Influence of thermal aging on the breakdown characteristics of transformer oil impregnated paper

For a long time, thermal effect, as a major factor for insulation aging, is a great challenge to the safe operation of power transformers. During the decades-long operation, cellulose fibers contained in the oil-paper insulation, break and deform, accompanied by the generation of new chemical products and variation of mechanical/electrical properties. Therefore, in this work, the influence of thermal aging on the electrical performance of the transformer oil paper insulation was investigated. 50% breakdown voltage and average AC breakdown voltage of oil impregnated paper were experimentally determined, and the water content measurement, surface morphology observation and frequency domain spectroscopy measurement were carried out on the oil impregnated paper samples with different aging degrees. The test results indicate that the electrical performances of aged oil impregnated paper improved during the aging process, which could be attributed to the forming of micro globules caused by the effect of thermal aging.