, alternative oils such as silicon oil or ester (natural ester or synthetic

ester) oils have high flash points and high relative permittivity than silicon oil [34],

[59]. Norhafiz [11] in his study found that the range of flash point for palm oil is

between 220 °C and 330 °C, slightly lower than the flash point of standard natural

ester. Appendix A.3 shows the previous study on flash point of vegetable oils.

2.4.3 Pour Point

The pour point is the temperature at which, under the prescribed conditions,

transformer oil will flow. Pour point is a useful measure of how transformer oils work

at low temperatures, particularly when starting a transformer under very low

temperature conditions. Natural esters have a higher yield point than mineral oil,

usually between -15 and -25 °C, but tests showed a good cold start to -30 °C [148].

Table 2.10 : The pour point standard of mineral oil and vegetable oil.

Natural Ester
References Standard Mineral Oil
Liquid
[149], [141] ASTM D97 ≤ - 40°C ≤ - 10°C
[54] IEC 3016 ≤ - 40°C ≤ - 10°C

28
2.4.4 Dielectric Dissipation Factor (Tan δ)

The dissipation factor is known as the reciprocal ratio of the capacitive reaction

to its resistance at a given frequency between the isolating materials. It tests the

ineffectiveness of insulating material by using a cell as shown in Figure 2.3 according

to IEC 60247. Dielectric dissipation factor is also known as a measure of dielectric

loss [141]. The dielectric dissipation factor can also be used to determine the degree

of contamination in oil [150]. Previous studies showed that there was a small effect

on the dielectric dissipation factor of vegetable oils [151]–[153]. Table 2.11 specifies

the different limits given in international standards for the dissipation factor of

mineral oil and natural ester oil. The dissipation factor is proportional to the electric

conductivity, where it is a part of its dielectric losses [82]. The expression is in

equation 2.1.

tan𝛿= 𝜎/ 𝜔𝜀 (2.1)

Where, tan δ is the electric conductivity, ω is the angular frequency, and ε is the

permittivity of oil.

29
 Figure 2.3 : A cell for liquids measurement proposed by IEC 60247 [154]
[155].

Table 2.11 : Specified limits of dissipation factor of transformer insulating oil

in different standard according to IEC 60247 and ASTM D924 [3], [74], [224],
[225].

% Dissipation Factor
Reference Temperature
Standard Natural ester
number (°C) Mineral oil
liquid
ASTM D924 25 0.05 ≤ 0.2
[223][226]
[227] 100 1-3 <3
[228] IEC 60247 [229] 90 ≤ 0.005 ≤ 0.05

2.4.5 Relative Permittivity

Relative permittivity is the measurement of the resistance between electrodes in the

insulating medium in creating electric fields. The dielectric constant, also called

relative permittivity, shows how a substance on insulating oil will change in a

polarised way through an electric field. Furthermore, [156] has studied the relative

permittivity of vegetable oils under ageing duration. Based on this study, there was
30
no significant change in the relative permittivity of MO. The ratio of oil-filled test

cell capacitance to empty cell capacitance, as explained in equation 2.2, corresponds

to the oil's dielectric constant.

𝜀𝑟= 𝐶𝑥/𝐶𝑜 (2.2)

Where, εr is the dielectric constant, Cx is the capacitance of the oil filled test cell and

Co is the capacitance of an empty cell.

2.4.6 Resistivity

Resistivity refers to the resistance as electrical current flows through a conductor. The

resistivity (Ω/cm) is known as the ratio of the direct potential gradient in volts/metre

(V/m) parallel with the current flow to the current density of the samples in

amperes/square metre (A/m2) [141]. Some of the previous studies had found that

natural ester has a higher resistivity than mineral oil. The range of resistivity for

mineral oil is in between 7.6 T Ω/cm to 100 T Ω/cm and 220 T Ω/cm to 700 T Ω/cm

for natural ester and can be referred to in Table A.1 and A.2 in Appendix A.

2.4.7 AC Breakdown Voltage

The most common requirement an insulating fluid must satisfy is the AC

breakdown voltage [141]. There are a number of standard test methods used where a

31
small volume of oil is exposed to a nearly homogeneous electric field and two

electrodes are submerged in the fluid until breakdown occurs as the voltage is

increased at a controlled rate.

In general, most of the mineral and ester oil AC breakdown experiments

reported using uncoated electrodes, called bare electrodes in accordance with IEC

60156 or ASTM D1816 [157]. The bare electrode was used to demonstrate the worst-

case situation inside the transformer where there is no more insulating paper on the

conductor. The experiment is to identify the oil's tolerance tension or the lowest

breakdown voltage for the worst-case scenario. The breakdown voltage is measured

in either mushroom, sphere or plane configuration with a pair of electrodes, and has

gap spacing based on the preferred standard.

Several tests were carried out to compare natural ester breakdown voltages

and discharge characteristics and mineral oils from different suppliers [44]. There are

many test standards for insulating liquids, but they are derivatives of three main

standards. Besides, ASTM D1816 is also preferred by other manufacturers to

investigate the AC breakdown voltage in different types of electrodes, gap spacing

(mm), stir times (minutes), number of breakdowns recorded and voltage ramp rates

(kV/s) etc., as summarised in Appendix A.5 [158][159]. These main standards

presented the comparison of the standard used for insulation oil breakdown test shown

in Appendix A.4.

The standard AC breakdown voltage according to several standards can be

referred to Table 2.12. The AC breakdown voltage is extremely sensitive to the

32
impurities existing in a transformer fluid, such as the presence of excessive moisture,

particulates, and air or gas bubbles. Consequently, the measured AC breakdown

voltage of an insulating fluid mostly represents the oil quality rather than oil

characteristic itself.

Table 2.12: Common values of breakdown for various insulating fluids.

Test Mineral Synthetic Natural Silicone Low

Oil Ester Ester Oil Viscosity
Silicone oil
IEC 60156 70kV >75kV >75kV 50kV 70kV
2.5mm
ASTM 1816 - - 37kV - -
1.0mm
ASTM 1816 60kV - 76kV - -
2.0mm
ASTM D877 55kV 43kV 46kV 43kV -

The AC breakdown voltage is measured by observing at what voltage

sparking strands between two electrodes immersed in the oil, separated by a specific

gap of 2.5 mm [20]. Table 2.13 shows the values of AC breakdown voltages of RBO

and PO from other researchers for references in this study.

Table 2.13: AC breakdown voltages of different type of oils.

Type of Oils Standard Gap Breakdown

Reference
distances voltage (kV)
ASTM
1 mm 28-33 [44]
D1816
Envirotemp FR3
[25], [44],
IEC 60156 2.5 mm 82
[162]
Midel 7131 IEC 60156 2.5 mm > 75 [163]
ASTM
RBD Palm Olein 1 mm 36-37 [12]
D1816
RBD palm Olein IEC 60156 2.5 mm > 60 [82], [130]
RBD palm oil IEC 60156 2.5 mm > 32 [164], [165]
[39], [72],
Rice Bran oil IEC 60156 2.5 mm > 32
[75], [138]
ASTM
Rice bran oil 2.5mm ≥ 35 [126]
D1816
33
 Syazwani et al. [41] investigated the breakdown voltage of mineral oil and

vegetable oils at various gap distances under a quasi-uniform field. The results of

palm oil are slightly lower than FR3. The measurement was done using VDE

electrode according to IEC 60156 at various gap distances from 0.5 mm to 3.5 mm.

The results of their finding can be seen in Figure 2.4.

Figure 2.4 : The variation of breakdown voltage in five types of oil [41].

Furthermore, Vukovic [166] reported the AC breakdown strength of vegetable

oil compared to mineral oil for the oil gap of 2 mm. The experiment used Baur DTA

100 E with the gap length reduced from standardised 2.5 mm to 2 mm following IEC

60156 with minor modifications. Using a Perspex test vessel with 1.5 litres volume

of oil allowed the recognition of different electrical field stress conditions. Figure 2.5

illustrates the arrangement of electrodes under the quasi-uniform field. The result of

the AC breakdown voltage observed 1% and 50% probabilities of breakdown voltage

from Weibull two-parameter distribution functions. Both probabilities from the

34
Weibull distribution shows that vegetable oil has a higher breakdown voltage than

the mineral oil, Lyra X.

Figure 2.5 : The VDE configuration under AC breakdown voltage [166].

Another study was done by R, Frotscher, Vukovic and Jovalekic [55]. Their

study investigated three types of samples which are synthetic ester (MIDEL7131),

natural ester (FR3) and mineral oil (Diala D) for the AC breakdown voltage under

various gap distances. The result of the AC breakdown voltage found that all samples

are close to each other at 2.5 and 5.0 mm gap distances. The ester oil breakdown

voltage shows an increment similar to Midel 7131. The breakdown voltage of mineral

oil is lower in small gap distances below 10.0 mm. The mean breakdown voltage for

all these samples is shown in Figure 2.7.

35
 Figure 2.6 : The VDE configuration with d = 2.5mm, 5mm, 10mm and 15mm
[55].

Figure 2.7 : The AC breakdown voltage of VDE configuration for various gap
distances [55].

Sanjida Islam et al. [59] had investigated alternative insulating oils with

biodegradable characteristics. The four types of natural vegetable oils used are

coconut oil, mustard oil, palm oil and soybean oil. There are other two types of

mixture oils which are coconut oil mixed with mustard oil and coconut oil mixed with

palm oil. These vegetable oils were compared with transformer oil in mushroom

electrodes’ configuration at 2.5 mm, 5 mm, 7.5 mm and 10 mm gap distances.

36
 The results obtained show that the breakdown voltage of vegetable oils are

higher than the transformer oil as shown in Figure 2.8. The mixed 50% coconut oil

with 50% palm oil breakdown voltage (58 kV) is high at the 7.5 mm gap distance.

However, at 10 mm gap distance, a breakdown is not observed because the maximum

output voltage is 60 kV. The breakdown voltages of all samples were seen close to

each other except for the mixed oils. Coconut and palm oil show higher breakdown

voltages in all gap distances than transformer oil. The authors concluded that

vegetable oil has been recognised as a good quality substitute material for transformer

oil. This was also supported with other reviews due to its high-quality

biodegradability characteristic, low pour point, high flash point and high solubility

[21]–[23], [27], [30] - [31], [43] - [44], [59], [61], [77], [169].

Figure 2.8 : The comparison of breakdown voltage for all samples across
mushroom electrodes [59].

D. Martin and Z. D. Wang [44] considered the effectiveness of ester oil as a

dielectric in the transformer. The ester oils show the capability to act as mineral oil.

Their experiment used BAUR DPA75 as the oil breakdown tester attached with VDE

electrodes at 1 mm gap distance according to ASTM D1816. Three types of oil

37
samples investigated were mineral oil, natural ester and synthetic ester. The

breakdown voltage of synthetic ester obtained was higher with 47 kV and followed

by natural ester at 41 kV and mineral oil, 39 kV. However, due to the small gap

distance, the breakdown of all samples are seen to be close to each other. Previous

studies on vegetable oils, especially with those related to this research such as palm

oil and rice bran oil, for the AC breakdown voltage were indicated in Appendix A.4.

2.5 Lightning Impulse Breakdown Voltage

Transformer insulation will be subjected to overvoltage, such as those caused

by lightning surges. Lightning overvoltage are characterised by a short front duration,

ranging from a fraction of a microsecond to several tens of microseconds, which then

decreases to zero [170]. The standard lightning impulse is a full lightning impulse

having a virtual front time of 1.2 μs and a virtual time to half-value of 50 μs [25].

The standard lightning impulse voltage is a full lightning impulse having a

virtual front time of 1.2 μs and a virtual time to half-value of 50 μs. Figure 2.9 depicts

the standard lightning impulse waveform [171].

38
 Figure 2.9: Example of lightning impulse waveform.

The curve derived by implementing equation (2) included in [17]. (1) Time to
half the peak voltage, (2) Time to peak voltage, (3) − (4) Time above 90 % [172]

ASTM D3300 and IEC 60897 standards [173] are the commonly used

standard to conduct lightning and switching impulse breakdown voltages. The IEC

specifies a standard impulse wave with a front time of 1.2 μs ± 30 % tolerance and a

tail time of 50 μs ± 20 % tolerance. Generally, the lightning impulse breakdown

voltage of ester liquids investigated has either positive or negative polarity [2], [30],

[42], [49] - [50], [58], [175] - [182]. The ASTM D3300 has mentioned that the voltage

wave has little or no effect on the breakdown strength of a liquid. The standard

impulse test, ASTM D3300, specifies a 1.2 × 50 μs negative polarity wave. The

standard wave shape for switching surge tests on transformers is 100 μs to crest and

equal to or greater than 1000 μs to zero [145]. The comparison between the two

standards is shown in Table 2.14.

39
 Table 2.14 : Comparison between ASTM and IEC impulse test methods [76].

Property ASTM D 3300 IEC 60897

Steel or brass; point-to-
Electrode type Steel; Point-to-sphere
sphere or sphere-to-sphere
25.4 for point-to-sphere; 3.8 25, 15, 10 depends on the
Electrode gap (mm)
for sphere-to-sphere expected voltage range
Voltage increasing method
Step by step, 3 shots per step Step by step, 1 shot per step
(kV)
Time interval between shots Step voltage 5 or 10 Step voltage 5 or 10
(s) Minimum 30 Minimum 60
5 breakdowns; 1 5 breakdowns; 1
Results
breakdown/sample breakdown/sam

According to M. Ameerul [77], lightning is one of the natural phenomena that

occurs in the atmosphere. When there are two clouds with opposite charges, positive

and negative, are within the strike distance of each other, it will produce lightning.

Other than that, lightning also can occur when an object on earth has a connection

with the negative cloud and 95% lightning strikes in the world occurred in negative

polarity [182]. As this decreases the chance of erratic external flashover in the circuit,

negative polarity is usually used for oil-immersed transformers. Studies of lightning

can be performed in uniform, quasi-uniform and non-uniform regions. Quasi-uniform

fields mimic most of the electrical fields inside a transformer. Usually, the uniform

and quasi-uniform fields correspond to the configurations of the plane, chestnut and

sphere-sphere electrodes. The non-uniform field is to illustrate the event of discharge

which leads to liquid failure. The defect was caused by the configurations of the point

or point-sphere electrodes.

40
2.5.1 Lightning impulse breakdown voltage under uniform field

As quasi-uniform fields resemble most of the electric fields in a transformer, one of

the studies on breakdown strength of ester liquids was done by [31]. The results

indicated that the lightning impulse breakdown strength of ester liquids is comparable

to that of mineral oils in quasi-uniform fields in clean conditions (oil samples were

filtered, degassed and dehydrated).

Qiang [2] has conducted a lightning impulse test in negative polarity with a

waveform of 1.2/50 μs applied on a 3.8 mm sphere-sphere gap. The author used the

rising-up method with increased step by step with a step increment of 10 kV. At each

voltage level, three shots were applied and the time interval between two consecutive

shots was fixed at 60 seconds. In total, five breakdowns were made for each type of

liquid. The three types of samples used are Gemini X and Midel 7141, which are

based on the mineral oil type and FR3 which is made from natural ester oil. The result

of LI breakdown voltage can be seen in Figure 2.10 and Table 2.15.

Figure 2.10 : Comparison of lightning breakdown voltage between ester oil and
mineral oil at 3.8mm gap distances.

41
Table 2.15 : Lightning breakdown strength breakdown voltage for ester oil and
mineral oil at 3.8mm gap distance [2].

Test sequence Midel 7131 Gemini X FR3

1 222.6 219.9 198.0
2 180.0 209.0 195.5
3 220.1 290.0 200.2
4 221.5 230.1 260.2
5 200.0 240.6 190.0
Mean of lightning
breakdown voltage 208.8 243.9 202.8
(kV)
Standard deviation 18.6 32.4 15.7

Martin [25] has also conducted the lightning impulse breakdown voltage with

a Haefely 10 stage impulse generator to provide a 1.2 μs/50 μs negative voltage wave

shape. The test cell, the gap distance of 3.8 mm and the 12.7 mm diameter spherical

measurements were according to ASTM D3300. The mean lightning breakdown

voltages are given in Table 2.16.

Table 2.16 : Lightning breakdown voltage for ester oil and mineral oil
at 3.8mm gap distance according to ASTM D3300[25].

Test sequence Midel 7131 Mineral oil FR3

Mean of lightning
165 196 181
breakdown voltage (kV)

K. J. Rapp et al. [184] has discussed about the quasi-uniform field at gap

distances from 12 mm to 50 mm using natural ester, Envirotemp FR3. Type 1

electrodes were used for 25 mm and 50 mm gap distance, while Type 2 electrodes

were mounted on a pressboard 3.2 mm thick and used for the 12 mm gap distance.

The oil gap test results from Type 1 and Type 2 electrodes were comparable with

industry design criteria. The Type 1 and Type 2 configurations are shown in Figure

2.11.

42
 (a) (b)

Figure 2.11 : The type 1 and 2 electrode configuration under quasi uniform
field [184].

The obtained lightning breakdown voltage results are shown in Figure 2.12.

As expected, the breakdown strength of liquids generally decreases with the increase

of gap distance and volume of liquid under stress. Importantly, the breakdown

strength of natural ester is similar to that of mineral oil, both of which are higher than

the Weidmann oil design line [76]. The sample handling procedure (e.g. whether the

sample is exposed to the air environment and whether vacuum is required afterwards)

during the processing and testing was emphasised by the authors as an important

factor which might influence the test results.

Figure 2.12 : Lightning breakdown voltages in quasi-uniform field at

various gap distances [184].

43
 The authors [184] also concluded that the lightning breakdown strength of

natural ester in a quasi-uniform field at gap distances from 12 mm to 50 mm is

comparable to that of mineral oil. The term comparable indicates that the lightning

breakdown strength of natural ester is approximately 10% to 15% lower than that of

mineral oil. Table 2.17 shows the lightning breakdown voltage of natural ester and

mineral oil using Type 1 and Type 2 electrodes at various gap distances from 12 mm

to 50 mm.

Table 2.17 : Lightning breakdown strength of natural ester and mineral oil
using type 1 and type 2 electrodes at various gap distances from 12 mm to 50
mm [184].

Electrode Type 1 Type 1 Type 2

Gap distance 25 mm 50 mm 12 mm
Natural Mineral Natural Mineral Natural Mineral
Oil
Ester Oil Ester Oil Ester Oil
Average oil gap
23.3 24.1 48.1 48.0 10.3 12.3
(mm)
U50% (kV) 611 695 712 846 352 404
Std. Dev (kV) 116 139 97.8 79.4 8.3 13.9

2.5.2 Lightning impulse breakdown voltage under non-uniform field

The lightning breakdown voltages of dielectric insulating fluids under a non-uniform

field are important as a parameter for transformer design [62]. A non-uniform field

study is carried out to represent an event where a discharge is initiated by an apparent

defect in a transformer. Such events can be created by point-plane or point-sphere

configurations which can simulate the imperfections that could occur in transformers.

44
 According to IEC 60897 [185], the determination of lightning impulse

dielectric strength in a divergent field allows recognition of the inherent properties of

insulating liquids. So this test is believed to be useful in differentiating composition

effects in insulating liquids and in detecting variations in their characteristics due to

modifications in their chemical composition [186].

Thien [38], [49], [180] had studied several types of vegetable oils (three types

of palm oil and coconut oil). The vegetable oils were compared to Hyrax mineral oil.

The test setup of the lightning impulse test is according to IEC 60897. All tests were

carried out at 2, 3.8, 6, 10, 15- and 25-mm electrode gap distances. The finding shows

that vegetable oil breakdown voltages are slightly lower than mineral oil for small

gap distances (2.0 mm, 3.8 mm and 6.0 mm). The lightning breakdown voltage of the

mineral oil has increased higher than the vegetable oils as gap distances increased.

Figure 2.13 shows the breakdown voltage of various types of palm oil, coconut oil

and mineral oil with different gaps.

Figure 2.13 : 50% breakdown voltages for all samples based on rising-
voltage method [180]

45
 Qiang [61] in his research on Ester Insulating Liquid for Power Transformer

has investigated the electrical performance of ester oils under the lightning impulse

test using a standard 1.2/50 μs lightning impulse. A needle to plane configuration

representing a non-uniform field was applied with variable gap distances up to

50 mm. The voltage level was increased step by step using the rising voltage method

with an increment of 5 kV or 10 kV depending on the gap distance or expected

breakdown voltage. A total of 15 breakdowns per sample were obtained before

changing both the electrode and liquid sample. The lightning breakdown voltages of

ester liquids are lower than that of mineral oil for all gaps observed, and the

differences become bigger whenever gap distances increased as shown in Figure 2.14.

Figure 2.14 : Breakdown voltages of ester liquids based on rising-

voltage method [61].

2.5.3 Effect of Different Testing method

The various testing methods in Z. D. Wang et al. [40], [61] were compared to the

breakdown voltage of ester liquids and mineral oil in a 3.8 mm sphere-sphere gap

46
using negative 1.2/50 μs lightning impulses. Gemini X mineral oil shows better

lightning impulse withstanding ability than ester-based oils no matter which methods

were used. Figure 2.15 shows the results which indicated that the testing methods

have notable influences on the absolute breakdown voltages, but does not affect the

relative ranking of the liquids between ester liquids and mineral oil. The multiple-

level method gave a higher breakdown voltage than the other two methods.

Figure 2.15 : Comparison of lightning breakdown voltages between ester

liquids and mineral oil using various testing methods [61].

The finding of the testing method effect on the breakdown voltage has been

discussed in the research by Katim N.I.A [34]. Her research was carried out for the

breakdown voltage under a uniform field at 2.0 mm and 3.8 mm gap distances as

shown in Figure 2.16. The multi-level method had the highest percentage of

differences among the methods with the biggest differences. From this study, it is

found that testing methods have a notable influence on the measured breakdown

voltage for various gap distances. The percentage of difference is less than 10%, in

agreement with the previous studies [40], [61], [182].

