AlstomGrid///Summer 2010 21

Fears over looming shortages of petroleum-

based oil have focused the industrys atten-
tion on renewable alternatives. The T&D
sector has re-discovered the benefits of
n..u:.| es.e: c||s .|cse e.:..ec :cm :.e-
seec sc,. .nc sunc.e: 0:||n.||, .|nc-
ings were immersed in vegetable oil before
the introduction of petroleum products at
the beginning of the 20th century. We are
now witnessing an increasing trend in their
use |n c|s.:||u.|cn .:.nsc:me:s D |e
|| |.||ene |s .c e.enc .|e use c n..u:.|
ester oils to high voltage power transform-
e:s .|e:e e|e.:|.| .nc .|e:m.|
stresses are much more pronounced. Today,
only about 100 PT are insulated and cooled
by vegetable oil, but research is going strong
in order to ensure high reliability in service.
Alstom Grid is participating in a whole series
of research projects at several European
universities, says Christophe Perrier,
Research Engineer of the Power Transformer
Technology and Innovation Center.
N..u:.| es.e: c||s |.ve ee||en. :een :e-
dentials. With their high flash and fire
points, the fire hazard is significantly
reduced. They are biodegradable and have
|c. c: nc .c||., sc s|||.es |.ve :..|-
cally no impact on the environment. In
.cc|.|cn vee..||e c||s e.enc .|e se:v|e
life of the composite transformer insulation
system utilizing oil-impregnated cellulosic
materials. Technically speaking, natural
ester oils really come into their own with
their high water solubility20 to 30 times
higher than that of mineral oil at the ambi-
ent temperature, before saturation, says
Perrier. As the cellulose-based solid insula-
tion is highly hygroscopic, a related advan-
tage is that the oil draws moisture out and
absorbs it, thus keeping the insulating mate-
:|.| c:, .nc e.enc|n |.s ||e s.n
Nat ur al est er oi l s: a pr omi si ng sol ut i on
Natural esterscommonly called vegetable oilsrepresent a credible option as
. :een |nsu|..|n ||,u|c |n c.e: .:.nsc:me:s |e, :cv|ce cen|.e env|:cnmen..| .nc s.e.,
gains. Research, though, continues, as we need to reach the same level of knowledge and
understanding as we presently have for mineral oil.
N atural ester oils for transformerscommonly called vegetable oils-
are extracted mainly from rapeseed (see illustration 1 ) soya and sunower
Alstom G rid R &D is increasingly studying different types of natural ester oils
such as rapeseed and soya bean oils but also blends of mono and tri ester
(see illustration 2).
Unt|| now a|| |stom 6r|d power transformers were ||ed w|th natura| ester o||
based on soya beans such as the Luton 90 M VA, 1 32 kV transformer installed
in the U .K . (see illustration 3).
1
2
3
22 AlstomGrid///Summer 2010
MAI N FEATURE CHAPTER I RESEARCH WITH AN EYE ON THE FUTURE
Interrelated
advantages and drawbacks
Technologically, the minimum set of prop-
erties to be checked to evaluate any trans-
former oil includes dielectric strength, heat
.:.nse: e|en, .nc .e|n s..||||.,
vee..||e c||s .:e e,u|v.|en. .c m|ne:.|
oils under AC voltage conditions, and the
dielectric strength of paper impregnated
with vegetable oil is broadly the same as
that of paper impregnated with mineral oil,
s.,s e::|e: Mc:e |nce.| |nves.|..|cns
are ongoing to determine dielectric strength
under lightning impulse conditions, more
particularly through the study of electric
streamer generation and propagation.
vee..||e c||s .|sc cncu. |e.. mc:e ee-
tively thanks to their higher thermal conductiv-
ity. However, they have higher viscosity, which
impacts the coolant velocity through the trans-
former active part and consequently may affect
the overall heat transfer performance. This
aspect is effectively controlled by transformer
designers through an optimum choice of the
oil pumps in the forced oil cooling circuit.
One of the biggest technical challenges is
.c :ecue .|e cu: c|n. .|e .eme:..u:e
.. .||| .|e c|| cces nc. c. .||| |s
presently a limiting factor for the minimum
restart temperature of transformers from
the cold condition. Two options are possible,
either to act directly on the oil chemistry or
to optimize the energizing procedure.
The very biodegradability that makes vege-
table oils an environmentally attractive pros-
e. .|sc |nuenes .|e|: .e|n s..||||., .
m.kes .|em s|||.|, mc:e :cne .c c|c..|cn
causing them to age faster. Nevertheless, this
minor issue can be mitigated by the combined
action of vegetable oil suppliers and trans-
former manufacturers see s|ce|.:.
A cry for standards
While there are data and international stan-
dards galore for mineral oils, there are as yet
no IEC standards addressing the composition
or testing of the natural ester oils with their
different chemical composition. This lack of
standards could be seen as one of the limit-
ing factors with regard to the initial rate of
implementation of vegetable oils in PT.
Insulating oil in PT is like blood in humans,
says Perrier. It can tell you about the state
of their health if you have access to effective
means for dissolved gas in oil analysis and
diagnostics. Developing such capability is
e..|, .|.. .|e |ncus.:, |s cc|n .|.|
Alstom Grid in the forefront. With such
credentials Alstom Grid is actively dealing
with all environmental challenges.
THE CASE FOR STANDARDS
Natural ester oils are fully biodegradable,
which makes themmore sensitive
to oxidation than petroleum-based oils.
Vegetable oil suppliers therefore add
oxidation inhibitor packages (at low
concentrations to remain in a green
rcduct classicaticn and translcrmer
manufacturers propose sealed systems.
Even better, AlstomGrid has patented
a hermetically sealed design for PT.
Jc date the dilculty is that nc
international standards govern additive
content and oxidation stability tests
for natural esters.
AlstomGrid participates actively in IEC
and CIGRE working groups (WG)
dedicated to the subject of vegetable oils.
lL J is develcinq an internaticnal
standard as well as oxidation stability tests
dedicated to natural ester oil applications.
Jhe nal dralt is exected sccn
l6PL W6 is establishinq the state
of the art of alternative liquids and
esecially ester cils Jhe nal technical
brochure is planned for this year.
Meanwhile research teams are running
accelerated aqeinq tests cn J lled with
different ester oils.
The performance of each oil type is
monitored at regular intervals with
a view to collecting data for further
development.
Christophe Perrier
M OR E
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(
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Mineral
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specimen
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Mineral
oil
specimen
A
Natural
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specimen
C
Natural
ester oil
specimen
B
Natural
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specimen
A
AC BREAKDOWN VOLTAGE (BDV) WITH STANDARD DEVIATION (SD)
BDV after ageing BDV before ageing
SD after SD before