Engineering of multifunctional nanofluids for insulation systems of high voltage apparatus

Nanofluids are acknowledged as promising alternative for conventional insulation liquids. Recently researches herald the superb characteristics of reinforced nanofluids, thus this kind of smart fluids are a new concept, which will have a significant impact on the insulating fluid industry. Nevertheless huge steps need to be taken to realize applications of this innovative concept for industrial scale. Therefore in this study investigations on some of the main dielectric and thermophysical characteristics of magnetite nanofluids (NFs) will be presented. Morphology of nanoparticles (NPs) was studied employing transmission electron microscopy (TEM). The size distribution of additives was examined by dynamic light scattering (DLS) to probe possible agglomeration of the nanoparticles. Furthermore, AC breakdown voltage, thermal conductivity and dielectric dissipation factor of NFs with different degrees of enrichment by NPs have been investigated and the results are discussed in the following.