47
 (a) (b)

Figure 2.16 : Testing methods effect on 50% lightning breakdown voltages of

all samples at gap distances of (a) 2.0 mm and (b) 3.8 mm [45].

Thien [38] researched the lightning impulse breakdown voltage under a non-

uniform field. Her study was carried out to test the influences of testing methods

under negative and positive polarities at various gap distances. Overall, Thien’s

research found that all breakdown voltages of samples showed a small effect under

different testing methods. The influence of testing methods can be observed in Figure

2.17. The multiple-level method has the highest 50% breakdown voltages as agreed

by Z. D. Wang [40].

(a) (b)

48
 (c)

Figure 2.17 : Influence of voltage polarities on the 50% break- down voltages
of all samples at gap distances of (a) 2.0 mm, (b) 3.8 mm and (c) 6.0 mm [38].

2.6 Effect of Various Gap Distances

Transformer manufacturers must face some electrical challenges to adopt

environmentally friendly ester fluids in high-voltage applications. These are mainly

related to the dielectric performance of ester fluids under very large oil gaps [25],

[74], [193] - [194]. As many research was devoted to the good potential of esters to

replace the MO in distribution transformer, the behaviour of these oils for different

gap spacing is important [192] - [193]. The transformer’s windings can be made in

the structures of disk or layer, each of which consists of many papers wrapped around

turn conductors. The distance between windings is relatively large, which could be

tens of mm. A bigger transformer has larger gap distances between the disk windings.

One of the influences of the breakdown in insulating oils is by the various testing

condition gaps [178], [197] - [200]. Breakdown measurements in insulating oils are

important to assess the behaviour of liquids in conditions relevant to high voltage

transformers.

49
 In research by J.E. Contreras et al. [74], lightning breakdown voltages of ester

fluids could be lower than that of mineral oil at very large gaps [198]. Therefore,

wider insulating barriers are typically considered when environmentally friendly

fluids are used in high-voltage transformers. This is also agreed by research study

findings by A. Denat, O. Lesaint and F. Mc Cluskey [191]. A few previous studies of

larger gap also mentioned the same agreement that mineral oil shows much better

properties at larger gap distances especially ≥10 cm [199], [197]. This situation occurs

because, in large gaps, streamers in esters switch to fast propagation modes at

voltages much lower than in transformer oil [197].

A. Denat, O. Lesaint and F. Mc Cluskey [191] have conducted standard 1.2/50

µs lightning impulse in point-plane geometries as in Figure 2.18. The point electrode

connected to high voltage was made of either brass or steel and had a 300 µm tip

curvature radius. The grounded electrode was a brass plane 2 cm and 16 cm in

diameters. A 20-litre volume was used in a larger cell built for point-plane geometry

with various gap distances up to 35 cm. The rising voltage method was used in

increments of 5 kV until breakdown occurred. The authors focused on the pollution

in mineral oil (PMO), isopropyl biphenyl (IPB), mono-benzyltoluene (BT01), di-

benzyltoluene (BT02) and benzyltoluene mixture (BT06) in their research. Natural

ester, NE was plotted using the same configuration from a previous study under

lightning impulse by Q. Liu and Z. D. Wang [197]. The result of this study can be

observed in Figure 2.19

50
 Figure 2.18 : A point-plane geometry configurations of point (300 µm tip
radius) with a) 2 cm diameter and b) 16 cm diameter plane geometry [191].

Figure 2.19 : Lightning impulse breakdown voltage of PMO, BTO and NE

[191].

From the result in A. Denat, J.E. Contreras et al. and Q. Liu and Z. D. Wang

[152], [154] – [155], the lightning breakdown voltage increased as gap distances

increased. The breakdown voltage of ester oils observed is much lower compared to

mineral oil. The almost similar test of lightning impulse was conducted by Q. Liu and

Z. D. Wang [197]. Lightning breakdown tests of esters and mineral oil gaps extending

51
from 15 mm to 100 mm were carried out using the same procedure. The breakdown

voltages of esters are lower than that of Gemini X for all gaps observed, and the

differences become more pronounced with the gap distances increased. This

phenomenon can be seen in Figure 2.20 and exists due to the velocity of streamer fast

leading to a breakdown in ester oils with increasing gap distances. The finding also

agreed that in smaller gap distances, the breakdown voltages of all samples are almost

close to each other [194], [203] - [204].

Figure 2.20: The 50% breakdown voltage of Gemini X, Midel 7131 and FR3
versus gap distances [197].

Thien [20] in her study of lightning impulse breakdown voltage under a non-

uniform field used the needle-plane electrode configuration. The tip radius curvature

of the needle electrode was 50±5 µm while the diameter of the plane electrode was

200 mm with an edge radius of 3 mm placed horizontally in 10 litres of Perspex test

cell. Her tests were conducted at 25 mm and 50 mm gap distances. Mineral oil and

three types of palm oils were tested. As per results in Figure 2.21, MO showed the

highest breakdown voltage than all palm oils at the 25 mm gap distance. The

breakdown voltage pattern was observed to be similar at a gap distance of 50 mm,

52
where MO has the highest breakdown voltage. The finding is also similar to A. Denat,

J.E. Contreras et al. and Q. Liu and Z. D. Wang [152], [154] - [155]. However,

researchers found that the breakdown voltages of all palm oils are comparable to MO

where the highest percentage of difference is less than 3% [20].

(a) (b)
Figure 2.21 : The breakdown voltage of three type of palm oils and mineral oil
at (a) 25mm and (b) 50 mm gap distances [20].

Another experiment from Thien [180] investigated the effects of vitamin E

and A of palm oils (RBDPOA, RBDPOB and RBDPOC) and coconut oil (CO) as the

alternative transformer oil under the lightning impulse test. Mineral oil (MO) was

also used in her study as a benchmark. The test was carried out based on needle-

sphere electrodes where the tip radius of the copper needle electrode spherical

diameter was 200 µm and 12.7 mm respectively. The tests were carried out at 2, 3.8,

6, 10, 15- and 25-mm electrode gap distances.

In general, the 50% breakdown voltages for all samples increased as the gap

distances increase [13], [20], [38], [41], [177], [197], [202]. The breakdown voltage

of MO was higher in all gap distances as reported in Figure 2.22. However, the

observed breakdown voltage for RBDPO and CO are comparable to MO at smaller

53
gap distances i.e. 2.0, 3.8 and 6 mm. The author concluded that the existing contents

of vitamin E and A in vegetable oils have no significant effect on the lightning

breakdown voltages of all RBDPO. Furthermore, it is observed that the content of

saturated and unsaturated fats has no significant effect on the lightning breakdown

performances since most of the breakdown voltages of the RBDPO are quite close to

CO. The relationship between RBDPO/CO and gap distance is found to follow the

same pattern as previous studies in MO and other ester types.

Figure 2.22 : The 50% breakdown voltages for all samples based on rising
voltage method [180].

The same pattern was observed by Katim et al. [34] even as the experiment

focused on the same type of mineral oil and vegetable as Thien [180]. The authors

carried out the test based on the sphere-sphere electrode configuration to simulate a

quasi-uniform electric field under the lightning impulse test. The tests were

performed at 2 mm and 3.8 mm gap distances under negative and positive polarities.

As expected in [20], [180], [197], for both polarities, mineral oil (MO) has the highest

breakdown voltage compared to vegetable oils. The pattern of breakdown voltage is

54
similar where the breakdown voltage of all samples increases with increasing gap

distances. The 50% breakdown voltage of all samples can be observed in Figure 2.23.

(b) (b)
Figure 2.23 : 50% breakdown voltage of all samples at (a) 2.0mm and (b)
3.8mm gap distances [45].

K. J. Rapp et al. [184] conducted a lightning impulse test under a quasi-

uniform field. The horizontally and vertically placed coil configurations were used in

the experiment as in Figure 2.14 in Section 2.5.1. Type 1 presents the horizontal

electrodes’ configuration and were tested at 25 mm and 50 mm gap distances while

Type 2 presents the vertical electrodes’ configuration and were tested at 12 mm gap

distance. Two types of samples were investigated in this experiment which are

mineral oil and natural ester oil. The Weidmann design line provides the minimum

impulse stress for oil samples as shown in Figure 2.24. Overall, this study indicates

that the impulse breakdown stress of natural ester fluid gaps and insulation interfaces

are similar to mineral oil. Mineral oil still leads in any situations.

55
Figure 2.24 : Impulse breakdown stress for coil electrode configurations [184].

Some of the previous studies have investigated the effect of electrode gaps

towards AC breakdown voltage. For instance, D. Martin [25] investigated the

breakdown voltages of the oils using electrode gaps of 5 mm and 10 mm performed

in a small sample size of 10 measurements and a large sample size of 30

measurements. Three types of oil samples were used in his study which are mineral

oil, Midel 7131 and natural ester, FR3. The oil samples are delivered by the

manufacturer in 20-litre or 25-litre containers. The individual AC breakdown voltages

of small sample sizes are shown in Figure 2.24 From the result, it is noted that at

5 mm gap distance, the mineral oil breakdown voltage is higher than ester oils. The

difference in breakdown voltage is only 20 kV to 30 kV. The mean breakdown

voltages could not be found for either mineral oil or Midel 7131 with the 10 mm gap

as both oils withstood the highest voltage that could be delivered by the test cell,

250 kV. However, the implication of this is clear that the mean breakdown voltages

for these two oils were higher than that of FR3.

The investigation on AC breakdown voltage of mineral oil by Champa et al.

[192] was carried out for samples versus gap distances under various temperatures.
56
In his study, the breakdown voltage of mineral oil had a higher value under room

temperature. Overall, the same pattern of breakdown voltage was gained in all

temperatures, although with different gap distances. The mean distribution of mineral

oil can be seen in Figure 2.25. As expected, the AC breakdown voltage of all samples

obtained increase as the gap distance is increased. Similarly, this finding is considered

as agreeable with other researches.

Figure 2.25 : Mean breakdown voltage of mineral oil at various gap

distances[192].

Sanjida Islam et al. [59] investigated the alternative insulating oil with

biodegradable characteristics. Four types of vegetable oils used which were coconut

oil, mustard oil, palm oil and soybean oil. The other two types of samples were mixed

samples which are 50% coconut oil mixed with 50% mustard oil and 50% coconut

oil mixed with 50% palm oils. These vegetable oils were compared with the

transformer oil in four types of uniform electrodes under the AC breakdown voltage.

Four gap distances of 2.5, 5, 7.5 and 10 mm were used in each electrode configuration.

The result observed the same pattern as all reviews in this section and is supported by

previous studies. It is found that the breakdown voltage is increased as the gap

57
distances are increased for of all samples under all configurations. Overall, some

vegetable oils have high breakdown voltages and are comparable to the transformer

oil sample.

2.7 Statistical analysis

Statistical methods are commonly used to estimate the dielectric of liquid insulation

at low failure probabilities. The Weibull distributions are the methods used in the

study of the likelihood of failure voltage and play important roles in the study of

reliability. Choosing a particular distribution for each insulating oil sample is crucial

as not all data on the breakdown voltage would necessarily match and only one form

of distribution is reliable.

2.7.1 Weibull Distribution

Statistical methods have been extensively used in dielectric failure studies. The failure

probability depends on the electrical stress applied in the liquid. Normally, the

Weibull distribution approach is generally accepted in the field of electrical insulation

as the one that best fit the data approximating the failure and dielectric strength [18],

[205], [206]. Many researches were carried out on Weibull distribution to predict the

withstand voltage and failure in insulation oil [20], [27], [30] - [31], [33], [40], [51],

[62], [96], [186], [211], [212]. Usually, the mean breakdown voltage (50%

breakdown voltage) and standard deviation are used to represent the breakdown

58
voltage distribution, based on the assumption that the oil breakdown voltage follows

the normal distribution. The estimation of breakdown voltages at 1% and 50%

probabilities of failure of all oil samples can be determined using statistical analysis.

The estimation of 1% probability is identified as the lowest breakdown voltage that

can be expected from the test sample or sometimes referred to as the withstand

voltage. Meanwhile, the 50% probability is the mean breakdown voltage of the test

sample. These values are important for a transformer designer to design the

appropriate insulation of the transformer.

Weibull analysis is a technique used to analyse life-data. Real-life data is the

result of measurements of a product's life. The withstand voltage is critically

important in designing power transformer insulation. Weibull distribution is usually

used to fit the breakdown voltages and the withstand voltage can be deduced based

on the fitted curve. Weibull statistic method is based on a stability postulate [205].

The weak-link theory gives the breakdown probability. Weibull analysis is an

effective method of determining reliability characteristics and trends of a population

using a relatively small sample size of field or laboratory test data. Weibull

distribution is the most common distribution used for analysing breakdown voltage

data. The distribution is defined by its pdf equation, mathematically. Weibull

distribution is obtained based on the scale and shape parameters. The cumulative

functions of Weibull distribution are given in equation 2.3.

x β
F(x) = 1 − e−(α) , x ≥ 0 (2.3)

59
Where, ƒ(x) is the probability density function of breakdown voltage, x is the

breakdown voltage, α is the continuous shape parameter and β is the continuous scale

parameter.

The parameter of Weibull form, β, is also known as the Weibull slope. That

is because, in a probability plot, the value of β is equal to the line slope. Similar shape

parameter values can have significant effects on the distribution behaviour. In

addition, certain shape parameter values can cause the distribution equations to

diminish to those of other distributions. For example, if β = 1, the pdf of Weibull three

parameters reduces to that of the exponential two-parameter distribution. The

parameter β is a pure number (i.e. a dimensionless number) [205].

60
 CHAPTER 3

METHODOLOGY

3.1 Introduction

This chapter specifies the methods used to carry out dielectric properties and electrical

performance strength for PO and RBO. The experimental setup and measuring

techniques of AC breakdown voltage and lightning impulse test of PO and RBO also

deal with the procedure and observation of preparation sample of insulating liquid.

The procedures start by processing oil samples, testing setup and configuring

electrical testing such as AC breakdown voltage and lightning impulse test. The

analysis technique of the experimental works in this study is explained in this chapter.

The general experiment flow used in this study is shown in Figure 3.1 while

Figure 3.2 and Figure 3.3 depict the flow of AC breakdown voltage and lightning

impulse test detailed process.

61
 Start

Identify the test sample

Sample preparation

Dielectric tests

Physico-chemical Electrical
properties Properties

1. Viscosity- ASTM D4465 1. Dielectric dissipation factor

2. Moisture content - ASTM 1533 2. Relative permittivity IEC 60247
3. Flash point – ASTM D92 3. Resistivity
4. Pour point – ASTM D97 4. AC breakdown voltage – IEC 60156
5. Lightning impulse – IEC 60897

Figure 3.1: Experiment flow chart.

62
 Start

Sample preparation

Pre-processing of samples

AC breakdown voltage test

HV laboratory
Baur DTA 100 C Gap distance:
Unexpected
Gap distance: 1. 1.5 mm
result
1. 2.5mm 2. 2.5 mm
3. 3.5 mm
4. 5.0 mm
5. 10.0 mm

Is test result within the

expected value?

Expected
result
Statistical analysis

End

Figure 3.2 : AC Breakdown Voltage Test.

63
 Start

Sample preparation

Pre-processing of samples

Test setup

Lightning breakdown voltage

Uniform field Non-Uniform field

Sphere to sphere Needle to sphere
Unexpected
result

Small gap distance: Needle to sphere according to IEC 60897

1. 2.0 mm Larger gap distance:
2. 3.8 mm 1. 10.0 mm
3. 6.0 mm 2. 20.0 mm
3. 30.0 mm
4. 40.0 mm
5. 50.0 mm
Testing methods
1. Rising-voltage
2. Up-and-down
3. Multiple-level Rising voltage method

Is test results within

the expected value?

Expected
result
Statistical analysis

End

Figure 3.3 : Lightning Impulse Test.

64
3.2 Sample Preparation

Three samples have been selected as the case study. The samples were Mineral Oil

(MO), which is an uninhibited mineral oil conforming to BS148 and two types of

vegetable oils which were Refined Bleached and Deodorized Palm Oil (PO) and Rice

Bran Oil (RBO). Both PO and RBO products were from cooking oil directly obtained

from the manufacturer. Figure 3.4 shows the three samples used in this study.

MO PO RBO

Figure 3.4 : The samples of MO, PO and RBO.

Vegetable oils are naturally obtained from the seeds as well as the flowers.

Many industries carried out investigations for using these oils as insulating oil in

transformers and for pollution-free environments [210], [211]. Vegetable oils possess

properties like higher flash points, lower flammability and are regarded as more

environmental friendly [212], [213]. The vegetable oil has various applications in

cooking, industries, diesel fuels etc. [154], [218] - [220]. In investigating natural

ester-based vegetable oils, the breakdown voltage, flash point, fire point and viscosity

65
of oil samples are measured. These properties are considered as important in the

aspects of insulation behaviour, fire safety and heat transfer ability.

Mineral oil (Hyrax Hypertrans oil) is obtained from Hyrax Oil Malaysia Sdn.

Bhd., which is the most popular transformer oil distributor in Malaysia. The basic

hydrocarbon structures in mineral oil are paraffinic, naphthenic, aromatic and

polyaromatic as shown in Table 2.2 to 2.4 [62]. The transformer industry prefers

naphthenic to paraffinic oils as naphthenic has better low-temperature performance

and is less likely to form waxes. The properties of MO insulation fluids in terms of

their physicochemical and electrical properties are indicated in Table 2.5, the

uninhibited mineral oil insulation fluid [113].

Physically, colour and appearance based on Figure 3.4 show that MO is a

clear and bright coloured oil compared to PO and RBO which are yellow in colour.

All the samples are transparent. The properties of MO used in this study can be

obtained in Table 3.1.

Table 3.1 : Properties of Hyrax mineral oil.

Parameter Specification
Product Hyrax Hypertrans Transformer Oil
Appearance Clear & Bright
Standards Requirement IEC 60296 : 2003
Pour Point, °C -40
Flash Point, °C 135
Viscosity (cSt) 10.4

66
 PO and RBO are normally characterised as saturated and unsaturated fatty

acids as shown in Table 3.2. Vitamin E, saturated and unsaturated fat for PO and RBO

are found in cooking oil. The fatty acids of PO and RBO are also in range with

previous studies.

Table 3.2 : Fat, Vitamin E contents of PO and RBO.

Characteristic PO RBO

Saturated fat (g) 45.4 22

Mono-
43.0 38.3
unsaturated fat (g
Poly-
11.6 4.7
unsaturated fat (g)
Vitamin E (mg) 4.4 1

3.3 Physicochemical Properties of samples

Most power transformer failures are attributed to the physicochemical reaction that

takes place in the insulation oils due to the presence of heat, moisture content,

oxidation and electrical stresses. Most transformers that are in operation nowadays

are filled with MO. MO has been successfully applied in-service owing to its excellent

electrical and physicochemical properties. However, there are several issues

associated with MO such as it is non-biodegradable, has low fire/flash points and is a

non-renewable resource [11]. With the increasing concern on environmental issues

nowadays, alternative fluids are currently being examined. Among the potential

substitutes for MO are vegetable oils. The physicochemical properties of different oil

samples are investigated as per specified standards and procedure as in the section of

67
experimental details. The knowledge on the physicochemical properties of PO and

RBO, especially on viscosity, can be used to determine whether the PO and RBO

should be added with an oxidation inhibitor before they can be applied as dielectric

insulation fluids in transformers.

3. 3.1 Viscosity

Transformer insulation with low viscosity is essential and important. If temperature

decreases, the viscosity in transformer oil should not change and get more viscous

along with the decrease in temperature. An oil with a low viscosity is recommended

to prevent the occurrence of flow resistance to the conventional flow of oil hence

requiring proper transformer cooling. However, very low viscosity leads to the

formation of gas bubbles [126]. In this research, to test the viscosity in oil, Brookfield

R/S Plus Rheometer in Figure 3.5 was used according to the ASTM D445-standard

test method for kinematic viscosity of transparent and opaque liquids [19], [22],

[126], [145]. All samples were tested at ambient temperature (26 °C to 27 °C).

Figure 3.5 : Brookfield R/S Plus Rheometer.

68
3.3.2 Flash and Pour Point

Mineral oil has conventionally been widely used in transformers successfully owing

to its excellent electrical properties. However, MO is non-biodegradable, non-

renewable and has low flash point [9], [12], [20], [72], [126], [192]. Flash point and

pour point are considered the important physical properties of the insulating fluid to

determine the thermal behaviour of oil samples. The flash point and pour point of oil

samples in this study were measured according to ASTM D92 and D97, respectively.

3.4 Pre-processing of Oil Samples

Before the testing procedure, the test samples were pre-processed through a filter

using the Thermo Fisher Nalgene membrane filter with a pore size of 0.2 μm. The oil

samples were then degassed and dehydrated for 48 hours in the Memmert vacuum

oven at 85 °C below 500 Pa (5 mbar). Impurities such as particles and moistures can

be reduced by filtering for three times and dehydrating the oils for two days. A further

24 hours were provided to cool the oils under vacuum to ambient temperature. The

description of the pre-processing procedures can be referred to in Figure 3.6. The

count of particle contamination and the moisture content in each sample before and

after pre-processing is shown in Table 3.3.

69
 Samples: three types of PO, RBO and
MO

Filtering through membrane filter 0.2 µm

pore size

Degassed and dehydrating two days in

vacuum oven at 85 ºC

Cooling at ambient temperature for 24

hours

AC Breakdown
Lightning Impulse
Voltage

Figure 3.6 : The flow of the pre-processing procedures for the test samples.

Table 3.3 : The particle contamination and moisture content in MO, PO and
RBO before and after pre-processing.

MO PO RBO
Process
Before After Before After Before After
Particle
63 32 293 181 194 84
contamination (µm)
Moisture content
32 7 799 96 689 78
(ppm)

As shown in the table, PO and RBO have higher impurities than MO before

the filtering and drying process. These impurities are due to suspended particles such

as cellulose fibres, carbon, water etc. MO has the lowest moisture content in the

100 ml sample before and after the drying process. PO and RBO have almost similar

moisture contents with 799 ppm and 689 ppm before the drying process and 96 ppm

and 78 ppm after the drying process. Moisture contents of PO and RBO are seen

70
reduced by up to 88% after the drying treatment, while MO’s was reduced by 78%.

