Measurements and performance evaluations of natural ester and mineral oil-immersed identical transformers

The use of natural esters as an insulating liquid has become popular since the early 2000s. Studies in the literature emphasize the superiority of natural esters as compared to mineral oils. In these studies, the prominent properties of natural esters are presented as being environmentally friendly, safe, and delaying the aging of cellulosic insulation material. Although there is no doubt in terms of their characteristics, such as being environmentally and safe, exaggerated comments are made about the delay of aging of the paper material used in the insulation of transformer windings. This is because comparative experimental applications on mineral oil and natural esters are carried out under artificial and equal conditions provided in the laboratory environment. Whereas, performing these experiments on identical transformers will give more realistic results. In this study, two identical transformers were designed and equipped with precision fiber optic temperature sensors. Temperature differences that vary depending on the load between high voltage and low voltage windings were measured with a high degree of accuracy for both identical transformers. Besides these measurements, physical and chemical changes were analyzed on samples taken from insulation liquids. It was observed that the physical and chemical properties of the insulation liquids directly affect the operating performance of the transformers. Thanks to the differences in viscosity of insulating liquids, the heat dissipation due to losses in the windings were different for both transformers. Both heat distribution and temperature differences in the windings varied depending on the loading factors. Considering all these factors together, comprehensively evaluations were made on the aging rate of cellulosic insulation and the service life of the transformers. © 2020 Elsevier Ltd