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How to control aging of power How to control aging of power
transformer
1
By
Mohammed.M.AlRamadhan
NationalGridSA
For
OMAINTEC
08/May/2012
Contents
I. PurposeofAgingcontrol
II Transformers age profile in National Grid II. TransformersageprofileinNationalGridSA.
III. Failures
IV. Aging
I. InsulationSystem
II. Agingfactors
I H t I. Heat
II. Moisture
III. Oxygen
V. Conclusion&Recommendations
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Agingisinevitableprocess
Thepurposeofagingcontrolistoachievethelongest
possible service life and minimize life cycle cost. possibleservicelifeandminimizelifecyclecost.
Effectivelifemanagementisdeemednecessary
because:
Transformeristhemostvaluableandvitalassetinany
transmissionsystem.
Bulkofpowertransformersfleetworldwideis
approaching end of technical life. approachingendoftechnicallife.
Transformerfailureusuallyresultsingreatdisturbances
andinvolveshighexpenditures.
FastLoadgrowthrate.
Diminishedresourcesandpressuretocutcost.
LowsafetymarginsinrecentTransformerdesigns.
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National Grid National Grid SA SA
Transformers Age Profile Transformers Age Profile
22%
19% 20%
350
400
Total No. of Units: 1906
Total Capacity: 172665 MVA
Average Age: 18 Years
i
t
y
371
312
236
205 208
322
218
14%
11%
12%
15%
6%
1%
5%
10%
15%
100
150
200
250
300
N
o
.

o
f

T
r
a
n
s
f
o
r
m
e
r
s
%

o
f

S
y
s
t
e
m

M
V
A

C
a
p
a
c
34
1%
0% 0
50
5 610 1115 1620 2125 2630 3135 3640
Age(Years)
SystemUnits %ofSystemMVACapacity
%
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Failures
Eventswhichresultinremovaloftransformerfromserviceforrepairorreplacement
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Failureoccurs
Whentransformercannolonger
withstand stresses due to design withstandstressesduetodesign
ormanufacturing
defects,abnormaloperating
conditionsoraging.
Technicallifeistheperiodover
whichthetransformeriscapable
of providing reliable service ofprovidingreliableservice
maintainingthecapabilityto
withstandstresses
Theendoftechnicallifedoesn't
necessarilymeandisruptive
failure.
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ConceptualFailureModel
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BathTubCurve
Infant
mortality
Aging
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Constant failure rate
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National Grid National Grid SA SA
Transformer Failures By Age group Transformer Failures By Age group
16
18
18
4
6
8
10
12
14
16
14
13
12
10 10
2 .