The higher moisture content of vegetable oils than mineral oil is due to the saturated

fatty acid available in vegetable oils which cause a high potential to absorb much

more moisture compared to mineral oils [34], [42], [78]. Vegetable oils are more

hygroscopic than mineral oils, thus they can absorb more water from cellulose

insulation and thereby slow down the hydrolysis ageing process of cellulose material.

3.5 Dielectric Properties Test of Samples

The determination of transformer oil characteristics is very important for the

transformer industry as the transformer's output is ever increasing. As a rule,

multiple functions such as the dielectric, coolant and arc quencher must be performed

by transformer oils. Standard tests or routine tests should be used for verifying the

basic characteristics of the transformer oil. The electrical properties of insulating oil

including the dielectric constant (Ɛ), dielectric loss, tan delta (dissipation factor),

resistance and resistivity of vegetable insulating oils were measured according to the

standard IEC 60247 using an automatic ADTR-2K Plus instrument. The test

equipment is shown in Figure 3.7 and the specification of oil test equipment for the

dielectric properties is in Table 3.4.

71
 Figure 3.7 : ADTR-2K PLUS with Automatic oil cell heater.

Table 3.4 : Specification of Oil Test Cell.

Construction 3 terminal configurations

Material Stainless Steel 316 with Teflon spacers
Cell Capacitance 50 – 70 pF
Cell Electrode Spacing 2 mm
Volume 60 ml
Dimension 90 mm x 195 mm
Maximum Test Voltage 2.34 kV AC; 1 kV DC

3.6 AC Breakdown Voltage

The electrical breakdown performance of oil samples was investigated before being

selected in this study. The AC breakdown voltage of BAUR Oil tester DTA 100C

(BAUR Trainer) was used to compare with the AC breakdown voltage at a high

voltage laboratory (HV laboratory).

72
3.6.1 AC Breakdown Voltage under BAUR Trainer

The AC breakdown test was performed using the BAUR DTA 100C with a maximum

output voltage of 100 kV. Figure 3.8 illustrates the equipment used for the AC

breakdown test. The rate of voltage rise was set at 2 kV/s and a fixed initial standing

time of 5 minutes before voltage application. The time interval was set at 2 minutes.

A total of 50 readings on breakdowns were obtained for each sample. The tests were

conducted at atmospheric pressure and room temperature (23-26 °C). The AC

breakdown tester applied AC voltage across the test cell, filled with oil samples at

50 Hz frequency.

Figure 3.8: BAUR DTA 100 C for AC breakdown voltage test.

The horizontal mushroom to mushroom electrode configuration was installed

as Figure 3.9. This VDE (mushroom to mushroom) configuration testing represents a

uniform field. The AC breakdown voltage was tested under a 2.5 mm gap distance, set

up in a cubic glass with a volume of 400 ml according to the IEC 60156 standard.

73
Figure 3.9 : Mushroom to mushroom configuration for AC breakdown voltage
test using BAUR Trainer.

Prior to testing, the test cell including the walls, electrodes and other parts

were rinsed at least three times to prevent the presence of bubbles and any unwanted

particles in the container. Each oil sample was subjected to 50 measurements for the

breakdown voltage. Upon acquiring the breakdown voltage, the oil samples were

placed to rest and stirred to prevent carbon accumulation. The rest time for MO has

was set for 2 minutes while the vegetable oils were given 6 minutes.

3.6.2 AC Breakdown Voltage under HV Laboratory

The test setup schematic of the AC breakdown voltage is illustrated in Figure 3.10.

Two horizontal copper electrodes of uniform field were utilised. The AC breakdown

test of the samples was done using a BHT 350 kV AC generator in the HV laboratory.

Testing was conducted at a gap of 2.5 mm to compare the breakdown voltage between

using an HV laboratory setup and the BAUR Trainer.

74
 Figure 3.10 : The AC breakdown voltage test setup using HV Laboratory.

In this study, a 2-litre sealed cylinder test cell was fabricated from transparent

Perspex, equipped with mushroom-to-mushroom Ø 23 mm electrode configuration

as per standard to represent the uniform field and can be observed in Figure 3.11. The

breakdown voltage was investigated in five gap distances, which are 1.5 mm, 2.5 mm

(to be compared to BAUR Trainer), 3.5 mm, 5 mm and 10 mm. The tests were

conducted at the room temperature of 27 °C to 29 °C. The AC generator supplied the

AC voltage across the test cell, filled with oil samples at 50 Hz frequency with an

ascending rate of 2 kV/s. A total of 50 breakdown voltage readings were recorded for

each sample. It surpasses the amount of testing required by the IEC 60156 standard

that is 6 per series [221].

75
 Figure 3.11 : The AC breakdown voltage test of mushroom to mushroom
configuration setup under HV Laboratory.

The same process and method were used with the BAUR Trainer container,

where test cells need to be washed and dried each time the oil sample is changed. The

testing cell and electrode should be rinsed with oil samples to be tested at least three

times. However, this HV laboratory setup uses a manual process stirrer to ensure the

resulting carbon is lost. The waiting period each time after a voltage breakdown also

depends on the condition of the oil sample. Usually, the time is between 7 and 10

minutes.

3.7 Lightning Impulse Test

The lightning impulse test configuration is as shown in Figure 3.12. An 8-stage

impulse generator setup with 800 kV maximum voltage and 40 kJ energy to deliver

the standard lightning impulse of 1.2/50 μs can be referred to in Figure 3.13. Three

76
testing methods of rising voltage, up and down and multi-level methods have been

used to obtain the significance of different testing methods. The investigation was

done under uniform and non-uniform field electrodes in various gap arrangements

and performed for the negative lightning impulse.

Figure 3.12: Test configuration for lightning impulse.

Figure 3.13: The lightning impulse test setup with maximum voltage of 800kV.

77
3.7.1 Testing Methods of Lightning Impulse Test

Various testing methods including the rising-voltage method [40], [187] up-and-

down method [187] - [188] and multiple-level method [40] have been used for oil

impulse breakdown tests in both academic and industry fields over the past decades.

Each method has its own pros and cons, and its own validity.

3.7.1.1 Rising voltage method

The method of rising voltage (1 shot/step) follows the IEC 60897 standard and can

be carried out under both AC and lightning impulse breakdown tests. Due to its easy

use, it is widely and successfully used in AC breakdown tests’ step up voltage control

operation. Both IEC 60897 and ASTM D3300 adopt the rising voltage method for the

isolating oil lightning impulse breakdown tests. Only shot by shot will increase the

voltage, or step by step. In this method, for one set of testing, the applied voltage is

increased at a specified rate (kV/s) from the specified initial voltage until a breakdown

occurs. Next, the applied voltage is reduced and the previous procedure was repeated

[2]. The time interval between two consecutive shots was fixed at 60 seconds. ∆T1 is

the time interval between two consecutive shots and ∆T2 is the time interval between

two consecutive tests.

A total of 15 breakdown tests were carried out for each liquid type. Figure

3.14 shows the rising voltage method with 1 shot/step as adopted by IEC 60897. Then

the 50% breakdown voltage can be estimated by equation 3.1:

78
 1
v50 ∗ = ∑n1 vi (3.1)
n

Where, n is the total test number and Vi is the breakdown voltage.

Figure 3.14: Sketch procedures of the rising voltage method for 1 shot/step [92]

3.7.1.2 Up and down method

In this method, the initial voltage is set and increased until the first breakdown occurs

in a fixed step voltage of range ΔU. Then, by the same step of fixed amplitude, the

voltage is reduced by gradually decreasing it until breakdown occurs. After a certain

number of breakdowns, the steps are repeated and recorded. The average value of the

voltages applied is described as the voltage breakdown of 50 percent. The up and

down method depends on the occurrences of breakdowns as illustrated in Figure 3.15.

The fixed phase voltage was set to 5 kV, with an interval of 60 s between each

breakdown case. For every range of samples, a minimum of 30 shots was added. The

average value of the applied voltages is regarded as the 50% breakdown voltage with

a more detailed evaluation considering the influence of the step, ∆V and using the

79
number of breakdowns k and the number of withstands q. The 50% breakdown

voltage can be calculated by equations 3.2 and 3.3.

A 1
v50 = V0 + ∆V (k − 2) (3.2)

A = ∑ri 1iki (3.3)

Where, the sum of the two complimentary events are identical with the number of

voltage applications, n = k + q starting with the first breakdown. Next, V0 is the first

counted value. Then, i = 0, 1…. r for the subsequent higher steps. ∆V is the

differential voltage and ki is the number of breakdown events at ith step. In addition,

the standard deviation, σ is estimated using equations 3.4 and 3.5.

kB− A2
σ = 1.62 x ∆V ( + 0.029) (3.4)
k2

Where,
2k
B = ∑ri 1i i (3.5)

Figure 3.15 : Sketch procedures of the up and down method [2].

80
3.7.1.3 Multiple level method

A multi-level method is also known as a constant voltage method where the method

is used to determine the breakdown probability. At different voltage levels, a fixed

number of shots are applied, and the number of breakdowns at each voltage level is

recorded. A cumulative frequency plot is carried out from the results of the

breakdown voltage, and the breakdown voltage can be calculated [189]. 20 shots were

applied with a loading time interval of 60 s and a phase voltage of 5 kV per shot. The

initial voltage level had been set at 100 kV and 150 kV for all gap distances. The

multiple level method breakdown voltage sketch is shown in Figure 3.16.

Figure 3.16 : Sketch procedures of the multiple level method [189].

3.7.2 Electrode Configuration of Uniform Field

These configuration electrodes were horizontally immersed in a 2-litre cylindrical test

cell made from transparent acrylic. The electrode configuration and cylindrical test

81
cell simulated are as in Figure 3.17. A pair of Ø12.7 mm geometry was tested under

uniform field configuration. The rising voltage, up and down and multiple level

methods of lightning impulse were applied to investigate the insulation breakdown

for smaller gap distances (2.0 mm, 3.8 mm and 6.0 mm) [222]. The voltage

breakdown was recorded by a high-voltage capacitive divider and sent through a

computer-based analysis system. A total of 50 measurements on the breakdown

voltage recorded were 15 breakdown voltages of rising voltage, 15 breakdown

voltages of up and down and 20 breakdown voltages of multiple level methods.

Figure 3.17 : Electrodes configuration of sphere to sphere for uniform field.

3.7.3 Electrode Configuration of Non-Uniform Field

The same experiment setup with the lightning impulse test method in Section 3.7 was

used. The illustration is laid out in Figure 3.12. The difference is the electrode

configuration installed use vertically mounted needles and spheres made of copper.

82
This configuration expressed the non-uniform field. The same experiment was carried

out on the 200 µm tip radius of needle with a sphere of 12.7 mm in diameter (as per

standard) as shown in Figure 3.18. This study aims to look at the difference in voltage

breakdown under various gap distances. Testing was performed under three small

gap distances (2.0 mm, 3.8 mm and 6.0 mm) and five larger gap distances (10.0 mm,

20.0 mm, 30.0 mm, 40.0 mm and 50.0 mm).

The lightning impulse test at small gap distances (2.0 mm, 3.8 mm and 6.0 mm)

with three different non-uniform field configurations are used to observe the effect

between different methods. A total of 50 measurements of voltage breakdowns

similar to the uniform field were recorded from which 15 breakdown voltages were

rising voltage, 15 breakdown voltages were up and down and 20 breakdown voltages

were multiple level methods. As for the lightning impulse test in larger gap distances,

10 measurements were taken for each sample as agreed in IEC60897 standard with

the minimum breakdown voltage measurement is five breakdown voltages. This is

due to the higher breakdown voltage resulting in larger gap distances and more

carbonising. This will take some time to ensure the oil is recovered from the

carbonisation. According to the IEC standard, a minimum of five measurements per

sample is taken using the rising method alone.

83
 Figure 3.18 : Electrodes configuration of needle to sphere for non-
uniform field.

3.8 Statistical Analysis

After obtaining the breakdown voltages, statistical analysis is applied to determine

the withstand voltages of the three oil samples using the Weibull distribution function.

Besides, withstand voltage is vital for designing the insulation of power transformers.

The breakdown voltages were first carried out by testing the AC breakdown

voltage and lightning impulse. The data were then fitted by the cumulative probability

Weibull distribution function at 1% and 50% probabilities. The 50% probability, also

known as the nominal voltage, is the standard value used by manufacturers and

industry to design a transformer while the 1% probability is a prediction of the

minimum risk level of breakdown voltage or the worst-case scenario.

84
3.9 Summary

In this chapter, MO, PO and RBO were well prepared and pre-processed before

conducting the test setup for the AC and impulse breakdown to gain a reliable result.

To ensure the cleanliness and minimise the impurities of the test cell and particle

contaminants in oil samples that might affect the breakdown, proper filtering,

degassing and dehydrating process of the oil samples were done before the tests. The

procedures had to be carried out each time the oil samples are changed.

For an AC breakdown voltage test, mushroom brass electrodes with 1.5 and

2.5 mm gap distances as the standard gaps were used to obtain the different effects of

breakdown voltage between using a BAUR Trainer and a high voltage laboratory

setup with different volumes, configuration positions and ambience. The gap

distances were extended to 3.0 mm, 5.0 mm and 10.0 mm to predict the worst-case

breakdown voltage happening in real transformers.

For the uniform field test in lightning breakdown, a cylindrical test cell with

spherical copper electrodes was placed at small gap distances. A total of 50

breakdown voltage measurements including the rising voltage, up and down and

multiple level methods usually used in lightning impulse test were used to observe

the influence towards breakdown voltage. The oil samples were required to be

changed after each breakdown according to standard.

The same methods used in the uniform field test are also used the in lightning

breakdown for the non-uniform field under small gap distances where the upper

85
electrode was changed to a needle. The gap distances were raised to larger gaps from

10.0 mm to 50.0 mm. A total of 10 breakdown voltage measurements using the rising

voltage method was used to replicate the method in the previous study.

Finally, the statistical analysis of breakdown voltage was evaluated using

general statistical tools to obtain the withstand voltage for the oil samples by fitting

the experimental data. The probability of breakdown voltage for oil samples was

calculated and compared.

86
 CHAPTER 4

PHYSICOCHEMICAL, DIELECTRIC PROPERTIES AND AC

BREAKDOWN VOLTAGE

4.1 Introduction

Insulating oils used in electrical power equipment, such as transformers, circuit

breakers, and other equipment, should be tested on a regular basis to determine and

ensure the serviceability of the oil as an insulating medium. Some electrical tests are

conducted to determine the dielectric breakdown voltage, the dissipation factor/power

factor, and specific resistivity of insulating oils. These tests are useful acceptance

testing as a mean of quality control or preventative maintenance. In simple words, the

testing is to check the changes in oil quality as a result of deterioration in service.

This chapter specifies the measurement of viscosity, moisture content and flash and

pour point of PO, RBO and MO. Besides that, dielectric properties such as dissipation

factor, relative permittivity and resistivity of PO, RBO and MO are also measured in

this chapter. Lastly, the AC breakdown test for various gap distances and the

distribution and prediction of withstand voltages of three oils are also investigated.
4.2 Physicochemical Properties of samples

4.2.1 Viscosity

The PO and RBO vegetable oils’ viscosities in this study are tabulated in Table 4.1.

The viscosity of PO and RBO are significantly higher than MO. This is due to the

saturated fatty acid exhibit in the vegetable oils since they are chemically stable. The

oils with triple-unsaturated fatty acids normally exhibit lower viscosity due to their

unstable property [72]. The molecules of vegetable oils are divided into small

elements by an oxidation process where remaining molecules of vegetable oils

undergo a polymerisation process; thus strongly increasing the viscosity of oil [5].

Since the RBO and PO have higher viscosity than mineral oil, this may reduce the oil

flow, further influencing (or worsening) the cooling effect of a transformer under ON

(Oil Natural) cooling mode. Higher viscosity would be expected to result in higher

hot spot temperatures within the transformer. On the other hand, the viscosity of RBO

and PO is higher than that of mineral oils, and this could offer some compensation

for heat convection of the oil. As mentioned in chapter 2, IEEE Standard 637 and

ASTM D3487-00 recommend a kinematic viscosity limit (maximum) of 12 mm2/s at

40 oC for mineral oil, while IEEE Standard C.57.147 recommends 50 mm2/s at 40 oC

for natural ester oils [143]–[145]. All the oil samples fulfilled the minimum

requirement stated by the standards.

Table 4.1 : The kinematic viscosity of MO, PO and RBO at 40ºC.

Oil Sample MO PO RBO

Viscosity (mm²/s) 8 45 42

88
4.2.2 Flash point and pour point

The measurement of flash point and pour point of MO, PO and RBO are tabulated in

Table 4.2. Based on flash point results, MO has a much lower flash point in

comparison with RBO and PO, which means high resistance to ignition, and

therefore, reduces the risk of fire hazard in electrical power apparatus. Comparing the

RBO and PO results in this study with the previous results (refer to Appendix A.4),

the values obtained in this study are close to previous results. The flash points for

RBO and PO in this study surpass the minimum limit sets by the IEC standard for a

natural ester insulating liquid which is 275 º C.

However, for pour point, RBO and PO having a higher pour point than mineral

oil would affect the suitability of RBO and PO to be used in cold climate countries.

Pour point is a useful measure of how transformer oils will perform under low

temperatures, especially when it is required to cold start a transformer under very low

temperature conditions. According to IEEE C57.147 Guide for Acceptance and

Maintenance of Natural Ester Fluids in Transformers [145], the pour point limit is

−10 °C for vegetable oils. Whereas, the pour point for mineral oil is −40 °C according

to the ASTM D3487 Standard Specification for Mineral Insulating Oil Used in

Electrical Apparatus [223]. Based on the results in this study, the pour point values

for RBO and PO are below the recommended value in the IEEE C57.147 standard

and hence fulfilled one of the requirements for transformer liquid insulating.

89
 Table 4.2 : The flash point and pour point of MO, PO and RBO according to
ASTM D92.

Oil Sample MO PO RBO

Flash point (°C) 135 283 297
Pour point (°C) -40 -27 -33

4.3 Dielectric dissipation factor, relative permittivity and resistivity

Dielectric dissipation factor (DDF) or sometimes referred to as tangent of the loss

angle δ is a measure of the total current flow through the oil. If the insulating oil is

free from contamination or particle, the oil and electrodes closely demonstrate the

properties of a perfect, parallel plate capacitor. Therefore, when an alternating voltage

is applied to an insulating medium, the capacitive current will lead the voltage by 90°.

However, if there are impurities in the oil such as moisture, contaminants, or

oxidation by-products, the resistance of the insulation decreases, which results in an

increasing resistive current through the insulation (oil). The resistive current will

deviate from the ideal 90° phase shift from the applied voltage. The shift from 90° is

measured as the DDF. This phase shift or loss angle δ will indicate the level of

insulation contamination, hence the quality and reliability of the oil. The loss angle is

the angle between a purely capacitive current, Ic and the actual current that flows

through the capacitor. It is important to note that a very low loss angle (decimal values

up to 0.005) indicates excellent insulating oil. Besides, DDF is also highly dependent

upon the temperature of the insulating oil and will increase with increasing

temperature. Therefore, measuring the DDF at high temperature is more sensitive to

small changes that occur in oil characteristics. For example, obtaining a high DDF

90
value at ambient temperature and an acceptable DDF value at a high temperature

typically indicate the presence of moisture, since moisture evaporates at higher

temperatures. On the other hand, a high DDF value at both temperatures often

attributes a presence of contaminants. As recommended by IEC60247 standard [235],

the test for DDF needs to be done at two temperatures, e.g. ambient temperature (25-

30 ºC) and 90 ºC. Due to the chemical structure of vegetable oils which are more

polarised than the traditional mineral transformer oils, there will be higher dissipation

factor values for vegetable oil than mineral oil.

Relative permittivity is an important parameter which shows how the oil

behaves in an electrical field. In simpler words, relative permittivity, also called

dielectric constant, indicates how easily a material becomes polarised by the

imposition of an electric field on an insulator. A dielectric material is an electrical

insulator that gets polarised when an electric field is applied to it. When a dielectric

material is placed in an electric field, electrical charges never flow through the

material as compared to the way they flow in a conductor; they just slightly shift from

their mean equilibrium positions thus causing dielectric polarisation. The effect of

dielectric polarisation is that: positive charges are displaced towards the field and

negative charges shift in the opposite direction. As a result, an internal electric field

is created that reduces the overall field within the dielectric itself. Transformer oil

relative permittivity is more than 1 and is at approximately 2.1-2.4. The permittivity

is only equal to 1 in vacuum. Therefore, relative permittivity indicates the ability of

the dielectric to polarise and acquire electrical capacity. It has no dimensional

physical value. Relative permittivity can be defined as the ratio of the permittivity of

91
a material to the permittivity of vacuum. It can be expressed as equation 2.2 in Section

2.4.5:

Specific resistivity is another important electrical property of insulating oils

and is given in units of Ωm (ohm-metres) or Ωcm (ohm-centimetres). Insulating oil

that has a very high resistivity indicates a low number of free ions, ion-forming

particles, and low concentration of conductive contaminants. The resistivity of oil

will decrease with the increase in temperature.

In this thesis, the dissipation factor, dielectric constant, and resistivity were

measured using the ADTR-2K PLUS. Testing for Permittivity and Dissipation Factor

was done in a controlled temperature oil bath at 25° C up to 90 ° C. These

temperatures were chosen to simulate start-up (25° C), and normal operating (90° C)

conditions.

4.3.1 Dielectric Dissipation Factor (DDF)

The dielectric dissipation factor, also known as tan δ, was measured when the

temperature of the liquid is 90 °C according to IEC 60247. A benefit of measuring

the tan δ at 90 °C is that it is more representative of the operating temperatures of the

equipment. The DDF’s graph of MO, PO and RBO can be seen in Figure 4.1 and the

measurement values are tabulated in Table 4.3.

