Flow electrification characteristics of transformer oil by rotating electrode systems

Flow electrification has been found to be the principal cause of a number of failures of forced oil cooled power transformers. Flow charging characteristics of oil/cellulose system with factors like electrode configuration, electrode material, presence of Benzotiriazole (BTA), metallic contaminants and copper coils were investigated for paraffinic oil by employing a rotating electrode system. A few hydrodynamic parameters (viz. Reynolds number, boundary layer thickness and friction factor) were correlated with flow charging characteristics of oil for varying temperatures concentrations of BTA. With concentrations of BTA in oil (viz. 10 ppm and 25 ppm) a marginal reduction in flow charging of oil was noticed, but about 40% reduction was observed with 150 ppm of BTA. A significant reduction in the flow charging characteristics of untreated and BTA treated oils was also observed in the presence of copper coils and metallic particle contaminants.<>