Enhancement of Heat Transfer property in Insulating fluids using Nanoparticles

The efficient working of a transformer is very much essential to the power system network. The transfer of heat from the interior of a transformer to the environment is one of the many important properties to be focused on. The usage of nanotechnology in the field of liquid dielectrics is a promising step to enhance the heat transfer characteristics of an insulating fluid used in many high voltage (HV) apparatuses. In this paper, conventional mineral oil (MO) and MO-based nanofluid (NF) are studied. For the preparation of NF, an optimal concentration of 0.01 percentage by weight of Titanium Oxide (TiO
₂
) nanoparticles (NPs) are considered. It is observed from the experimental results that with the introduction of NPs in the oil, the thermal conductivity increases. This, in turn, will ensure effective cooling of the transformer oil at a faster rate and assist in the service life of the transformer. However, the viscosity of the MO-NF does not show much change with the addition of the NPs. The variation of the thermal conductivity and viscosity is also checked with changing temperature for both the oil samples.