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 Figure 4.1: Comparison of dissipation factor of MO, PO and RBO under
various temperatures.

Table 4.3 : Dielectric dissipation factor (DDF) of oil samples as measured

according to IEC 60247 at 90°C.

Oil Sample MO PO RBO

DDF 0.00322 0.03846 0.02168

As can be seen from Figure 4.1 and Table 4.3, vegetable oils (PO and RBO)

have higher dissipation factor (tan δ) than mineral oil for all temperature ranges. This

finding agreed with the study done by M. Mehta [224]. At 90 °C, RBO has 0.02168

dissipation factor which is 7 times higher than mineral oil (0.00322). Whereas, the

PO’s dissipation factor is 12 times higher than mineral oil at 0.03846. Based on IEC

60247 in Table 2.11, all the oil samples fulfilled the requirement for transformer

liquid insulation for DDF values which is less than 0.005 for MO and less than 0.05

for vegetable oil. The higher dissipation factor value of vegetable oils is due to the

molecular structure of vegetable oils having a slightly more polar character compared

to mineral oil [25], [230].

93
 Based on Table 2.2 to 2.4 and Figure 2.1, mineral oil is a hydrocarbon mixture

molecular structure whereas natural ester is produced from vegetable oil. In natural

ester molecular structure, O represents oxygen bonded into the molecular structure of

an ester. This causes the molecules to be polarised and leads to an increase in its

dissipation factor. This contrasts with MO because molecules containing oxygen are

classed as the products of oxidation, which the refiner attempts to remove. Direct

comparison of the dielectric dissipation factor between oils is, therefore, not a valid

indicator of contamination as vegetable oils are expected to have higher dielectric

dissipation factors than mineral oil.

There are three types of fatty acids—saturated, monounsaturated and

polyunsaturated. The biggest difference is in the content of C=C double bonds. The

characteristics of a triglyceride molecule depend on the fatty acids that constitute it

[231]. Based on Table 3.2, RBO has 20% saturated fat, 47% monounsaturated fat and

33% polyunsaturated fat. Whereas PO has 50% saturated fat, 40% monounsaturated

fat and 10% polyunsaturated fat. This different composition might be the reason why

PO has a higher dissipation factor than RBO. The composition of fatty acids gives us

an idea about the overall physical properties of the oil, such as viscosity and oxidation

stability. The bigger the content of unsaturated fatty acids is in oil, the more liquid

the oil would be. Contrarily, the bigger the content of saturated fatty acid in oil, the

more solid it would be. This is linked with the oxidation stability of the oil—saturated

acids make oil more oxidation stable and, in that regard, unsaturated acids make it

more unstable.

94
4.3.2 Relative permittivity or dielectric constant

Figure 4.2 and Table 4.4 show the results of the permittivity of the oil samples. As

shown in the figure, the relative permittivity of oil decreases with the increase of the

temperature. This is because of the effects on dipole orientation in the oil molecule

structure. Relative permittivity refers to molecules polarised by an electric field, such

as turning in the direction of the field. At a higher temperature, the molecule moves,

shakes, twists, and vibrates, so the polarisation is reduced. This is because the

molecules do not point in the direction of the field all the time or as much as at a

lower temperature. Hence, a lower value of relative permittivity will be obtained.

Still, the mineral oil has the lowest relative permittivity among the oil samples

followed by RBO and PO. The relative permittivity of oil samples as measured

according to IEC 60247 at 30 ºC is 1.506 for MO, 2.176 for PO and 1.901 for RBO.

The higher relative permittivity of RBO and PO than MO could be attributed to the

presence of triglycerides in the vegetable oils which have a polar nature. Normally,

vegetable oil is highly hygroscopic (absorbs more water) compared to mineral oil,

and the fact that the water molecule is polar could have a big influence on the relative

permittivity value of the vegetable oil. Comparing the permittivity of RBO and PO,

RBO has a lower relative permittivity than PO in this study, which might be due to

the different fat contents in the oils. Moreover, compared to mineral oil, the

permittivity of RBO and PO is closer to that of solid insulation (4.0) which leads to

an evener stress distribution between solid and liquid materials where the thicknesses

of the liquid gap and solid insulation are comparable. This will also reduce the local

stress in oil wedges which typically sets off a discharge.

95
 Figure 4.2 : Comparison of relative permitivity of MO,PO and RBO under
various temperatures.

Table 4.4 : Relative permittivity of oil samples as measured according to

IEC 60247 at 30 ºC.

Oil Sample MO PO RBO

Relative permittivity, ɛ 1.506 2.176 1.901

4.3.3 Resistivity

The values in Figure 4.3 and Table 4.5 show that the resistivity of all oil samples in

this study exponentially decreases with an increase in temperature. As the

temperature increases, the atoms of the material vibrate, and this makes the valence

electrons present in the valence band to shift to the conduction band. This in turn

increases the conductivity of the material. When the conductivity of the material

increases, the resistivity decreases and the current flow increases. From Table 4.5,

RBO has the highest resistivity with 6.372 TΩcm followed by PO with 5.341 TΩcm

96
and MO with 3.042 TΩcm. IEC 60247 recommended the resistivity value of any new

oil to be higher than 1.20 TΩcm. All oil samples in this study surpass the requirement

[232] [233]. To be a good insulating material, the resistivity of the insulating oil must

be high at both room temperatures as well as at high temperatures. Based on this

resistivity study, RBO and PO have fulfilled one of the important criteria to be

transformer insulation oil.

Figure 4.3 : Comparison of resistivity of MO,PO and RBO under various

temperatures.

Table 4.5: Resistivity of oil samples accroding to IEC60247 at 30ºC.

Oil Sample MO PO RBO

Resistivity, TΩcm 3.042 5.341 6.372

4.4 AC Breakdown Voltage

A variety of standard test methods are applicable for measuring AC breakdown

voltage of insulating fluids, where a small volume of oil is subjected to an almost

97
homogenous electric field. This test is mainly used by utilities or transformer

manufacturers to carry out a quality check on insulating fluids. The recommended

minimum AC breakdown voltages of transformer oil which can safely be used in

transformers can be referred to the standards in Table 2.14.

4.4.1 Effect of AC Breakdown Voltage using BAUR DTA 100 C and High

Voltage Laboratory Setup

In this study, there were two different types of equipment used to study the AC

breakdown voltage of oil samples. The first equipment was an automatic oil

breakdown tester, BAUR DTA 100C with a maximum output of 100 kV. The test

was carried out using a pair of 12.5 mm diameter brass VDE electrodes (mushroom-

shaped in accordance with 60156 standards. The voltage was applied at a rising rate

of 2 kV/s until breakdown occurs. The AC breakdown voltages were tested at 2.5 mm

gap distances using a cubic glass with a volume of 400 ml according to IEC 60156

standard. The tests were performed at room temperature (25 ºC ± 0.1 ºC). A magnetic

stirrer was used to avoid the formation of carbon during each breakdown. The rest

time between breakdowns was set 2 minutes for MO and 6 minutes for vegetable oils.

The second test equipment was a custom made 2-litre cylindrical test cell. The

test cell was fabricated from Perspex material. The VDE electrodes are 12.5 mm in

diameter and made from copper as shown in Figure 3.11. The AC voltages were

generated using a BHT 350 kV AC generator in a high voltage laboratory. A similar

98
testing procedure as BAUR breakdown tester was applied for this study. Figure 4.4

shows the breakdown voltages of MO, PO and RBO tested using two different setups.

Figure 4.4: Comparison of MO,PO and RBO under HV laboratory and BAUR
Trainer test set up at 2.5mm.

From Figure 4.4, there is a difference in breakdown voltages in both setups

for all oil samples. RBO has the highest breakdown voltage for both test setups with

77.21 kV for Baur oil tester and 69.17 kV for HV laboratory setup. PO is the second

best in AC breakdown voltage with 74.89 kV using Baur Trainer and 67.74 kV using

HV laboratory. MO shows the lowest breakdown voltage among oil samples with

57.96 kV for Baur oil tester and 44.55 kV for HV laboratory. These results are well

correlated with the resistivity of oil as examined in Section 4.3.3. The oils with the

highest resistivity will normally have the highest breakdown voltage. RBO

breakdown voltage is comparable to PO in this study. The MO result in this study is

similar to the previous study [21] and much higher than the previous study done by

[96]. The breakdown voltage of MO is lower than RBO and PO, and this finding

agreed with previous findings [44], [234]. This condition could possibly be because

of the contamination especially moisture contents in the oil sample or relative

99
humidity of the oil which affects the breakdown voltage. The moisture can be picked

up during transfer from bottle to the test cell in which the oil sample was directly

exposed to the air. Moisture exists in the oil samples by the engrossing of moisture

from the atmosphere.

Based on Cooper Power Systems’ investigation [235], moisture or water can

reduce the breakdown voltage of MO more than in vegetable oil (FR3) as shown in

Figure 4.5. Based on the figure, the breakdown voltage of mineral oil quickly falls as

its water content increases to 50 ppm. Meanwhile, the breakdown voltage of FR3 only

begins reducing after its water content is higher than 300 ppm. This can be explained

in terms of the relative humidity of the oil. For example, at ambient temperature 30 ºC,

30 ppm of water represents almost 60% saturation in mineral oil and for a similar

value, it only represents 1% saturation in vegetable oil. Therefore, it would be

expected that the effect of 30 ppm on breakdown voltage would be larger for mineral

oil than vegetable oil.

Figure 4.5 : Effect of water on the AC Breakdown voltages [235].

100
 Besides the water effect, the influence of particulate content in the oil is also

the reason why mineral oil has a lower breakdown voltage. According to the study by

Chanband [236], the author explained that water affects the breakdown voltages of

oil by influencing the conductivity of microscopic particles suspended in the oil.

When the particles become more conductive, they could create larger discharges at

the electrodes, increasing the probability to initiate gas bubbles and leading to a

breakdown. A similar study is also observed by Miners [237] who reported the effect

of particles and moisture on the breakdown voltage of mineral oil using VDE

electrodes. From his study, he concluded that very low breakdown strength was

obtained when the oil experiences the combined effects of moisture and particles.

Based on CIGRE [238], a comparison between the performance of ester liquids and

mineral oil was made and the finding from the study is the breakdown voltages of

both ester liquids and mineral oil decreased with the increase in cellulose particle-

based content. However, it was found that the breakdown voltage of mineral oil is

more sensitive to particle contamination than ester liquids. This might be due to the

higher viscosity of ester which slows the motion of particles and, therefore, reduces

breakdown occurrence.

Existing international IEEE Standard C.57.147 [145], [239] have already

specified the breakdown voltage requirement of new insulating liquids used in power

transformers. The minimum breakdown voltage of unused mineral oil for usage in

transformers (all voltage ratings) required by IEC 60156 is 70 kV/2.5 mm [239]. The

breakdown voltage of natural esters should be higher than 30 kV/mm as required by

IEEE 57.104 for use in power transformers with a nominal voltage higher than 234

kV [240]. The mean breakdown voltages of PO, RBO, and MO in this study meet the

101
specifications required by these standards. The percentage of difference of breakdown

voltage between BAUR oil tester and HV laboratory setup can be calculated using

equation 4.1, where is VBaur is breakdown voltage as the reference towards VHV for

MO, PO and RBO, respectively.

VBAUR −VHV
PD % = ( ) × 100 (4.1)
VBAUR

The 50 % breakdown voltage and the percentage of difference (PD%) of all

samples using BAUR oil tester and HV laboratory setup has been calculated and

tabulated in Table 4.6.

Table 4.6 : The percentage difference of 50% breakdown voltage (kV) and the
standard deviation (SD) of MO, PO and RBO for BAUR Trainer and HV
laboratory at 2.5 mm gap distance.

50 % breakdown voltage (kV) for BAUR Trainer and HV

laboratory setup at 2.5 mm gap distance.
Samples
BAUR oil Tester HV Laboratory
PD %
kV SD kV SD
MO 77.96 1.70 70.55 1.7 9.52
PO 89.89 4.73 81.84 3.65 8.94
RBO 93.06 3.92 88.79 4.75 4.53

Based on Table 4.6, the percentage of the difference between using BAUR oil

tester and HV laboratory setup is between 4% and 10%. At 2.5 mm gap distance, the

breakdown voltages of MO, PO and RBO using BAUR oil tester are 77.96 kV,

89.89 kV and 93.06 kV, respectively. The HV laboratory tests showed much lower

breakdown voltage than BAUR with the difference values of 13.42 kV, 7.15 kV and

8.04 kV for MO, PO and RBO, respectively. The percentage differences of PO and

102
RBO are observed to be lower than the percentage of MO at 2.5 mm gap distance. The

standard deviation (σ) as shown in Table 4.9 shows that AC breakdown voltages of

MO, PO and RBO under BAUR oil tester show smaller standard deviation than HV

laboratory setup. However, overall standard deviations for all testing samples are less

than 9 kV which is acceptable and close to each other. MO saw the lowest standard

deviation for both tests. All breakdown voltage samples still comply with IEC 60156

standard for AC breakdown voltage test at 2.5 mm gap distance for which the

breakdown voltage must be larger than 70 kV [11], [16], [55], [241].

There are several factors that might influence the breakdown voltages for both

tests. One of the factors is BAUR oil tester using magnetic stirrer during the test

condition while the HV lab test did not. Based on IEC 60156 standard, the use of

stirrer is optional during the AC breakdown test. The study by M. Baur [234] who did

the study on the different position of the stirrer in the AC breakdown test for mineral

oil and natural esters found that the stirrer improves the breakdown voltage of the oil

samples. The stirring system removes decomposition products and air bubbles formed

in the insulating liquid between the electrodes during the breakdown. Besides that,

the stirring system in the test equipment helps to minimise the standard deviations of

the breakdown voltages especially when the same scatter in the results is appreciably

higher. This can be seen from the results in this study, in which the oil samples using

the stirring system will have a smaller standard deviation compared to the non-stirring

system. It can be concluded that the use of a stirring system allows a slight reduction

of the breakdown voltage scatters. This reduction is more appreciable when the

breakdown voltages are lower, maybe in consequence of the presence in the insulating

liquid of contaminants, particles, sludge and moisture [186].

103
 The other factor that influences the breakdown voltage results for this testing

setup is the electrodes’ configuration. In the BAUR oil tester, the electrodes are

mounted in a horizontal position whereas, in the HV laboratory setup, the electrodes

are mounted in a vertical position, as shown in Figure 4.6. Based on Figure 4.6, the

horizontal electrode configuration helps to facilitate the resulting bubble not being

trapped on the top electrode configuration. With the presence of the stirring system,

the liquid flow between the electrodes is in upwards direction and this allows easier

removal of gas bubbles. On the other hand, if the electrodes are in a vertical

configuration, the gas bubbles will be trapped at the top of the electrode and this

bubble will create the weakest link in the oil and hence cause the breakdown to occur

at a lower voltage.

(a) (b)

Figure 4.6 : Comparison of (a) vertical and (b) horizontal electrode

configurations [14].

Besides that, the volume of oil also plays an important role in the breakdown

voltage of oil. In this study, the BAUR oil tester uses 400 ml of oil whereas the HV

laboratory setup uses as much as 2000 ml of oil which is 5 times larger in terms of

104
volume than the BAUR container. The greater the oil volume, the higher the

probability of it containing more impurity particles. The more of these particles

present, the lower would be the breakdown voltage of the liquid [31], [61], [200].

This can be seen in the results obtained in this study, in which BAUR oil tester

produced a higher breakdown voltage than the HV laboratory setup due to the

difference in the volume of testing oils. The theory behind the impurities can be

explained using the suspended particles include solid particles such as cellulose

fibres, carbon, water etc. These impurities usually cause a reduction in the dielectric

strength of insulating liquids and the largest effect being that of the simultaneous

presence of moisture and fibre. The floating moist fibres tend to bridge the oil gap

and ultimately lead to a breakdown.

The cathode and anode materials also influence the breakdown voltage. In this

study, two different electrode materials were used. The BAUR oil tester was using

brass electrodes and the HV laboratory was using copper electrodes. Basically, brass

is an alloy made of copper and zinc which has greater mechanical strength and wear

resistance than copper. The composition of brass is 62% copper and 38% zinc. Brass

with 30% zinc has only 25% electrical conductivity compared to copper [186]. Since

the conductivity of copper is higher than brass, theoretically the copper will have a

lower breakdown voltage than brass and it is proved such in this study. The HV

laboratory equipment using copper electrodes shows lower breakdown voltages for

all oil samples. The finding in this study is supported by the study on the dielectric

characteristics of liquid nitrogen [242]. It was found that the breakdown voltage of

liquid nitrogen was largely dependent on the electrode materials in which the brass

electrodes used for the AC and lightning test for liquid nitrogen having higher

105
breakdown voltages than copper electrodes. It can be concluded that the electrode

material is the dominant factor influencing the breakdown characteristics of

transformer oil.

4.5 Effect of AC Breakdown Voltage of MO, PO and RBO for various

gap distances.

In the power transformer, there are different oil gaps between the transformer

structures, and this will cause different electric stresses experienced by the oil.

Therefore, it is important to investigate the effect of AC breakdown voltage at

different oil gaps beside the standard (2.5 mm). In this study, the AC breakdown

voltage test for PO, RBO and MO were conducted at 1.5 mm, 3.5 mm, 5.0 mm and

10 mm gap distances. Since the limitation of BAUR oil tester to have larger gap

distances between the electrodes, the HV laboratory with custom made test cell was

used in this study. The graph in Figure 4.7 shows the results of breakdown voltage

for all samples tested under different gaps. As per previous pattern obtained, all

sample breakdown voltages increased as the gap distance was increased [205], [243].

106
 Figure 4.7 : The 50% and standard deviation of AC breakdown voltage
for oil samples under various gap distances.

The AC results are summarised in Table 4.7. To understand more the

behaviour of the oils with respect to gap distances, the percentage of the difference

between RBO, PO and MO were calculated by equation 4.3, where VMO is breakdown

voltage as the reference towards MO and value of VPO and VRBO is the breakdown

voltage of PO and RBO, respectively.

VMO −VPO/RBO
PD % = ( ) × 100 (4.3)
VMO

107
 Table 4.7 : 50% breakdown voltage (kV) and the standard deviation (SD) of
MO, PO and RBO for various gap distances.

50 % breakdown voltage (kV) and SD at 1.5 mm gap distance

Samples
MO PO PD% RBO PD%
50% bdv 51.54 65.04 69.17
26.2 34.5
SD 2.33 3.21 3.16

50 % breakdown voltage (kV) and SD at 2.5 mm gap distance

Samples
MO PO PD% RBO PD%
50% bdv 70.55 81.85 87.94
16.01 24.65
SD 2.76 3.65 4.20

50 % breakdown voltage (kV) and SD at 3.5 mm gap distance

Samples
MO PO PD% RBO PD%
50% bdv 78.12 92.01 94.88
17.78 21.46
SD 3.21 6.75 6.63

50 % breakdown voltage (kV) and SD at 5.0 mm gap distance

Samples
MO PO PD% RBO PD%
50% bdv 91.42 96.71 103.65
5.29 13.37
SD 7.44 7.94 7.75
50 % breakdown voltage (kV) and SD at 10.0 mm gap
Samples distance
MO PO PD% RBO PD%
50% bdv 141.71 145.58 151.58
2.73 6.97
SD 14.14 9.36 10.60

From Table 4.7, it is observed that the breakdown voltage increases with the

increasing gap distance between the mushroom-mushroom electrodes for all oil

samples. RBO gained the highest breakdown voltage of all AC breakdown voltage

test among other oils. Besides that, the AC breakdown of PO and RBO liquids start

out slightly higher than mineral oil but converge closely to mineral oil at 10 mm oil

gap. The trend can be seen by the percentage difference between PO with MO and

RBO with MO. As seen in the table, the percentage difference between PO with MO

and RBO and MO reduces as the gap increases. For example, the percentage

108
difference of RBO at 1.5 mm gap is 34.5% which reduces to only 6.97% at the 10 mm

gap. This is expected due to the condition of the electric field surrounding the

electrodes. It is believed that as the gap increases, the electric field becomes more

non-uniform and hence reduces the breakdown of vegetable oils. The electric field

strength can be calculated using equation 4.2.

Ubr kV
Ebr = [mm] (4.2)
g

Where Ebr is the electric field strength, Ubr is the average breakdown voltage and g

is the electrode gap (1.5, 2.5, 3.5, 5.0 and 10.0mm). As expected, the breakdown

strength of liquids generally decreases with the increase in gap distance and the

volume of the liquid under stress. Similar results were also found by Markovic [195].

More importantly, the breakdown strength of natural ester behaved like mineral oil

and both graphs are higher than the Weidmann oil design line. The Weidmann oil

curve is the curve being used by the transformer designer to design the insulation of

the transformer.

Figure 4.8 : The electric field strength of oil samples under various gap
distances.

109
4.6 Statistical Weibull Distribution under AC Breakdown Voltage

The breakdown voltage is a statistically distributed quantity that corresponds to a

failure probability. The failure probability depends on the electrical stress applied in

the liquid. Normally, the Weibull distribution approach is generally accepted in the

field of electrical insulation as the one mathematical representation that best fit time

for data approximating the failure and dielectric strength [18], [205], [206]. The

Weibull distribution is obtained based on the scale (α) and shape parameters (β). The

cumulative function of Weibull distribution is given in equation 2.3.

The estimation of breakdown voltage at 1% and 50% failure probabilities for

the AC breakdown voltages in this study uses the Weibull distribution. The

breakdown voltages data were used to fit the Weibull distribution curve. From this

curve, the withstand voltage can be determined. Similar approaches have been used

in previous studies [2], [62], [222], [244]. To make sure the data from different test

methods are reliable, some steps and precautions need to be followed such as (i) the

liquid was filtered, dehydrated and degassed before the tests; (ii) a 60-second time

interval, according to IEC and ASTM standards [28], [196], was used between two

consecutive shots; and (iii) after breakdown occurred, there was at least 5 minutes of time

interval till next shot and the liquid sample was regularly changed after about 10

breakdowns on average. A distribution is considered a good fit if the data points follow

a straight line.