o
f

F
a
i
l
e
d

U
n
i
t
s
0
2
5 610 1115 1620 2125 2630 3135
2
Age(Years)
N
o
79failuresin18years
Avg.rate0.3%
Globalrateis12%
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Aging
Awelldesigned,manufactured,operatedand
i t i d t f h ld id maintainedtransformershouldprovidemore
than40yearsoftroublefreeservice.
Insulationsystemisthemostsusceptiblepart
oftransformertoaging.
Aging is rarely the direct cause of failure more Agingisrarelythedirectcauseoffailure,more
likely,theagedinsulationfailstoprovidethe
strengthagainstsystemincidents.
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InsulationSystem
TransformerInsulationsystemiscomposedof:
Liquid
Mineraloil;NaphthenicorParaffinic
Esteroil(naturalorsynthetic)
Silicon
Solid
InsulatingPaper
Cellulosic
NormalKraftPaper
ThermallyupgradedpaperTUpaper
A id P ( N ) AramidPaper(Nomex)
MineralOilandKraftPaperarevastlyusedduetotheir:
Abundance.
Lowcost.
Technicalcharacteristics.
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LifeofTransformeristheLifeofits
SolidInsulation
AgedOilcaneasilybereconditionedtoremove ged O ca eas y be eco d o ed o e o e
waterandparticles,reclaimedtoremove
degradationproductsorreplaced.
Paperagingisirreversible,therefore,itisthe
transformerslifedeterminantelement.
End of life of Transformer is typically defined as EndoflifeofTransformeristypicallydefinedas
thelossofmechanicalstrengthofitssolid
insulation
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ChemicalStructureofcellulose
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AgingFactors
Agingcanbeacceleratedordeceleratedby
controllingthethreemainagingfactors:
Heat
Moisture
Oxygen
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Heat Heat
Heatisgeneratedinsidethetransformerdue
to the load and no load losses and dissipated totheloadandnoloadlossesanddissipated
throughthecoolingsystem.
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Effectofheatoncellulose
Overheatingreducespapertensilestrength
significantly significantly.
Excessiveheatbreaksthecellulosebondsand
producesfreeGlucose,water,CO,CO
2
and
organicacids.
Every68degreeincreaseinTemp.doubles
th i t theagingrate.
98cistheunityagingrateTemp.forNormal
Kraftand110cforupgradedpaperTable
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Effectofheatonoil
Oilisverystableatelevatedtemperaturesin
theabsenceofoxygen.
Withpresenceofoxygen,theagingrateofthe
oilbecomesverytemperaturesensitive.
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Moisture
Possiblesourcesofmoisture:
Residualmoisturenotremovedinfactory
Ingressfromtheatmosphere. g p
Decompositionofcelluloseandoil.
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Wheredoesmoistureresideinside
transformer?
99%oftransformerwatercontentresidesin
thepaper,asithasveryhighaffinityforwater
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RiskofExcessiveMoisture
ItDrasticallyReducestheDPofthecellulosic y
insulation.
Itreducesthedielectricstrengthofinsulation
systemandlowersthepartialdischargeinception
voltagelevel.
Drasticallyreducesthebubbling
temperature, hence, the overloading capabilities. temperature,hence,theoverloadingcapabilities.
Doublingthepaperwatercontentdoublesthe
agingrate.
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WaterDynamicsinTransformer
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Withchangingtemperature,thewaterisin
continuous exchange between cellulous and oil continuousexchangebetweencellulousandoil.
Asthetemperaturerises,thesolubilityofwater
incellulosedecreases,andthatofoilincreases.
Thuswatermovesfrompaperintotheoiland
whentemperaturereducesitmovesbackfromoil
topaperbutatslowerrate. p p
Equilibriumcurvesrelatemoistureinoilwith
moistureinpaperatdifferenttemperatures.
EquilibriumChart
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Oxygen yg
Possiblesourcesofoxygen:
Fromatmospherethroughoilpreservationsystem
orthroughleakinggaskets.
Decompositionofoilorpapers.
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EffectofOxygenonOil
Oxygenalongwithelevatedtemperature,agetheoil,
producingacidsandsludge.
Theagingratecanbeasmuchastentimesgreaterina
highoxygenenvironmentversusanenvironmentwith
lowoxygen
Sludgestartsformingathigherlevelsofoilacidity.
Sludgecanbeveryharmfulasitis;
Hygroscopic(attractandholdwatermolecules)
Partiallyconductive.
Heatinsulator,thusreducingheatdissipation.
Clogupthecoolingducts,thusgeneratingmoreheatand
causingasnowballeffect.
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EffectofOxygenoncellulose
Acidsproducedfromoilagingdrastically
degradecellulose
Theeffectsofhighoxygencomparedto
lowoxygenenvironmentsontheagingof
Kraftpaperisoftheorderof2.5to1.
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Conclusion&Recommendations
Keeptransformercool,dryandawayfrom
oxygen you will enjoy its long reliable service oxygen,youwillenjoyitslongreliableservice.
Avoidoverloadingunlessnecessary.
Monitor/calibratetemperaturegaugesregularly.
conductinfraredthermographysurveyregularly.
Ensurecoolingsystemisworkingeffectively.
EnsureproperfunctioningconditionofoilpreservationsystemEnsure
propersealing. p p g
Performpreventivemaintenanceprograms(Timebased,condition
basedorRCM)NationalGrid SAPMpolicy
ComprehensiveTransformerlifeassessmentmaybeconductedon
existingunitsandactionslikeoilreclamation,oilreplacement,Vapor
Phasedrying,clamping,andetc.canbecarriedoutaccordinglytogain
extralifetime.
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Thank you
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RelativeAgingRateVariationwith
Temperatureback
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ThermallyUpgradedPaper
Cellulose based paper which has been Cellulosebasedpaperwhichhasbeen
chemicallymodifiedtoreducetherateat
whichthepaperdecomposes.Back
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NationalGridSA
preventivemaintenancepolicy
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back
PaperOilWaterEquilibriumChart
Back
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BubbleEvolutionTemperatureChart[15]
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Back
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Back
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DiffusionTimeConstantforOilImpregnated
PressboardInsulation(inDays)
Back
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DegradationModesofCellules
Back
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Hydrolysis
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Back
TransformerThermalModel
H t t ( )
Topoil
Temp.
Avg.oil
Temp
a
t
i
v
e

p
o
s
i
t
i
o
n
Hotspot(
hr
)

hr
=
a
+
or
+Hxg
r
H hotspotfactor1.3
g
r
gradient1417
36
Temp.
Bottom
oilTemp.
Temperature
R
e
l
a
Avg.winding
Temp.Measured
duringrisetest
Back