The estimation of 1% probability of failure is required to estimate the

withstand voltage of the oil. Meanwhile, the 50% probability of failure is a standard

110
failure rate used by industry and utilities. Figures 4.9 shows the Weibull probability

plot for the AC breakdown voltage of all samples.

As seen in the figures, the Weibull distribution for MO, PO and RBO show

deviations at the tails (<5% probabilities), demonstrating that the Weibull distribution

may be inaccurate at low probabilities except for the 1.5 mm gap distance. The

Weibull distributions tend to give lower prediction values than the measured

breakdown voltages. For higher probabilities, the Weibull distributions for all

samples fit well to the experiment results. The data deviates from the distribution by

5% to 10% depending on the oil. It is a concern that the lowest breakdown voltages

deviate below the trend-line because this indicates that the probability of the oils

failing at these voltages is lower than estimated using the Weibull distribution.

(a)

111
(b)

(c)

112
 (d)

(e)

Figure 4.9 : Weibull probability plot for the AC breakdown voltage at (a) 1.5
mm, (b) 2.5 mm, (c) 3.5 mm, (d) 5.0 mm and (e) 10.0mm gap distances.

The PO and RBO performed similarly and are comparable to MO. The RBO

has the highest values of breakdown voltages for 1% and 50% failure probabilities

followed by PO. At 50% failure probability, it was observed at 1.5 mm gap distance,
113
the breakdown voltage of PO is lower than RBO but higher than MO with the

percentage difference of 53%. The breakdown voltage of all oil samples at 1% and

50% probability of failures are shown in Figure 4.9 (a) to (e), and the estimated values

from Weibull distribution are given in Table 4.8.

Table 4.8 : 50% of Breakdown voltage of MO, PO and RBO at 1%, 50%
probabilities of failure by Weibull distribution for various gap distances test.

Breakdown AC Breakdown voltage (kV) at 1.5 mm gap distance

Probability
MO PO RBO
1% 37.58 49.75 48.61
50% 52.03 68.28 70.03
Shape, σ 14.48 24.09 11.53
Scale, µ 53.45 66.39 72.35
Breakdown AC Breakdown voltage (kV) at 2.5 mm gap distance
Probability
MO PO RBO
1% 55.59 64.75 68.36
50% 65.16 83.01 85.18
Shape, σ 24.26 16.55 19.25
Scale, µ 66.15 85.50 86.72
Breakdown AC Breakdown voltage (kV) at 3.5 mm gap distance
Probability
MO PO RBO
1% 66.15 68.74 74.23
50% 78.36 93.15 95.83
Shape, σ 24.77 16.57 16.54
Scale, µ 79.19 95.17 98.22
Breakdown AC Breakdown voltage (kV) at 5.0 mm gap distance
Probability
MO PO RBO
1% 61.79 66.72 80.89
50% 91.76 97.71 104.82
Shape, σ 10.74 11.28 16.39
Scale, µ 95.04 100.37 106.76
Breakdown AC Breakdown voltage (kV) at 10.0 mm gap distance
Probability
MO PO RBO
1% 97.28 120.95 121.72
50% 142.87 146.90 153.11
Shape, σ 11.07 23.11 17.58
Scale, µ 148.06 149.08 157.06

114
 Table 4.8 shows the breakdown voltages estimation using Weibull distribution

at 1% and 50% probabilities at all gaps. At a gap of 1.5 mm, for 1% probability of

breakdown voltage, PO has a higher breakdown voltage than MO and RBO. At this

probability, PO has 49.75 kV breakdown voltage, followed by RBO with 48.61 kV

and MO with 37.58 kV. It is observed that the percentage of difference between RBO

and PO is around 32% at this probability. However, for the 50% probability, RBO

has the highest breakdown voltage followed by PO and MO. Similar results were also

obtained for the 2.5 mm gap distance.

4.7 AC Withstand Strengths of Transformer liquids

During the design of a transformer, the withstand voltage of transformer liquids is

always used to fulfil the safety requirements of the insulation systems. Despite using

a withstand value where the transformer liquids will not fail as a dielectric, the

withstand voltage could be considered as a level where the risk of failure is acceptably

low [44], [193]. Usually, a failure rate of 1% is regarded as the acceptable level [44],

[193] and, therefore, the breakdown voltage at 1% probability is considered as the

withstand voltage of transformer liquids. This value also determines the amount of

insulation material used in the transformer, thus determining the size of the

transformer [193]. For example, if the withstand voltage of an insulating liquid is big,

smaller bulk oil gaps and creepage distances should be given to fulfil the safety

requirements of a transformer. This will reduce both the size and the overall cost of

the transformer. For transformers in-service, the withstand voltages of the transformer

liquids might be gradually decreased during the ageing and deterioration process.

115
Therefore, transformer liquids with high withstand voltages will ensure the safe

operation of a transformer in a long duration.

The 1% withstand voltage gained from Weibull distribution has been

tabulated in Table 4.9 while the 1% breakdown stress is in Table 4.10. The 1%

breakdown voltage U1% from Table 4.9 is used to calculate electric field strength

according to equation 4.2 previously. This value is compared to the Weidmann curves

used in the transformer industry and insulation design [245] as shown in Figure 4.10.

Table 4.9 : Weibull distribution of 1% probability withstand voltage of

AC breakdown voltage.

1% Withstand voltage (kV)

Gap distance (mm)
MO PO RBO
1.5 37.58 49.75 48.61
2.5 55.59 64.75 68.36
3.5 66.15 68.74 74.23
5.0 61.79 66.72 80.89
10.0 97.28 120.95 121.72

Table 4.9 shows the withstand voltage prediction using the Weibull

distribution for all oil samples. As seen in the table, vegetable oils have higher

withstand voltages than MO for all gaps. At the lower gap of 1.5 mm, PO has the

highest withstand voltage while RBO has the highest withstand voltage from 2.5 mm

to 10.0 mm gap distances. MO has the lowest among all samples. As expected, the

breakdown strength of liquids generally decreases with the increase in gap distance

and volume of the liquid under stress.

116
 Table 4.10: The 1% of electric field strength of MO, PO and RBO.

Gap distance Electric field strength (kV/mm)

(mm) MO PO RBO
1.5 25.05 33.17 32.41
2.5 22.24 25.90 27.34
3.5 18.90 19.64 21.21
5.0 12.36 13.34 16.18
10.0 9.73 12.20 12.77

As can be seen from Figure 4.10, PO and MO show higher electric field

strength than MO and more importantly are higher than the Weidmann curve [162],

[166], [167]. This result proves that PO and RBO are passed the minimum

requirement and are suitable to be considered as alternative insulating liquids for

transformers.

Figure 4.10 : 1% probability breakdown field in comparison with Weidmann

curve [25] for inception field at various gap distances.

117
4.8 Summary

Previous research investigations proved that electrical, chemical and physical

characteristics of palm oil-based vegetable fluids are superior to conventional mineral

oils. RBO has a balanced configuration in unsaturated and saturated fatty acids

between vegetable oils. RBO possesses superior dielectric constant and experiences

the lowest electric field stress. Overall result for physicochemical properties revealed

that the viscosity, moisture content, flash and pour point of PO and RBO are

comparable to MO. It also proved that PO and RBO fulfilled the standards. The

dielectric dissipation factor, relative permittivity and resistivity of PO and RBO are

also within the limits as recommended by standards.

The means of the AC breakdown voltages for vegetable oils and mineral oil

by using the BAUR Trainer are higher compared to the high voltage (HV) laboratory

setup. This is due to the presence of a carbonised stirrer which helps to eliminate the

resulting breakdown voltage and the test setup of different electrode configuration

positions. However, the increments of all samples show a similar trend for both

equipment setups. Due to the gap distance limitation in using BAUR Trainer, the

various gap distances of 1.5, 2.5, 3.5, 5.0 and 10.0 mm were conducted by using HV

laboratory. The AC breakdown voltages in all conditions indicate that the RBO has

the highest breakdown voltage followed by PO and MO. In quasi-uniform fields, the

breakdown event is mainly controlled by the streamer initiation, of which the results

indicate the similarities between ester liquids and mineral oil. More importantly, the

breakdown strengths of PO and RBO are similar to MO and all samples have higher

breakdown voltage than the Weidmann oil design line.

118
 CHAPTER 5

LIGHTNING BREAKDOWN VOLTAGES UNDER A UNIFORM FIELD

5.1 Introduction

Transformer oils should withstand not only power frequency AC voltage but also

transient impulse voltages such as lightning impulse and switching impulse. As

mentioned in Chapter 4, the AC breakdown test is normally used for oil quality check

and control due to its sensitivity to contaminations. Whereas, the lightning impulse

test is used as a criterion (Basic Insulation Level) for large power transformer

insulation design. The lightning impulse test is commonly required in factory routine

tests for high voltage transformers and it is also generally regarded to be

predominated by the oil intrinsic properties. In simple words, it can be used to detect

the difference in oil properties.

The insulation structure of a power transformer, especially the inner part, is

so complex. There are large numbers of structures with different potentials existing

inside the transformer. Normally oil/solid insulation is generally used to withstand

these stresses. Most electric fields in a transformer e.g. between disk and disk and

119
turn and turn, are made up of uniform or quasi-uniform field. Since the physical and

chemical properties of rice bran oil (RBO) and palm oil (PO) are different from

mineral oil, it is expected that there will be some differences between their lightning

breakdown impulse voltages. Therefore, before considering PO and RBO as the

alternative for MO, the tests in this chapter attempted to understand and identify the

lightning impulse breakdown strength of these oils in a uniform field. This chapter

will discuss the lightning impulse breakdown strength of RBO and PO for various

gap distances and the influence of various testing methods.

An 8-stage CDYL impulse generator with a maximum of 800 kV was used to

provide a standard lightning impulse 1.2 (±30%)/50 (±20%) µs. The lightning

breakdown voltage was measured as per the standard IEC 60897 and only negative

polarity lightning impulse was used in this study. To create a uniform electric field,

sphere-sphere copper electrodes were used and the gaps between electrodes were set

to 2.0 mm, 3.8 mm and 6.0 mm. 12.7 mm in diameter of spherical copper electrodes

were used in this study. These electrode configuration were vertically immersed in a

cylindrical test cell made from transparent acrylic with a volume of 2 litres as

illustrated in Figure 3.17. To comparatively study the lightning breakdown voltage of

various oils, all attributions should be controlled to the same level. Otherwise, the

number of weak links for various oils will be different, and thus it will be difficult to

compare. To control the quality of the results, the oil samples were processed

carefully as explained in Section 3.2. All the experiments were conducted at room

temperature (29 ºC± 0.1 ºC) with 50-70% humidity. A total of 50 measurements in

breakdown voltage were recorded for each sample which comprised of 15 breakdown

120
voltages of rising voltage method, 15 breakdowns voltage for up and down method

and 20 breakdown voltages of multiple level method.

5.2 Effect of Lightning Impulse Breakdown Voltage using Sphere to Sphere

Configuration for Small Gap Distances

The lightning impulse breakdown voltage test of all oil samples including PO, RBO

and MO as a benchmark was done for small various gap distances (2.0 mm, 3.8 mm

and 6.0 mm) and had been summarised in Figure 5.1 (a) and (b). As shown in the

figures, the breakdown voltage increases linearly as the electrode gap increases. This

is in good agreement with the previous works [247]. For all gap distances, the mean

break breakdown voltage of MO is the highest with 130.76 kV, 224.03 kV and

291.28 kV for 2 mm, 3.8 mm and 6.0 mm gaps, respectively. RBO has the second

highest breakdown voltage at 122.03 kV, 200.23 kV and 256.08 kV for 2.0 mm,

3.8 mm and 6.0 mm gaps, respectively. Lastly, PO has the lowest breakdown voltage

with 121.03 kV at 2.0 mm, 196.14 kV at 3.8 mm and 252.54 kV at 6.0 mm. Similar

results were also obtained in [45] at 2.0 mm and 3.8 mm gap distances using a similar

size of spherical electrodes for MO and PO. The details of the breakdown voltages

can be seen in Table 5.1.

121
 Figure 5.1 : 50% breakdown voltages and standard deviation of sphere to
sphere configurations for various gap distances.

Using mineral oil as the baseline, the percentage of difference (PD %)

between vegetable oils (RBO and PO) and MO can be calculated based on equation

5.1. VMO are 50% breakdown voltages of MO and the value of VVo is interchangeable

among RBO and PO. The PD% calculated are tabulated in Table 5.1.

Percentage of difference between MO and VO;

𝑉𝑀𝑂 −𝑉𝑉𝑂
(𝑃𝐷 𝑂𝑖𝑙 %) = ( ) × 100 (5.1)
𝑉𝑀𝑂

122
 Table 5.1 : The 50% breakdown voltages and standard deviation (SD) of
sphere to sphere configuration at 2.0 mm, 3.8 mm and 6.0 mm gap distance.

Impulse breakdown voltage (kV) at 2.0 mm gap distance

MO PO PD Oil RBO PD Oil

Mean SD Mean SD % Mean SD %
130.76 9.32 121.03 5.34 7.44 122.03 6.03 6.68

Impulse breakdown voltage (kV) at 3.8 mm gap distance

MO PO PD Oil RBO PD Oil

Mean SD Mean SD % Mean SD %
224.03 17.28 196.14 17.51 12.45 200.23 16.00 10.62

Impulse breakdown voltage (kV) at 6.0 mm gap distance

MO PO PD Oil RBO PD Oil

Mean SD Mean SD % Mean SD %
291.28 7.71 252.54 14.96 13.30 256.08 13.99 12.08

It is observed in Table 5.1 that the difference in voltage breakdown for PO

and RBO with MO appears to be increasing with the increased gap distance. At

2.0 mm gap distance, the difference of PO is 7.44% while RBO is 6.68% lower than

MO. For the 3.8 mm gap, the percentage difference between PO and MO is 12.45%

while RBO and MO is 10.62%. For the 6.0 mm gap, the highest percentage difference

for the vegetable oils are 13.30% and 12.08% for PO and RBO, respectively. From

this study, it was shown that the percentage difference for vegetable oils is lower by

13.5% when compared to MO for all conditions. The results show that the RBO and

PO are comparable to MO in terms of uniform field lightning impulse breakdown

test. Furthermore, the performance of RBO and PO is almost similar to each other.

From the results, MO is seen to have a higher breakdown voltage than PO and RBO

in all situations. This might be due to streamer propagation in vegetable oils being

123
different than in mineral oil. The previous studies in a divergent field and

uniform/quasi-uniform field showed that the ester liquids have lower impulse

breakdown voltages, especially at larger gaps, than mineral oil. This is because

streamers in the vegetable oils propagate faster and further than in the mineral oil at

the same voltage level. Liu [203], [244] mentioned that the average time to

breakdown for ester oils is approximated 3.8 μs compared to 5.7 μs in mineral oil. He

also mentioned that the streamer velocity in vegetable oil is around 10 km/s at 50 mm

oil gap and reaches 30 km/s at 100 mm. The streamer velocity in mineral oil remains

at a constant speed of 1–2 km/s. Moreover, some studies suggested that these

phenomena are related to the differences in the fluids’ chemical compositions [241],

[249], [250]. From this study, the breakdown voltage differences between these two

vegetable oils are less than 10 kV.

5.3 Effect of Various Testing Methods under Sphere to Sphere

Configuration

Lightning impulse testing methods, including the rising voltage method, up and down

method and multiple level method, are usually used for impulse breakdown tests.

Each method has its own advantages and disadvantages. When comparing the

lightning impulse breakdown strength of oils, the results on different methods are

likely to be different. Therefore, the influence of the testing method on the lightning

breakdown voltage of PO, RBO and MO was examined in this section using the

standard lightning impulse.

124
 The cross comparison of impulse breakdown voltages between PO, RBO and

MO are plotted in Figure 5.2. The 50% lightning impulse breakdown voltages of PO,

RBO and MO using various testing methods are summarised in Table 5.2.

(a)

(b)

125
 (c)
Figure 5.2 : Comparison of 50% breakdown voltage of all samples using sphere
to sphere configuration for various testing methods at (a) 2.0 mm, (b) 3.8 mm
and (c) 6.0 mm gap distances.

Considering the rising voltage method as the baseline as referred to in

previous studies [182], [222] and as the commonly used test method in the industry,

the percentage of difference, PD% for the 50% breakdown voltages of oil samples

between various testing methods can be calculated using equation 5.2 [182]. The

difference in percentage (PD%) of oil samples using the various testing methods are

summarised in Table 5.2

Percentage of difference of various testing methods:

𝑉𝑀𝑂 (𝑟𝑖𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑔) −𝑉𝑀𝑂 (𝑢𝑝 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑑𝑜𝑤𝑛)

𝑃𝐷 % = ( ) × 100 (5.2)
𝑉𝑀𝑂 (𝑟𝑖𝑠𝑖𝑛𝑔)

126
 Table 5.2 : 50% breakdown voltages using sphere to sphere configuration for
various testing methods at 2.0 mm, 3.8 mm and 6.0 mm gap distances.

LI Breakdown voltage at 2.0 mm gap distance (kV)

Testing methods
Samples
Rising voltage Up and PD Multiple level PD
down % %
MO 125.32 129.50 4.42 135.78 9.48
PO 115.85 119.97 2.99 122.43 5.10
RBO 119.91 119.71 0.67 125.38 5.14
LI Breakdown voltage at 3.8 mm gap distance (kV)
Testing methods
Samples
Rising voltage Up and PD Multiple level PD
down % %
MO 213.81 214.77 0.45 238.66 11.62
PO 187.26 190.26 2.21 206.35 10.19
RBO 194.58 191.40 2.22 211.95 8.93
LI Breakdown voltage at 6.0 mm gap distance (kV)
Testing methods
Samples
Rising voltage Up and PD Multiple level PD
down % %
MO 293.83 286.54 2.48 292.93 0.31
PO 251.85 243.23 3.42 251.70 3.25
RBO 261.45 256.56 1.87 260.04 3.73

It can be seen in Table 5.2 that the multiple level method has the highest

breakdown voltage among all methods for all gap distances. At 2.0 mm gap, the

highest percentage difference for the multiple level method can be seen in MO with

9.48% followed by RBO with 5.14% and lastly PO with 5.10%. For the up and down

method, the highest percentage difference can be seen for MO with 4.42% while RBO

has the lowest percentage difference. As the gap increases to 3.8 mm, the percentage

difference for the multiple level method has increased for all samples with MO having

the highest difference with 11.62% followed by PO (10.19%) and RBO (8.93%). For

the up and down method, the percentage difference is maintained around 2% for all

oil samples. As the gap is increased to 6.0 mm, the percentage difference for the multi-

127
level is reduced to less than 4% with the RBO having the biggest difference with

3.73%. For the up and down method, the percentage difference is maintained low.

Overall, the percentage of difference for the multiple level method for all oil samples

and all gaps are less than 12%. For the up and down method, all the percentage

differences are less than 5% with MO having the highest difference with 4.42%.

Comparing the oil samples, the various testing methods do not affect the ranking of

oil samples in which vegetable oils are always showing lower LI breakdown voltage

than MO [182]. It can be seen from Figure 5.3 that RBO has comparable 50%

breakdown voltages with PO at various gap distances and testing methods where the

highest percentage of difference is less than 11.0%. On the other hand, PO and RBO

have lower breakdown voltages compared to MO with the highest percentage of

difference being less than 10.19% for all methods and gap distances, which agreed

with the previous finding [38], [40].

5.4 Comparison of Lightning Impulse Breakdown Voltage with a Previous

Study

The lightning impulse test in this study used sphere electrodes 12.7 mm in

diameter according to ASTM D3300. A previous researcher, Katim N.I.A had

conducted the lightning impulse breakdown voltage test for 2.0 mm and 3.8 mm gap

distances [34] with an oil volume of 300 ml. In this study, the volume of the oil is

larger than [34] at 2000 ml. Hence, a comparison between the previous work and this

work is made in this section. The 50% lightning breakdown voltage from [45] and

this work can be obtained in Table 5.3. The percentage of difference (PD%) of oil

128
samples from a previous and in this study findings had been calculated by equation

5.4.

Percentage of different from previous finding.

𝑉𝑀𝑂 (𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑣𝑖𝑜𝑢𝑠 𝑠𝑡𝑢𝑑𝑦) −𝑉𝑀𝑂

𝑃𝐷 % = ( ) × 100 (5.3)
𝑉𝑀𝑂 (𝑝𝑟𝑒𝑣𝑖𝑜𝑢𝑠 𝑠𝑡𝑢𝑑𝑦)

Table 5.3 : Comparison of 50% lightning breakdown voltages with a previous

study.

Lightning Impulse Breakdown Voltage (kV)

Samples Gap Distances (mm)

2.0 3.8
MO in this study 130.76 224.03
MO of previous study 140.3 236.33
PD% 6.8 5.2
PO in this study 121.03 196.14
PO of previous study 130.67 206
PD% 7.4 4.8

The 50% lightning breakdown voltage difference between this study and the

previous study by Katim N.I.A [34] shows that both breakdown voltages are

comparable to each other. The percentage of differences observed are less than 7%

for mineral oil and less than 7.5 % for PO. The different oil volumes in both

experiments did not affect the breakdown voltage of oil samples. This is due to

smaller gap distances which give very minimal effect for the breakdown voltage of

the oils [31], [44]. Overall, the 50% lightning breakdown voltages from this study are

comparable with the previous study.

129
5.5 Weibull Probability Plots for MO, PO and RBO under Sphere to

Sphere Configuration

The Weibull distributions for each oil sample were plotted based on the data obtained

in this study and can be referred to in Appendix B. The summary of the distribution

at 1% and 50% probabilities of MO, PO and RBO is tabulated in Table 5.4.

Table 5.4: Breakdown voltages sphere to sphere configuration at 1% and 50%

probabilities of failure by Weibull distribution at 2.0 mm, 3.8 mm and 6.0 mm
gap distance.

Breakdown Impulse Breakdown voltage (kV) at 2mm gap

Probability distance
MO PO RBO
1% 100.19 100.60 108.13
50% 131.76 122.50 120.4
Shape, σ 1.48 1.09 0.49
Scale, µ 130.37 121.46 119.91
Breakdown Impulse Breakdown voltage (kV) at 3.8 mm gap
Probability distance
MO PO RBO
1% 177.81 153.97 138.55
50% 226.65 202.54 198.22
Shape, σ 2.44 2.26 2.48
Scale, µ 224.04 200.23 196.14
Breakdown Impulse Breakdown voltage (kV) at 6.0 mm gap
Probability distance
MO PO RBO
1% 260.99 209.96 196.71
50% 292.13 258.00 254.21
Shape, σ 1.09 1.98 2.12
Scale, µ 291.28 256.08 252.54

Table 5.4 shows the breakdown voltages at 1% and 50% probabilities of

failure for Weibull distribution at 2.0 mm, 3.8 mm and 6.0 mm gap distances. At 1%

probability for the withstand voltage of 2.0 mm gap distance as shown in Figure 5.6

130
(a), RBO has a higher withstand voltage (with 108.13 kV) than PO (100.19 kV) and

MO (100.60 kV). The percentage difference in breakdown voltages between RBO

and MO is 7.9% and for RBO and PO, it is 0.11%. However, for probabilities of

failure at 10% and above, MO has the highest withstand voltage compared to PO and

RBO. The percentage difference of 50% probability MO between PO and RBO is

7.03% and 8.62% respectively.

Meanwhile, MO has the highest 1% probability of breakdown voltage at

3.8 mm and 6.0 mm gap distances with 177.81 kV and 260.99 kV respectively

compared to all oil samples. PO is the second best after MO for both gaps with

202.54 kV and 258 kV respectively followed by RBO with 198.22 kV (3.8 mm) and

254.1 kV (6.0 mm). The percentage of difference for PO and RBO with MO at 1%

and 50% are in a range between 10.64% and 22.08%. As indicated in Table 5.4, the

50% breakdown voltages of PO and RBO are lower than MO, which is consistent

with the previously drawn conclusion using various testing methods. Moving down

to smaller breakdown probability, the difference between PO and RBO with MO

becomes smaller.

5.6 Summary

The electrical strengths of vegetable oils in a uniform field for various gap distances

were studied in this chapter. Detailed investigation and analysis had been done with

various testing methods including the rising voltage method, up and down method

and multiple levels method to determine the lightning breakdown voltage.

131
 According to the findings, the lightning impulse performance under a uniform

field for PO and RBO is comparable to that of MO for all cases. This is due to the

difference of 50% breakdown voltage of PO and RBO with MO is less than 20% for

all situations. Nevertheless, among the vegetable oils, RBO shows a higher 50%

breakdown voltage compared to PO. The patterns of MO, PO and RBO are almost

the same for the relationship between breakdown voltage and gap distance. Overall,

the finding in this chapter is RBO and PO are comparable to each other for all gap

distances with the percentage of difference is less than 6%.

Furthermore, it was found that the testing methods have a notable influence

on the measured breakdown voltage for all testing methods for all gap distances. The

percentage of difference is less than 16% and agreed with the previous studies done

by [45]. The multi-level method has the highest percentage of difference for all cases.

Besides that, the multi-level method and rising up method provide the closest results

to each other, which are generally higher than those obtained using the up and down

method. However, no matter whichever testing methods were used, PO and RBO

always showed lower breakdown voltages than MO. All the testing methods are

suitable to be used in the lightning impulse breakdown study since only a small

difference in terms of breakdown voltage was found in this study. Lastly, the

withstand voltages for PO and RBO were compared using Weibull distribution at 1%

probability. The withstand voltages of RBO and PO show lower values than MO for

all gap distances.

132
 CHAPTER 6

LIGHTNING BREAKDOWN VOLTAGES UNDER A NON-UNIFORM

FIELD

6.1 Introduction

Due to manufacturing defects such as protrusions on the conductors and

contaminations resulting from in-service degradation of insulation (particles and

moisture), contaminations in the oil will possibly cause strong non-uniform fields to

exist in transformers. These strong non-uniform fields could lead to the enhancement

of local electric fields and initiate a discharge in transformer oils. In addition, streamer

initiation and breakdown voltage for an insulating liquid in a strong non-uniform

field, i.e. point-sphere electrodes, are proved to be closely associated with liquid

composition. Therefore, it is aimed to study the electrical performance of RBO and

PO-based oil in a strong non-uniform field in terms of the breakdown strength.

Negative polarity and a point-sphere electrode gap are considered in the study.

This chapter focuses on the breakdown strength of both RBO and PO under

the standard non-uniform lightning impulse voltage. The breakdown voltage is

analysed for various gap distances up to 50 mm and using similar methods as the
previous chapter. The 50% breakdown voltages at various gap distances are compared

between RBO, PO and MO. A relationship between the results under the lightning

impulse and previously published results is built up and empirical formulas are

obtained to predict the lightning breakdown voltages of PO and RBO at very large

gaps.

The test set-up for the lightning impulse breakdown tests is shown in Figure

3.13. For this non-uniform field, the lightning impulse dielectric strengths of the oils

were carried out using standard IEC 60897 with the point (needle) and spherical

electrode configuration. Tungsten needle was equipped as the point electrode, whose

tip radius of curvature was guaranteed to be 200±5 µm after selection using a

microscope. The needle was regularly changed after each set of tests, i.e. per liquid

type per gap distance. A spherical electrode of 12.7 mm in diameter was used as the

ground electrode. An 8–stage CDYL impulse generator (as shown in Figure 3.13)

with a maximum voltage of 800 kV and energy of 40 kJ was used to provide the

standard lightning impulse waveform 1.2 (±30%)/50 (±20%) μs.

6.2 Effect of Lightning Impulse Breakdown Voltage using Needle to Sphere

Configuration for Small Gap Distances

The lightning breakdown voltages of the dielectric insulation oil under a non-uniform

field were found to be dependent upon the composition of oil samples and

configuration of electrodes [46], [203]. The 50% breakdown voltages of PO, RBO

and MO under the non-uniform field at 2.0 mm, 3.8 mm and 6.0 mm gaps can be

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referred to in Figure 6.1. A total of 50 breakdown voltage measurements were made

which comprised of 15 breakdown voltages from the rising voltage method, 15

breakdown voltages from the up and down method and 20 breakdown voltages from

the multiple level method.

Figure 6.1 : 50% breakdown voltages and standard deviation of needle

to sphere configuration for various gap distances.

According to Figure 6.1, generally, the 50% breakdown voltage for all

samples increases as the gap distance increases. The results show that there is a

significant effect of breakdown voltage with various gap distances which agreed with

the previous finding [38], [187], [204]. MO has the highest 50% breakdown voltage

at all gap distances. The highest percentage difference of 50% breakdown voltage

MO and vegetable oils (RBO and PO) is less than 16% for all conditions as shown in

Table 6.1.

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 Table 6.1 : 50% breakdown voltages and standard deviation (SD) of needle to
sphere configuration at 2.0mm, 3.8mm and 6.0mm.

Impulse breakdown voltage (kV) and SD at 2.0 mm gap distance

MO PO PD Oil RBO PD Oil

Mean SD Mean SD % Mean SD %
83.31 4.57 73.02 4.14 7.22 74.19 5.21 5.73

Impulse breakdown voltage (kV) and SD at 3.8 mm gap distance

MO PO RBO
PD Oil PD Oil
Mean SD Mean SD % Mean SD %

111.19 6.60 98.87 6.6 11.08 97.53 5.66 12.29

Impulse breakdown voltage (kV) and SD at 6.0 mm gap distance

MO PO PD Oil RBO PD Oil

Mean SD Mean SD % Mean SD %
133.00 5.49 115.81 5.84 12.92 118.13 5.09 11.18

From the Table 6.1, at gap distance of 2.0 mm, the 50% breakdown voltages

of MO and PO are 83.31 kV and 73.02 kV respectively. They are higher from the

previous results of [180] by only 60 kV. The difference of percentage of PO toward

MO at 2.0 mm, 3.8 mm and 6.0 mm gap distances are 7.22%, 11.08% and 12.92%

respectively. Meanwhile, the difference between RBO and MO are 5.73%, 12.29%

and 11.18% for 2.0 mm, 3.8 mm and 6.0 mm, respectively. PO has the highest 50%

breakdown voltage difference among vegetable oils when compared to MO which is

around 5 kV to 14 kV. Even though RBO almost has a larger breakdown voltage than

PO, the 50% breakdown voltage of RBO is quite close with PO at all gap distances.

This might be due to the physical and chemical properties of the RBO and PO are

almost similar according to [9], [11], [22], [33], [59].

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6.3 Effect of Various Testing Methods under Needle to Sphere

Configuration

In this part, a similar study was carried out on the various testing methods for a non-

uniform field lightning impulse test. The influence of testing method on the lightning

breakdown voltage of MO, PO and RBO was examined using the standard negative

lightning impulse. The lightning breakdown setup is explained in Section 6.1.

The cross comparison of 50% lightning impulse breakdown voltages of RBO,

PO and MO are plotted in Figure 6.2. Meanwhile, the percentage difference of the

50% breakdown voltage under various testing methods is summarised in Table 6.2.

(a)

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 (b)

(c)
Figure 6.2 : Comparison of 50% breakdown voltage of all samples using needle
to sphere configuration for various testing methods at (a) 2.0 mm, (b) 3.8 mm
and (c) 6.0 mm gap distances.

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 Table 6.2 : 50% breakdown voltages of needle to sphere configuration for
various testing methods at various small gap distances.

Breakdown voltage at 2.0 mm gap distance (kV)

Testing methods
Samples
Rising Up and
PD % Multiple level PD %
voltage down
MO 78.75 76.15 4.20 82.06 3.30
PO 72.61 71.88 3.79 74.71 2.81
RBO 75.01 69.63 7.17 77.01 2.67
Breakdown voltage at 3.8 mm gap distance (kV)
Testing methods
Samples
Rising Up and
PD % Multiple level PD %
voltage down
MO 110.48 107.32 7.50 116.02 4.78
PO 98.84 97.14 1.72 100.18 1.36
RBO 97.72 92.54 5.30 101.13 3.49
Breakdown voltage at 6.0 mm gap distance (kV)
Testing methods
Samples
Rising Up and
PD % Multiple level PD %
voltage down
MO 130.30 131.89 5.28 137.18 1.22
PO 117.79 110.34 6.32 118.43 0.54
RBO 118.83 113.51 4.48 121.08 1.89

From Table 6.2, there is only a small effect of testing methods that can be seen

on the breakdown voltages of all samples at all gap distances. The highest percentage

difference is less than 7.50%. This finding is close to the previous work by Yvone

[38] which is 13.8%. Similar to the lightning breakdown voltage under a uniform

field, the multi-level method has the highest 50% breakdown voltages compared with

other methods. For all testing methods, MO has the highest 50% breakdown voltages

followed by RBO and PO.

Based on the analysis in Table 6.2, the performances of the lightning

breakdown voltage for PO and RBO are comparable with MO. The lowest percentage

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of difference for all samples is just 0.54% and the highest percentage of difference is

7.5%, corresponding to only 1 kV and 3 kV. Among all different testing methods, the

multiple level method always has the highest 50% breakdown voltage for all samples

at various gap distances, followed by the rising voltage method and the up and down

method. Therefore, breakdown voltages do not affect the ranking of liquids for the

aim of comparison purposes even when using different testing methods [182], [253].

6.4 Effect of Various Larger Gap Distances under Needle to Sphere

Configuration

The dielectric failure of oil is initiated by some weak links. As the volume of

electrically stressed oil increases, the probability that weakness is present in the oil

volume also rises. Therefore, for a large oil gap, it is necessary to investigate whether

the reduction in the dielectric strength of alternative transformer oils is comparable to

that of mineral oil or not. The large gap represents the situation between the lead of

the winding and the wall of the transformer tank, which is earthed [25].

In this section, the study is carried out to investigate the influence of gap

distances on the lighting breakdown voltage under a non-uniform field. The lightning

impulse breakdown voltage test was performed using the rising-up method. This

study uses a needle to sphere electrode following the IEC Standard 60897 [30], [38],

[40]. All tests were carried out at 2.0 mm, 3.8 mm, 6.0 mm, 10.0 mm, 20.0 mm, 30.0

mm, 40.0 mm and 50.0 mm gap distances. The 50% breakdown voltage with different

gap distances is plotted in Figure 6.3. The comparison of 50% impulse breakdown

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voltages of all samples is shown in Table 6.3. From the graph, the 50% breakdown

voltages for all samples increase as the gap distances increase. A similar pattern was

also found by [200], [201], [243], [254]. The 50% breakdown voltages of the PO and

RBO are much lower than the MO at all gap distances under a non-uniform field. The

difference in the 50% breakdown voltages became larger as the gap distance increases

where the highest percentage of difference can be up to 30%. At a gap distance of

25.0 mm, the percentage of differences for the 50% breakdown voltages between MO

and PO is in the range of 17.1% and 20.3% while for RBO, it is between 15.4% and

20.3%.

Figure 6.3 : 50% breakdown and the standard deviation of needle to sphere
configuration for various gap distances.

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 Table 6.3 : 50% breakdown voltages of needle to sphere under various larger
gap distances.

50% Breakdown voltage (kV) at Various gap distances

Oil Samples (mm)
10.0 20.0 30.0 40.0 50.0

Mean 151.41 181.22 203.78 252.77 312.22

MO
SD 2.07 2.19 10.09 1.90 3.58

Mean 127.46 150.19 162.39 181.73 202.60

PO
SD 1.96 5.90 1.48 3.60 4.57

PD % 15.82 17.12 20.31 28.10 35.11

Mean 128.81 153.41 166.47 184.45 207.31
RBO
SD 0.89 0.90 2.44 1.58 3.89

PD % 14.9 15.35 20.31 27.04 33.62

Based on Figure 6.3 and Table 6.3, the 50% breakdown voltages of vegetable

oils (PO and RBO) are lower than the MO for all gaps observed, and the differences

become larger as the gap distances increased. The breakdown voltages of PO and

RBO are almost identical for all gaps. The lowest percentage difference of RBO and

PO towards MO are 14.9% and 15.82% where the value is almost 23 kV and 24 kV

each. This pattern is also in line with previous researches where the MO interface

becomes higher than vegetable oils’ interface. The percentage of difference between

RBO and MO at 50 mm gap is around 33.62% whereas for PO and MO it is around

35.11%. The difference was more pronounced at larger gap distances [13], [252],

[255].

This finding agreed with the studies by [2], [10], [31]. The reason why this

phenomenon occurred is due to the different types of streamer happening in the

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process of breakdown. According to [31], small gaps’ breakdown is caused by slow

streamers of which the average propagation velocity is low. With increasing gap

distances, the fast streamer appears at the breakdown voltage level and starts to take

over the control of breakdown. There is a range of transition gap distance where slow

and fast streamer-induced breakdowns can occur. Once this transition occurs at

certain gaps, the fast streamers will purely control the breakdown of the oil. In the

case of natural esters, the appearance of this transition gap distance happens earlier

than MO, which causes lower breakdown voltages at very large gaps. Besides that,

according to [37], [256], [257], the chemical compositions and electron affinity of

dielectric insulation fluids play a dominant role in the streamer propagation

characteristics. The chemical structure of RBO and PO is based on a glycerol

backbone that consists of three fatty acids groups. This group consists of saturated

and unsaturated fatty acids. PO contains approximately 50% saturated fatty acids,

with 44% palmitic acid (C16:0), 5% stearic acid (C18:0), and trace amounts of

myristic acid (C14:0). The unsaturated fatty acids are approximately 40% oleic acid

(C18:1) and 10% polyunsaturated linoleic acid (C18:2) and linolenic acid (C18:3).

Meanwhile, RBO contains palmitic acid (22.7%) as the major saturated fatty acid. It

is high in oleic acid (43.9%). Linoleic acid in the largest component (29.6%) of

polyunsaturated fatty acids, followed by low level (1.25%) linolenic acid. PO and

RBO have some percentage of C=C double bonds in the oleic and linoleic acid side

chains. The presence of these bonds can cause a low ionisation potential which leads

to higher streamer propagation speeds and hence lowers the lightning impulse

breakdown voltages of RBO and PO compared to MO. Besides that, there is a high

amount of electronegative oxygen atoms existing in the RBO and PO molecular

structure. Therefore, it is expected to be the reason for the low performance of

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lightning impulse breakdown in RBO and PO. At the same voltage, the streamer in

vegetable oils propagates further with higher velocity and more branches than MO.

According to a study done by [10], the streamer velocity for PO is around 3.5 km/s

whereas for MO it is only 2.0 km/s which can be a reason for vegetable oils having

lower breakdown voltages than MO.

6.5 Weibull Probability of Needle to Sphere Configuration for Small

Gap Distances

The breakdown voltage is defined as a statistically distributed quantity that

corresponds to a failure probability. The failure probability depends on the electrical

stress applied in the liquid. Weibull distribution approach is generally accepted in the

field of electrical insulation as the one that best fit time for data approximating the

failure and dielectric strength [18], [205], [206]. The Weibull distribution is obtained

based on the scale and shape parameters. The cumulative functions of Weibull

distribution used are the same as given in equation 2.3.

The lightning breakdown voltages under the non-uniform field data

measurement in this chapter were used to plot the Weibull distribution to predict the

chances of failure in oil samples. 50 breakdown voltage measurements are the

accumulative of 15, 15 and 20 breakdown voltages from rising voltage, up and down

and multiple level methods, respectively. The breakdown voltage distribution and the

probability plots can be referred to in Appendix C.2. The Weibull probability plots

show deviation to Weibull distribution especially at 1% probability of breakdown

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voltage for MO, PO and RBO. For all gap distances, the breakdown voltages for all

samples matched the higher probability of breakdown especially at 50% breakdown

probability and are close to each other. The 1% and 50% probability of breakdown

voltages for MO, PO and RBO are tabulated in Table 6.4.

Table 6.4 : The 1% and 50% probabilities of MO, PO and RBO at 2.0 mm, 3.8
mm and 6.0 mm gap distances under needle to sphere configuration.

Breakdown Impulse Breakdown voltage (kV) at 2mm gap distance

Probability MO PO RBO
1% 63.44 59.89 57.71
50% 79.31 73.60 74.87
Shape, σ 80.85 74.93 76.57
Scale, µ 18.97 20.5 16.27
Breakdown Impulse Breakdown voltage (kV) at 3.8 mm gap distance
Probability MO PO RBO
1% 94.39 79.08 80.74
50% 112.27 99.77 98.31
Shape, σ 113.98 101.82 100.00
Scale, µ 24.38 18.20 21.52
Breakdown Impulse Breakdown voltage (kV) at 6.0 mm gap distance
Probability MO PO RBO
1% 113.73 96.90 103.68
50% 133.75 116.57 118.96
Shape, σ 135.63 118.45 120.32
Scale, µ 26.03 22.93 31.00

Based on Table 6.4, the difference in probabilities of breakdown voltage

between MO and vegetable oils is very low at smaller gap distances. At 2.0 mm gap

distance, the difference between MO and vegetable oils ranges from 4.4 kV to 5.8 kV

(5.73% to 7.2%). However, the voltage breakdown probability differed for MO and

vegetable oils at 3.8 mm gap distance, with an average difference of 15 kV (12.3%).

However, the distribution of vegetable oils is well fitted with the reference line at all

145
gap distances. At 6.0 mm gap distance, the distributions of all samples were well

plotted at the probability line. The 1% and 50% probability were predicted lower but

almost close to the probability line. The difference of percentage at 50% probability

of MO, PO and RBO between the breakdown voltage distributions and the probability

line are calculated to be in the range of 1.4%, 1.6% and 1.1% respectively.

6.6 Weibull Probability Plots of Needle to Sphere configuration for Larger

Gap Distances

The breakdown voltages of MO, PO and RBO for larger gap distances were collected

from the experimental data in Section 6.4.10 for distances between 10.0 mm and

50.0 mm gap distances. The Weibull probability plots can be referred to in Appendix

C.3.

The distribution breakdown voltages in Appendix C.3 indicate that almost all

samples were well matched to the probability line. MO shows a higher probability at

all various gap distances and is followed by RBO and PO. PO and RBO have a slight

difference between each other, especially at 50% probability. The 1% and 50%

probabilities of the lightning breakdown voltage of all samples at various gap

distances are represented in Table 6.5.

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 Table 6.5 : 1% and 50% probabilities of MO, PO and RBO at larger gap
distances under needle to sphere configuration.

Breakdown Impulse Breakdown voltage (kV) at 10.0mm gap

Probability distance
MO PO RBO
1% 142.30 121. 11 125.75
50% 151.62 127.84 128.96
µ 151.41 127.46 128.82
Breakdown Impulse Breakdown voltage (kV) at 20.0mm gap
Probability distance
MO PO RBO
1% 175.22 132.31 149.95
50% 181.60 150.96 153.46
µ 181.23 150.19 153.42
Breakdown Impulse Breakdown voltage (kV) at 30.0mm gap
Probability distance
MO PO RBO
1% 189.45 157.12 158.61
50% 204.93 162.70 166.97
µ 203.78 162.39 166.48
Breakdown Impulse Breakdown voltage (kV) at 40.0mm gap
Probability distance
MO PO RBO
1% 246.72 172.29 180.58
50% 253.66 182.41 184.68
µ 234.71 181.74 184.45
Breakdown Impulse Breakdown voltage (kV) at 50.0mm gap
Probability distance
MO PO RBO
1% 287.75 192.97 195.13
50% 313.47 203.36 207.01
µ 315.78 202.60 207.32

The result in Table 6.5 indicates that the differences in the breakdown voltages

at 50% and 1% probabilities between MO and PO/RBO are significantly higher at all

various gap distances. The probabilities of breakdown voltages between PO/RBO and

MO increase as the gap distance increases where the highest percentage of difference

can be up to 36%. The percentage difference between RBO and MO on the 1%

probability is in the range from 11% to 32%, while for PO is in the range of 14% to

33%. The 50% probable breakdown voltages also show the average increasing

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percentage difference between MO and PO/RBO when the gap distance increases.

The percentage of difference of MO and PO is in the range of 15% to 35%, while

RBO is in the range of 14% to 33%. On the other hand, the highest percentage

difference between PO and RBO at 1% and 50% probabilities are comparable with a

value less than 5%.

6.7 Determination of Empirical Equation

The breakdown voltage test is one of the most important transformer oil diagnostic tests

performed to know how much electrical stress it can withstand. The withstand voltage

of the oils is one of the imperative parameters for insulation design of transformers

and is defined as the voltage where the risk of failure is acceptably low [7]. The

Weibull distribution is normally applied to describe the probable distribution of

breakdown voltages. The value of standard deviation in kV as discussed in previous

subsections above does not point out the number of withstands at the mean voltage of

failure for the samples.

6.7.1 Determination of Empirical Equation under Non-uniform Field

The breakdown voltage of vegetable oils at very large gaps is important for their

application in large power transformers. In this part, the relationship between the

results under the lightning impulse and the previously published data under step

148
voltage will be built up so that the breakdown voltages of vegetable oils at very large

gaps are extrapolated. Based on the previous studies by [45], [180], [182], [197],

[258], [259], a power law model was found to be suitable to represent the relationship

between various parameters in dielectric insulation transformer liquids especially for

lightning impulse [45], [180], [182], [197]. The relationship between the lightning

breakdown voltage and the gap distance using the power law model is based on

equation 6.1 where V is the lightning breakdown voltage, d is the gap distance while

α and β are constant values.

V = α × dβ (6.1)

A similar approach was adopted in this thesis to determine the empirical

formulas for the relationship between breakdown voltage (kV) and gap distance, d

(mm) of withstand voltages (1% probability) and breakdown voltages at 50%

probability for all samples. The 1% withstanding voltage and 50% breakdown voltage

fittings of these equations can be obtained in Figure 6.4 (a) and (b). Most of these

data fit well toward the power law equation, where the r2 values are from 0.83 to 0.97.

From the equations, it is observed that the constant values of α and β for both

vegetable oils at 1% and 50% probabilities are comparable to MO.

For lightning breakdown voltage under non-uniform field:

VMO_withstand (1%) = 74.62 Х d0.597 (6.2)

VPO_withstand (1%) = 70.532 Х d0.4763 (6.3)

VRBO_withstand (1%) = 70.808 Х d0.4844 (6.4)

VMO_breakdown (50%) = 67.123 Х d0.3605 (6.5)

VPO_breakdown (50%) = 67.639 Х d0.0.273 (6.6)

VRBO_breakdown (50%) = 87.754 Х d0.2775 (6.7)

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 The lightning breakdown voltage under a non-uniform field shows that most

of the equation matches the data quite well as shown in Figure 6.5 (a) and (b). The

1% withstanding voltage and 50% breakdown voltage matches the line based on

equations 6.2 to 6.7. It is found that the 50% breakdown voltage in this study show a

higher breakdown than previous studies but become closer to each other as the gap

distance increases. Overall, the equation for the non-uniform field in this study can

be used to predict the failure on a designed transformer.

(a)

(b)
Figure 6.4 : Lightning impulse breakdown voltage fitting at empirical equation
at (a) 1% withstand voltage and (b) 50% breakdown voltage under a non-
uniform field.

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6.8 Summary

In this chapter, a detailed investigation and analysis had been done with various

smaller and larger gap distances and various testing methods including the rising

voltage method, up and down method and multiple level method to determine the

lightning breakdown voltage.

The 50% lightning impulse performances of all samples are slightly different

at small gap distances in which the breakdown voltage difference is less than 5.8%.

The breakdown voltage increased as the gap increased. The percentage of the

difference between MO and both vegetable oils increase with increased gap distances

which ranged from 14.9% to 35%. The 50% breakdown voltages of RBO were higher

compared to PO and closer to MO. This might be due to the fast streamer appearing

at the breakdown voltage level and starts to take over the control of breakdown when

the gap distance increased.

Furthermore, the 50% failure prediction using Weibull distribution for a non-

uniform field under lightning impulse test showed that almost all samples match the

probability line. The withstand voltage (1%) showed fewer matches, especially at

2.0 mm gap distance. Both vegetable oils, PO/RBO showed a nearly equal probability

of breakdown voltage and approached each other in all cases. MO almost showed the

highest prediction of 50% probability. It is followed by RBO and PO. The Weibull

distribution at larger gap distances also found the same finding as the small gap

distance where MO became the leading breakdown voltage. RBO was well fitted

compared to PO and gained a breakdown voltage lower than the probability line in

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all cases. RBO breakdown data fitted better with Weibull distributions than MO. The

empirical formula for predicting the lightning impulse under a non-uniform electric

field was proposed in this study.

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 CHAPTER 7

CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS FOR FUTURE RESEARCH

7.1 Conclusions

This thesis described an extensive study of the breakdown mechanism in transformer

liquids under AC voltage and lightning impulse test including various transformer

liquids and various field configurations. The measurement and diagnosis methods for

dielectric performance were also discussed and improved for the application of

vegetable oils in future. Throughout the investigations and analyses of experimental

researches, the objectives of this thesis were achieved, and useful findings were

successfully accomplished.

The main research areas covered are:

I. Measurement of the physicochemical and dielectric strengths of transformer

oil.

II. Application of an AC voltage across a 2.5 mm electrode gap according to

standard IEC60156 for various gap distances.

III. Application of a lightning impulse of uniform field configuration electrode

according to standard IEC60897 for small gap distances.

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IV. Application of a lightning impulse of non-uniform field configuration

electrode according to standard IEC 60897 for various small and larger gap

distances.

The typically employed insulating liquids in power systems are naphthenic

mineral oils. However, stringent environmental protection regulations demand

operators and manufacturers of HV equipment to use less toxic and biodegradable

liquids. To replace the existing transformer insulation oil with vegetable oils, it is

important to know the dielectric performance of vegetable oils. To reduce the size of

modern high-voltage and pulsed-power equipment, there is a demand for insulating

liquids with improved dielectric properties, due to the resultant higher levels of

electrical stress.

In this thesis, an experimental research of PO and RBO was conducted for AC

and lightning breakdown voltages. A few experiments were undertaken by

considering the effect of various electric fields, methods and gap distances. The

designer should consider the withstand capability of a transformer and ensure these

basic insulation levels are met by the transformer.

7.1.1 Summary of Results and Main Findings

The main findings were reviewed on the basic properties of liquids samples, the

electrical performances on AC and lightning impulse breakdown voltage.

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 In AC breakdown tests, it was relatively notable the influence of different test

setups between using the BAUR oil tester (DTA 100C) and the high voltage setup in

a laboratory for insulation oils at 2.5 mm gap distance. The result of using BAUR oil

tester observed that MO gained the breakdown voltage within the range as

recommended by IEC standards. RBO showed a higher breakdown voltage than PO

and MO. The vertical and horizontal electrode configuration and volume of oil

influences the breakdown strength. Nevertheless, PO and RBO performed better than

MO in five gap distances. The percentage difference between both vegetable oils saw

a very small effect on dielectric properties and the AC breakdown performance.

Hence, from the AC breakdown study, RBO has better dielectric properties and AC

breakdown voltage.

For the lightning impulse breakdown voltage under a uniform electric field,

RBO and PO have comparable performances to MO, which is promising results for

liquid insulation. In addition, there are notable effects of testing methods on the

lightning breakdown voltage of all samples including the rising-voltage method, up

and down method and multiple level method. The lightning impulse breakdown

voltage of PO is almost similar to RBO at various gap distances and testing methods.

The values of MO in all testing methods are higher than PO and RBO at all gap

distances.

For the lightning impulse breakdown voltage under a non-uniform electric

field, results show that lightning impulse of PO and RBO are slightly lower than MO

for all conditions. However, the difference is so small and comparable to each other.

The testing methods include the rising-up voltage, up and down and multiple level

155
methods. For all of these, no significant effect on the lightning breakdown voltage

was observed. The multiple level method has slightly higher than rising voltage and

up and down methods in all situations.

Furthermore, the lightning breakdown voltage under a non-uniform field

extended at larger gap distances. Due to the small effect on the lightning breakdown

voltage of the testing method at small gap distances, the rising voltage method is

recommended. The common testing method used is standard IEC 60897 and ASTM

3300. The study found the effects on lightning breakdown voltage increased as gap

distances increased. Overall, the findings are reliable and consistent with the previous

research on larger gap distances under a non-uniform field. Based on the testing data

under a non-uniform lightning impulse, an empirical formula had been proposed. The

proposed equation fits well with the data from the literature.

7.2 Recommendations

In this thesis, the investigation focused on the breakdown strength performance of PO

and RBO. Further investigation is needed to determine their behaviours to qualify as

dielectric insulation oils in a transformer. Thus, here are several recommendations

and more work that could be done in a future study.

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 For the AC breakdown study:

I. The results in using mushroom design as VDE show good performances of PO

and RBO. The geometries of the conductors inside a transformer are actually

more complex than this and may be included for the next research. As notified,

all the conductors within each winding in a power transformer are covered by

paper insulation. The addition of covered electrodes with standard paper

insulation and pressboard particles can be carried out to look at the consequence

of the contaminants with different concentrations in the insulating oil and fully

understand the characteristics of contaminants under AC voltage.

II. To monitor the condition of PO and RBO, the Dissolved Gas Analysis (DGA)

compounds generated from these oils can be investigated. The study could

provide crucial information, especially on fault detection.

For the lightning impulse breakdown study:

I. Pre-breakdown and breakdown performance under impulse voltage in a non-

uniform field tend to differentiate the oils. These configurations also represent

the in-service scenarios in a transformer. The degradation, ageing etc. could

change the result. It is worth studying the streamer characteristic for breakdown

voltages at various gap distances. It is interesting to study the initiation of

streamers in PO and RBO under impulse voltage by considering the previous test

of a uniform field.

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II. Other interesting studies that can be carried out is to determine the ageing

performance of PO and RBO under a variety of temperatures and periods to

develop a practical model for the application of PO and RBO in transformers.

158
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180
 APPENDICES

APPENDIX A
A.1 Properties of uninhibited mineral oil from previous studies
A.2 The Dielectric and physicochemical properties of the palm
oils.
A.3 The flash point of vegetable oil based on previous studies.
A.4 AC breakdown voltage of vegetable oils.
A.5 Standards for insulating oil breakdown test.

APPENDIX B Weibull Distribution of Lightning Impulse Breakdown

Voltage under Uniform Field.

APPENDIX C
C.1 Weibull Distribution of Lightning Impulse Breakdown
Voltage under Non-Uniform Field at Small Gap
Distances

C.2 Weibull Distribution of Lightning Impulse Breakdown

Voltage under Non-Uniform Field at Larger Gap
Distances

APPENDIX D
D.1 AC breakdown voltage between using HV laboratory and
BAUR Trainer equipment.
D.2 AC breakdown voltage of MO, PO and RBO under
various gap distances.

APPENDIX E
E.1 Lightning impulse breakdown voltage under uniform field.

APPENDIX F
F.1 Lightning impulse breakdown voltage under non-uniform
field at small gap distances.

181
 APPENDIX A

Table A.1 Properties of uninhibited mineral oil from previous studies

Dielectric Dielectric Flash Water Density

Breakdown Viscosity Resistivity Pour
Reference dissipation factor constant point , content, @ 20 °C
voltage , kV @40°c Ω-cm point, °C
(DDF) @20°c °C ppm g/ml
[113] 60 10.4 cst 0.0002 @ 90°C - - 145 -60 20 0.881
[39] 39.8 @ IEC60156 35 cst 0.14 - 320.18 G 145 - - -
[43] 33.7 @ D1816 12 cst 0.006 @25°C - - 140 -50 53 0.89
32 @ 2.5mm gap
[19] distance @ 38.39 - - - 160 - - -
IEC60156
[71] - 8 cst - - - 155 -50 34 -
[114] 45 @ IEC60156 7.5 cst - - 150 -63 20 -
60 @2 mm gap
[115] distance ASTM 125 0.05 @25°C 2.2 @20°C 1 x 10^14 275 -20 10 to 25 -
D1816
[116] 30-85 3 to 16 - 2.1-2.5 - 170 -60 - 0.89
53 @ ASTM
[117] 80 cst 0.002 @90°C 2.2 - - - - -
D1816
70kV @ 2.5mm
[76] gap distance IEC 9mm2/ s - 2.2 - 148 -50 55 @ 23'C 0.89
60156
70-75kV @ 8.13 mm2/ 7.6 x 1015
[118] 0.001 @ 80°C 2.2 @ 80°C 152 -45 - 0.88
2.5mm s @ 80°C

182
 Table A.2 The Dielectric and physicochemical properties of the palm oils.

Properties Bdv, kv Viscosity DDF Dielectric Resistivity, Flash Pour Water Density
@40°c constant Ω-cm point , point, content, g/ml
°C °C ppm

52 @ 2.5mm 37 -50 0.006 @ 2.1 @

[11] 220 - 330 - - - -
gap distance mm2/ s 90°C 90°C

[19] 42 129.66 - - - 295 - - -

81 @ IEC 0.03 @ 2.95 @ 0.86 @

[133] 50.6 mm2/ s 7.1 x 102 176 -32.5 -
60156 80’C 80’C 40’C

30 cst @ 0.03 @ 3.1 @

[134] 75 220 - - - -
25’C 25’C 40’C
60-70 @
2.5mm gap 0.02-0.06 20-30
[135] - - - 323-330 - -
distance IEC @ 25;C mg/kg
60156

183
Table A.3 The flash point of vegetable oil based on previous studies.

Reference Vegetable oil Flash point (° C)

Rice bran 110.5
Palm 140
[93]
Soybean 239.5
Coconut 140
Rice bran 260
Sunflower 260
[72]
Soybean 310
Corn 310
Rice bran 240
[138] Olive 280
Soybean 300
Rice bran 240
[75] Sunflower 279
Corn 324

184
 Table A.5 AC breakdown voltage of vegetable oils.

Reference Vegetable oil IEC 60156

Palm 24.2
Rice bran 26.2
Sunflower 25.4
Rice bran 39
[22]
Sunflower 34
Corn 32
Soya bean 27
Coconut 60
Olive 32
[5] Rice bran 32
Soybean 27
Sunflower 28
[20]. Rice bran 31
Corn 25
Sunflower 34
Rice bran 39
[72]
Soybean 27
Corn 32
Palm 81
[168]
Rice bran 89
Rice bran 39.8
[39]
Corn 37.8

185
 Table A. 6 Standards for insulating oil breakdown test.

ASTM
Standards ASTM D877 IEC 60156
D1816
Origin USA USA Europe

Test Cell

Shape
Electrodes
Gap size 2mm / 1mm 2.54mm 2.5mm
Impeller Yes Optional
Oil sample
Magnetic
stirring No option Not stirred Optional
bead
Ambient – 20-30°C – 15-25°C – for referee
Laboratory Liquid
must record must record tests
test
Ambient Within 5°C of oil
temperature 20-30°C Must record
sample
Ambient –
Liquid Must record 15-25°C
Outside test must record
temperature 20-30°C – for Within 5°C of oil
Ambient Must record
referee tests sample
Rise rate 0.5kV/s 3kV/s 2kV/s
Test voltage
Frequency 45-65 Hz 45-65 Hz 45-62 Hz
Definition <100 V <100V 4mA for 5ms
Number in
5** 5* 6
sequence
Breakdowns
Time
between 1-1.5 minutes 1 minute 2 min
breakdown
Test voltage Normal
Not specified Not specified <10ms
switch off time (mineral oil)
following
Silicon oil Not specified Not specified <1ms
breakdown
Time between filling and
3-5 minutes 2-3 minutes 2 minutes
start of test
BS EN 60156
CEI EN 60156
Equivalent standards None None
UNE EN 60156

186
 APPENDIX B

Figure B.1 Weibull distribution plot for MO, PO and RBO of sphere to sphere
configuration at (a) 2.0 mm, (b) 3.8 mm and (c) 6.0 mm gap distances.

(a)

(b)

187
(c)

188
 APPENDIX C

Figure C.1 Weibull distribution plot for MO, PO and RBO at (a) 2.0 mm, (b) 3.8
mm and (c) 6.0 mm gap distances under non-uniform field.

(a)

(b)

189
(c)

190
Figure C.2 Weibull distribution plot for MO, PO and RBO under non-uniform
field at (a) 10.0 mm, (b) 20.0 mm, (c) 30.0 mm, (d) 40.0 mm and (e) 50.0 mm gap
distances.

(a)

(b)

191
(c)

(d)

192
(e)

193
 APPENDIX D

Table D.1 AC breakdown voltage between using HV laboratory and BAUR

Trainer equipment.

HV Laboratory BAUR Trainer

MO PO RBO MO PO RBO

65.5 86.63 82.8 72.8 92.8 86.63

63.2 82.39 82.5 72.5 92.5 92.39
66.1 81.18 93.2 63.2 93.2 91.18
63.9 76.12 89.2 69.2 89.2 96.12
61.1 82.29 96.6 76.6 96.6 92.29
68.1 83.76 82.4 82.4 92.4 93.76
67.8 79.75 89.8 69.8 89.8 99.75
66.8 76.32 81.9 81.9 91.9 96.32
66.9 88.76 84.6 74.6 84.6 98.76
69.2 89.42 81.3 81.3 91.3 99.42
67.8 73.22 91 71 91 93.22
61.4 86.82 90 70 90 96.82
64.4 90.46 89.6 79.6 89.6 90.46
62.4 80.26 90.5 70.5 90.5 100.26
61.7 89.55 81.5 71.5 81.5 89.55
63.8 82.68 80.4 80.4 90.4 102.68
61.7 89 81 81 81 89
68 76.27 87.7 77.7 87.7 96.27
64 82.4 87.2 77.2 87.2 92.4
64.5 77.83 79.8 79.8 89.8 97.83
63.5 92.4 78.1 78.1 88.1 92.4
61.7 91.42 77.6 77.6 87.6 91.42
65.3 85.51 82.6 82.6 92.6 95.51
61.7 90.01 81.6 81.6 91.6 100.01
63.7 90.16 80.7 80.7 90.7 100.16
60.3 79.62 83.7 83.7 93.7 89.62
67.7 91.82 84.8 74.8 84.8 91.82
65.4 83.88 81.4 81.4 81.4 93.88
63.9 77.82 86.9 76.9 86.9 87.82
63.3 82.15 85.9 75.9 95.9 92.15
60.6 72.3 78.7 78.7 88.7 82.3
61.7 89.89 87.2 77.2 87.2 89.89
69.6 84.27 85.5 75.5 95.5 94.27
69.2 75.06 83.8 83.8 83.8 85.06
60.2 83.37 81.1 81.1 91.1 83.37
69.4 71.68 81.2 81.2 91.2 81.68
67.2 80.35 83.1 83.1 93.1 90.35
67.5 85.94 83.1 83.1 93.1 95.94
64.8 83.37 86.1 76.1 86.1 93.37

194
64.5 77 83.5 73.5 93.5 87
66.1 85.93 83.7 73.7 93.7 85.93
67.8 72.65 90.9 80.9 90.9 82.65
64.6 89.34 90.7 80.7 90.7 89.34
63.2 78.61 82.7 82.7 92.7 88.61
65 73.67 85.5 85.5 85.5 83.67
61.6 86.02 82.1 82.1 92.1 86.02
62.3 80.64 83.7 83.7 93.7 100.64
68.6 90.67 78.6 78.6 78.6 100.67
66.8 78.78 87.7 77 87.7 88.78
67.5 82.42 88 78 88 92.42

195
 Table D.2 AC breakdown voltage of MO, PO and RBO under various gap distances.

1.5 mm 2.5 mm 3.5 mm 5 mm 10 mm

MO PO RBO MO PO RBO MO PO RBO MO PO RBO MO PO RBO

45.62 69.1 66.01 65.5 86.63 82.8 73.8 96.63 89.46 116.22 130.34 132.61 157.01 176.7 185.14
42.38 67.5 65.07 63.2 82.39 82.5 75.2 92.39 89.58 111 132.83 128.38 156.52 177.6 179.48
45.79 74.5 64.07 66.1 81.18 93.2 73.6 91.18 88.76 118.42 135.3 128.14 156.85 180.74 176.77
44.19 68.8 64.38 63.9 76.12 89.2 81.1 96.12 101.14 113.56 127.15 131.17 164.56 174.61 184.76
45.33 77.2 62.98 61.1 82.29 96.6 68.1 92.29 96.48 121.03 117.08 127.42 158.74 180.1 177.23
46.92 65.3 59.91 68.1 83.76 82.4 67.7 93.76 89.82 113.49 128.06 129.56 158.78 173.75 178.51
43.54 69.4 57.28 67.8 79.75 89.8 72.7 89.75 96.8 112.49 125.9 129.61 162.11 175.05 179.49
43.72 72.8 65.24 66.8 76.32 81.9 70.9 89.32 101.74 106.51 135.1 125.01 165.27 173.43 178.96
43.8 69.1 69.47 66.9 88.76 84.6 73.9 98.76 93.62 111.723 126.08 128.17 166.37 173.67 179.11
45.66 62.1 79.92 69.2 89.42 81.3 80.1 99.42 88.74 108.45 124.38 129.43 152.63 177.36 182.9
42.41 62.1 58.4 67.8 73.22 91 73 93.22 101.44 119.73 129.2 130 164.82 172.78 180.34
43.93 62.8 57.2 61.4 86.82 90 63.8 96.82 89.84 103.18 125.52 129.63 157.02 181.92 180.14
44.21 65.5 55.21 64.4 90.46 89.6 76.6 90.46 94.32 107.08 129.06 127.14 158.18 180.34 176.57
43.55 78.4 59.1 62.4 80.26 90.5 72.4 90.26 88.12 123.13 126.1 130.26 158.21 179.75 178.44
43.82 67.5 60.4 61.7 89.55 81.5 86.5 89.55 92.6 121.16 120.58 129.44 152.78 181.12 180.79
43.21 72.5 64.39 63.8 82.68 80.4 81.6 92.68 93.76 112.8 120.58 132.2 153.84 177 179.19
46.87 72.1 63.6 61.7 89 81 87.2 89 90.8 113.38 121.06 127.15 152.73 172.91 185.65
43.56 68.4 62.58 68 76.27 87.7 79.2 96.27 101.34 100.91 126.51 128.6 151.98 172.53 177.05
42.68 75.3 60.1 64 82.4 87.2 72.6 92.4 102.2 99.89 131.73 131.93 161.79 173.63 178.14
45.3 69.9 68.45 64.5 77.83 79.8 75.7 89.83 89.96 110.53 132.09 130.32 152.21 176.79 183.49
45.16 80.4 78.112 63.5 92.4 78.1 79.9 92.4 102.9 117.6 129.54 126.99 156.37 178.65 183.62
45.35 70.3 76.01 61.7 91.42 77.6 75.5 91.42 97.34 118.09 127.5 126.05 164.82 178.7 186.66

196
45.22 73.9 76.5 65.3 85.51 82.6 74.5 95.51 96.52 121.89 126.92 129.13 164.57 182.2 182.15
42.45 67.7 65.14 61.7 90.01 81.6 73.3 96.01 96.72 119.41 124.77 129.68 165.45 178.65 181.4
44.72 63.7 74.1 63.7 90.16 80.7 70.1 96.16 94.22 123.55 126.02 129.13 156.61 178.7 175.16
42.92 68.5 73.8 60.3 79.62 83.7 75.5 89.62 103.74 104.78 125.75 129.06 159.8 176.16 180.99
44.3 72.1 77.8 67.7 91.82 84.8 65.1 91.82 98.54 120.34 132.9 129.14 161.77 176.47 180.76
45.51 66.1 79.26 65.4 83.88 81.4 73.9 93.88 93.86 112.71 133.64 128.07 160.54 175.84 180.44
42.29 67.5 70.53 63.9 77.82 86.9 80.4 97.82 95.24 118.53 124.72 128.15 159.03 175.94 180.78
43.3 63.3 79.4 63.3 82.15 85.9 71.2 92.15 101.1 113.54 125.78 128.3 160.97 180.9 178.78
42.91 68.5 58.4 60.6 72.3 78.7 84.9 92.3 89.7 117.54 125.14 129 153.78 176.91 177.65
42.66 66.3 70.39 61.7 89.89 87.2 82.4 89.89 97.38 107.68 119.38 126.73 161.28 180.63 177.94
43.81 61.5 72.8 69.6 84.27 85.5 74 94.27 102.54 117.75 131.59 128.45 161.22 180.54 178.97
45.48 67.1 73.4 69.2 75.06 83.8 72.6 95.06 97.52 115.114 126.35 128.28 158.99 178.65 181.76
48.7 77.2 77.46 60.2 83.37 81.1 70.2 93.37 96.54 110.84 129.36 132.09 158.94 181.87 179.17
44.73 64.7 76.1 69.4 71.68 81.2 79.2 91.68 94.16 119.93 116.27 127.32 152.76 180.63 180.76
47.47 64.6 74.67 67.2 80.35 83.1 68.2 90.35 102.5 123.79 126.81 127.65 159.01 178.92 178.2
47.61 65.7 61.6 67.5 85.94 83.1 67.7 95.94 94.18 117.03 132.91 125.74 159.03 180.15 176.77
47.86 63.5 77.8 64.8 83.37 86.1 77.2 93.37 89.54 106.37 126.84 126.43 163.72 179.02 175.28
42.34 62.5 66.2 64.5 77 83.5 84.8 97 91.2 116.52 128.78 126.47 160.31 179.99 181.98
44.3 63.3 76.33 66.1 85.93 83.7 72.4 95.93 89.46 118.92 129.43 126.94 144.89 182.24 184.18
43.44 65.1 73.8 67.8 72.65 90.9 69.9 92.65 101.4 118.18 132.25 128.33 164.67 181.1 184.85
43.76 65.1 76.8 64.6 89.34 90.7 82.5 89.34 96.18 114.45 129.81 130 160.98 181.12 181.04
43.27 63.3 79.6 63.2 78.61 82.7 86 98.61 91.22 110.01 129.18 129.99 159.88 182.4 184.67
42.82 62.9 68.7 65 73.67 85.5 91 93.67 96.34 118.14 124.98 126.94 159.98 182.07 181.24
44.53 61.5 68.9 61.6 86.02 82.1 81 96.02 91.04 116.01 124.81 127.65 161.67 183.28 179.93
46.54 66.8 73.6 62.3 80.64 83.7 87.1 96.64 94.18 111.59 125.26 129.74 159.33 174.96 182.48
44.87 64.6 73.33 68.6 90.67 78.6 79.2 96.67 82.14 101.54 129.92 132.09 160.21 181.89 181
43.76 65.7 72.7 66.8 78.78 87.7 77.5 98.78 90.06 105.25 129.47 128.82 161.87 179.18 185.22
48.96 63.5 71.8 67.5 82.42 88 81.6 92.42 96 116.51 131.72 129.32 163 181.49 179.28

197
 APPENDIX E

Table E.1 Lightning impulse breakdown voltage under uniform field.

Gap MO PO RBO MO PO RBO MO PO RBO

distance
(mm) 2.0 3.8 6.0

RISING VOLTAGE METHOD

1 117.01 113.7 114.62 217.44 199.08 186.7 290.11 259.69 243.61

2 116.52 109.03 113.84 204.56 184.04 187.6 299 283.44 249.96
3 116.85 114.17 112.32 217.68 191.14 180.74 297.44 282.95 260.01
4 124.56 118.09 111.59 210.15 176.78 194.61 292.17 275.18 241.86
5 128.74 124.52 116.74 204.26 193.93 190.1 311.63 274.71 255.07
6 118.78 111.05 116.47 204.81 189.12 193.75 287.63 269.4 241.15
7 132.11 123.51 116.42 214.17 182.58 185.05 293.76 264.87 242.23
8 115.27 117.4 117.27 216.8 168.79 183.43 289.44 270.18 261.53
9 146.37 114.17 116.85 211.97 192.11 193.67 286.28 266.2 252.81
10 122.63 121.08 117.09 235.4 212.29 187.36 309.13 251.95 251.76
11 134.82 126.76 117.26 237.43 200.81 182.78 294.31 255.34 269.64
12 117.02 115.92 116.81 195.31 188.88 181.92 287.58 242.55 252.05
13 138.18 132.02 117.22 195.71 231.28 190.34 294.18 243.85 252.59
14 118.21 126.31 116.61 215.67 208.73 189.75 290.71 240.13 248.73
15 132.78 130.9 116.61 225.73 199.1 181.12 284.14 241.26 254.72

UP AND DOWN METHOD

1 123.84 123.08 117.28 232.43 205.42 167 271.26 232.47 230.85

2 122.73 110.4 125.82 192.52 171.77 172.91 288.3 235.26 234.77
3 121.98 115.37 116.41 213.44 186.36 172.53 295.81 228.62 236.51
4 141.79 119.78 123.11 207.34 185.7 173.63 289.89 271.76 240.56
5 112.21 134.46 116.48 201.26 172.42 176.79 288.35 279.59 236.04
6 146.37 110.01 116.54 213.83 175.11 178.65 279.48 272.71 230.85
7 134.82 117.96 120.11 197.5 175.8 178.7 287.17 271.62 234.77
8 124.57 120.05 116.67 191.37 179.84 182.2 291.33 257.22 236.51
9 115.45 116.42 115.65 192.03 178.93 178.65 268.13 245.88 240.56
10 146.61 116.57 115.63 197.48 173.85 178.7 281.36 251.25 254.72
11 129.8 120.54 119.86 242.77 204.56 220.16 291.9 263.17 284.92
12 131.77 120.77 125.61 233.81 211.61 223.47 295.55 259.78 246.31
13 130.54 120.94 124.65 231.09 211.64 224.84 293.47 258.97 245.75
14 129.03 121.32 121.23 234.97 210.98 221.94 286.85 259.13 266.87
15 130.97 128 124.55 239.78 209.97 220.9 289.22 260.91 228.44

198
 Gap MO PO RBO MO PO RBO MO PO RBO
distance
(mm) 2.0 3.8 6.0

MULTIPLE LEVEL METHOD

1 133.78 120.91 125.61 236.76 218.72 226.91 299.76 257.35 278.73
2 131.28 128.66 121.93 238.91 217.82 220.63 297.22 258.48 261.05
3 131.22 128.61 123.45 241.54 218.99 220.54 298.91 258.97 291.53
4 128.99 128.71 121.82 235.97 217.36 218.65 304.97 259.9 274.93
5 128.94 128.88 123.39 240.17 214.22 221.87 294.55 259.95 228.71
6 132.76 128.16 122.92 239.03 215.72 210.63 289.01 258.48 229.66
7 129.01 128.89 121.98 231.65 211.53 218.92 285.82 261.29 258.79
8 129.03 121.11 121.72 233.81 210.99 220.15 296.78 259.01 277.75
9 133.72 120.45 123.65 243.72 214.21 219.02 290.76 259.48 278.73
10 130.31 120.22 121.82 244.38 215.52 219.99 291.87 261.27 261.05
11 134.89 124.89 123.77 238.87 210.92 192.24 284.92 239.76 252.69
12 144.67 125.66 120.56 236.54 209.82 191.1 290.67 240.78 255.98
13 140.98 124.87 119.98 238 200.72 191.12 283.4 231.85 256
14 139.88 122.9 123.24 240.23 210.72 192.4 296.87 224.31 255.89
15 139.98 126.98 122.89 239.78 200.55 192.07 292 244.55 259.7
16 141.67 124.43 124 240.67 217.87 193.28 298.73 245.33 257.85
17 139.33 126 121.78 241.11 217.24 194.96 291.05 258.48 260.34
18 140.21 124.66 123.4 241.54 200.57 191.89 291.53 253.95 251.41
19 141.87 127.56 119.78 235.97 214.26 199.18 294.93 240.88 251.68
20 143 124.97 120.78 234.52 201.25 191.49 284.9 259.95 258.39

199
 APPENDIX F

Table F.1 Lightning impulse breakdown voltage under non-uniform field at

small gap distances.

Gap MO PO RBO MO PO RBO MO PO RBO

distance
(mm) 2 3.8 6

RISING VOLTAGE METHOD

1 83.42 74.65 73.23 117.33 99.76 101.95 130.92 118.44 118.33

2 78.22 79.15 72.29 116.59 101.21 102.82 129.17 116.23 120.52
3 75.27 73.41 77.54 114.92 100 97.54 129 121.71 122.16
4 76.21 67.96 76.68 116.52 97.06 96.68 129.56 122.56 120.49
5 82.36 71.42 75.62 117 91.73 97.77 131.53 114.3 117.08
6 79.77 77.64 73.1 113.85 90.62 94.69 130.21 116.23 116.83
7 77.23 77.66 83.09 114.23 101.72 94.79 129.22 114.21 120.38
8 80.01 79.71 81.44 118 97.42 96.55 131.17 124.76 114.28
9 74.27 78.44 68.66 112.49 103.49 98.78 131.56 116.68 117.72
10 78.25 71.2 75.4 117.33 102.15 95.8 130.83 110.01 121.16
11 74.82 72.66 72.55 116.59 99.91 102.55 129.25 116.23 120.55
12 76.99 67.96 77.54 114.92 102 96.62 131.23 121.71 115.08
13 83.56 71.42 68.29 116.52 102.06 94.52 129.04 113.99 116.31
14 83.11 77.64 77.32 117 91.73 97.59 132.1 121.4 121.38
15 77.82 79.76 72.39 117 101.72 97.12 129.67 118.44 120.16
UP AND DOWN METHOD

1 84.51 76.97 75.26 108.23 101.31 100.12 143.11 106.18 110.97

2 80.99 65.21 64.7 95.65 90.57 89.83 141.44 100.1 110.78
3 73.27 76.81 76.4 114.2 96.74 98.11 129.22 114.55 111.47
4 80.5 69.46 77.42 116.32 86.29 103.98 136.56 109.08 119.75
5 83.15 78.42 67.86 115.94 91.65 96.64 132.83 101.29 117.15
6 78.22 62.95 65.86 118.35 104.4 97.68 141.44 106.62 118.59
7 80.93 74.03 67.44 101.25 98.69 85.83 129.22 118.3 118.8
8 79.72 70.95 65.59 100.52 94.75 82.11 136.56 116.88 107.54
9 84.11 78.18 67.02 100.11 103.77 85.38 136.56 112.55 119.56
10 82.11 74.79 67.52 110.36 95 90.25 132.83 113.11 117.14
11 84.31 71.44 73.68 118.73 101.77 97.91 141.44 109.49 108.84
12 86.11 71.8 65.59 112.54 100.24 86.32 143.88 109.23 102.59
13 82.32 70 65 92.26 97.34 91.33 140.01 119.1 104.77
14 84.71 68.86 77.42 100.11 89.83 87.13 138.98 106.77 116.49
15 85.92 68.28 67.68 105.21 104.7 95.41 133.67 111.8 118.27

200
 Gap MO PO RBO MO PO RBO MO PO RBO
distance
(mm) 2.0 3.8 6.0

MULTIPLE LEVEL METHOD

1 87.83 71.2 83 104.21 89.57 104.63 132.83 122.85 118.9

2 71.45 71.26 82.33 112.84 106.28 100.92 123.65 124.81 119.93
3 70.65 78.53 77.54 117.33 108.81 97.82 120.75 116.47 120.76
4 78.57 75.65 76.68 109.62 100.09 102.49 124.54 110.74 117.79
5 76.97 73.2 75.62 112.25 107.32 97.31 134.47 116.1 116.14
6 72.88 76.56 73.1 107.15 108.92 104.51 130.27 114.87 115.44
7 72.45 76.72 73.09 101.16 101.89 92.38 129.65 113.7 119.97
8 79.88 72.53 71.44 116.44 94.89 102.95 132.77 114.83 122.74
9 74.88 71.86 78.66 114.05 103.1 107.72 134.91 125.34 123.36
10 74.46 67.62 75.4 114.22 106.24 101.94 137.43 121.76 124.57
11 80.15 69.45 82.55 105.67 108.29 102.95 138.95 121.27 123.44
12 72.77 68.25 82.61 110.04 84.09 97.18 138.99 116.54 125.44
13 86.26 66.81 76.39 107.23 108.02 100.17 122.11 117.34 123.25
14 70.96 76.48 72.12 106.05 108.6 102.38 127.66 117.75 122.38
15 73.54 73.41 77.71 103.2 83.86 100.92 135.48 115.27 124.32
16 75.27 76.26 75.62 107.05 98.96 99.03 140.11 127.82 126.14
17 72.89 69.14 73.1 115 105.9 100.16 138.07 118.34 115.44
18 74.51 74.79 73.09 115.59 93.72 107.18 140.13 118.15 116.14
19 79.12 73.63 81.44 116 92.65 100.93 126.76 116.71 122.95
20 77.42 68.86 78.66 114.53 92.48 99.06 128.22 117.89 122.49

201
 Table F.2 Lightning impulse breakdown voltage under uniform field at larger gap distances.

10.0 mm 20.0 mm 30.0 mm 40.0 mm 50.0 mm

MO PO RBO MO PO RBO MO PO RBO MO PO RBO MO PO RBO

152.11 129.73 129.30 181.83 149.29 154.22 211.30 163.55 168.87 249.72 175.85 184.71 323.65 202.83 211.62

150.46 128.82 129.91 182.97 151.76 153.48 198.28 161.63 167.77 253.78 183.97 185.79 297.64 204.78 209.71

153.64 126.87 128.56 183.63 151.74 153.72 211.68 161.00 168.85 255.67 183.82 185.97 311.83 198.54 210.39

155.87 127.47 128.73 181.30 151.10 154.31 211.56 162.03 169.71 252.68 184.35 184.81 320.25 203.74 210.98

151.95 128.05 130.12 179.34 152.45 155.03 211.55 163.13 168.36 251.88 176.24 185.64 312.76 203.66 211.63

149.58 130.10 128.16 181.99 136.98 152.84 210.80 163.98 163.27 249.87 178.23 182.85 312.53 191.14 204.47

151.27 127.36 129.48 178.19 144.72 151.98 197.01 164.72 164.27 252.26 184.95 185.71 300.92 205.83 202.31

149.65 125.65 127.78 183.08 159.71 152.86 193.37 159.71 164.17 253.87 181.96 183.86 314.28 205.23 205.74

150.37 123.35 128.77 177.31 151.89 152.89 196.23 161.89 165.10 253.72 185.20 184.28 313.55 206.45 202.71

149.23 127.23 127.37 182.63 152.26 152.83 196.80 162.26 164.38 254.26 182.80 180.92 316.25 203.83 203.61

202
 CURRICULUM VITAE

Mardhiah Hayati bt Abd Hamid @ Sidek was born in 1987 in

Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. She started her primary school in

SRK Salak South and secondary school in SMK Bandar Baru

Seri Petaling and SMT Kuala Selangor. Later on, she studied at

Merlimau Melaka Polytechnics and received her Diploma in

Electrical Engineering. After that, she furthered her studies in 2008 at the University of

Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (UTHM) and received her Bachelor Degree in Electrical

Engineering with Honour in 2010 and Master Degree in Technical and Vocational

Education in 2013. After finishing her study, she worked at Sepakat Setia Perunding Sdn.

Bhd. as an Electrical Engineer for almost two years. Currently, she works as a lecturer at

the Sultan Abdul Samad Vocational College. She is studying for her PhD in the

Department of Electrical and Electronics, National Defence University of Malaysia

(UPNM) as a part-time student.

203
 LIST OF PUBLICATIONS

1. Suhaimi, N. S., Md Din, M. F., Abdul Rahman, A. R., Hamid, M. H. A,

Mohamad Amin, N. A., Wan Zamri, W. F. H., & Wang, J. “Optimum Electrical
and Dielectric Performance of Multi-Walled Carbon Nanotubes Doped Disposed
Transformer Oil”. Energies, 13(12), 3181,2020.

2. Katim, N., Ishak, M., Mohamad Amin, N., Hamid, M.H.A, Amali Ahmad, K.,
& Azis, N. “Lightning Breakdown Voltage Evaluation of Palm Oil and Coconut
Oil as Transformer Oil under Quasi-Uniform Field Conditions”. Energies,
11(10), 2676. 2018.

3. Katim, N. I. A., Nasir, M. S. M., Ishak, M. T., & Hamid, M. H. A. “An

investigation on rapeseed oil as potential insulating liquid”. International
Conference on Engineering and Technology (IntCET 2017) ,AIP Conf. Proc.
1930, 020032-1–020032-6.2018.

4. Ariffin, M. M., Roslan, M. H., Ishak, M. T., Hamid, M. H. A., Katim, N. I. A.,
Hashim, F. R., & Razali, S. (2018). “Hypervelocity penetration against
mechanical properties of target material”. International Conference on
Engineering and Technology (IntCET 2017), AIP Conf. Proc. 1930, 020014-1–
020014-9; 2018

5. Katim, N. I. A., Nasir, M. S. M., Ishak, M. T., & Hamid, M. H. A. “An

investigation on rapeseed oil as potential insulating liquid”. International
Conference on Engineering and Technology (IntCET 2017). AIP Conf. Proc.
1930, 020032-1–020032-6. 2018.

6. Hamid M. H. A, Ishak M. T, Arifin M. M, Katim N. I. A, Azis N, Hashim F. R,

Md Din M. F, “Dissolved gas analysis (dga) of natural ester oils under arcing
faults”, J. Fundam. Appl. Sci., 9(3S), 105-115.2017.

7. Amin N. A. M, Ishak M. T, Katim N. I. A, Hamid M. H. A, Hashim F. R, Din

M. F. M, “Lightning impulse investigation on vegetables oils and simulation of
electric field distribution”, J. Fundam. Appl. Sci., 9(3S), 373-383.2017.

204
8. Katim, N. I. A., Ishak, M. T., Amin, N. A. M., Razali, S., Hamid, M. H. A.,
Ariffin, M. M., & Azis, N. “Investigation on AC breakdown of vegetable oils
with insulated electrodes”. 2017 International Conference on High Voltage
Engineering and Power Systems (ICHVEPS). 2017.

9. Hamid, M. H. A., Ishak, M. T., Ariffin, M. M., Katim, N. I. A., Amin, N. A. M.,
& Azis, N. “Dissolved gas analysis (DGA) of vegetable oils under electrical
stress” 2017 International Conference on High Voltage Engineering and Power
Systems (ICHVEPS). 2017.

10. Ariffin, M. M., Ishak, M. T., Hamid, M. H. A., Katim, N. I. A., Ishak, A. M., &
Azis, N. “Ageing effect of vegetable oils impregnated paper in transformer
application”. 2017 International Conference on High Voltage Engineering and
Power Systems (ICHVEPS). 2017

11. Amin, N. A. M., Ishak, M. T, Hamid, M. H. A., & Rahman, M. S. A.

(2017). “Partial discharge investigation on palm oil using needle — Plane
electrode configuration and electric field distribution using ANSYS Maxwell”.
2017 International Conference on High Voltage Engineering and Power Systems
(ICHVEPS. 2017.

12. Hamid, M. H. A., Ishak, M. T., Din, M. F., Suhaimi, N. S., & Katim, N. I. A.
“Dielectric Properties of Natural Ester Oils Used for Transformer Application
Under Temperature Variation”. In 6th International Conference on Power and
Energy.2016.

13. Suhaimi, N. S., Ishak, M. T., Katim, N. I. A., & Hamid, M. H. A.. “Investigation
on Breakdown Strength of Mineral Oil Based Carbon Nanotube”. In 6th
International Conference on Power and Energy.2016.

205