Moisture Estimation in Transformer Insulation

Peter Fong OMICRON electronics C l t i Corp. USA

Content
1. The Effects of Water in Transformer 2. How D 2 H Does W Water G I ? Get In? 3. 3 How to measure moisture? 4. What can be Done about it?

OMICRON

9 November 2009

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The Effects of Water in Transformer

Generates Bubbles Ti Triggers Partial Di h P ti l Discharge Lowers Breakdown Voltage of Oil Accelerates the Aging of Insulation
Shorten Life Expectancy Of Transformer Premature Failure e atu e a u e of Good Transformers

OMICRON

9 November 2009

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Effect 1: Bubbling
Temp perature [C] 200 Kraft Paper New Oil 180 TU Paper New Oil Aged Kraft Aged Oil 160

Effect: Bubbling inception temperature will decrease with higher moisture content

140

Risks: Inception of Partial Discharge p g 100 Lower Dielectric Strength Short-Circuit of Windings
80 1,0 2,0 3,0 4,0 5,0 6,0 Moisture in paper [%]
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120

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Effect 2: Dielectric Strength

Breakdown V lt B kd Voltage [kV]

Effect: PD Inception Voltage decreases with higher moisture content Dielectric strength of Oil decreases Risks: Failure of Transformer Insulation

Cw=3,5% 3,5%

Temperature p

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Effect 3: Aging
Effect: High temperature and moisture content will dramatically lower the mechanical strength of paper i insulation l ti
Risks: L Lower th expected lif of the t d life f transformer Run transformer at lower rating
1000 Life expe ectance / a
Dr y 1%

100

10

2% 3%

1 0,1 50 70 90

4%

110 130 Temperature / C

L. E. Lundgaard, Aging of oil-impregnated paper in power transformers, IEEE Transactions on Power Delivery, Jan. 2004 OMICRON Page 6

Paper Insulation
Paper insulation is made up of chains of glucose rings As the paper ages, these rings breaks up and forms water molecules Water also accelerates the breaking up of these rings New: ~ 1200 DP End of Life: ~ 200 DP
[Neumann, Micafil-Symposium, Stuttgart, 2004]
Condensation
-H 2O +H 2O

Network transformers Generator stepup units

Age / years

Hydrolysis

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The Aging Process

When a transformer is manufactured in the factory, the paper insulated windings are subjected to extended drying before they are oil impregnated At this stage, the transformer has a moisture content y g paper pp of < 0.5% by weight in p p and 6ppm in oil As the transformer ages, the moisture content will increase progressively In a severely deteriorated system, the moisture content could reach > 4% Insulation aging is directly related to moisture content
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Where Does Water Come From?

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I. Grundlagen: Feuchtigkeit in l-Papier

Sources So rces of Water

Normal aging of paper produces water L k could expose Leaks ld insulation to atmospheric moisture Exposure to atmospheric moisture during maintenance Failure to dry out the insulation during manufacturing
Increase of water 0,1-0,2% per year
[Cigr WG12.18 Life Management of Transformers, 1999]

Water content in the paper/Pressboard: New: 0.4 to 0.8 % Aged: 3 to 5 %

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Where is the Water? Wh i th W t ?

Most of the water is contained in the cellulose! ->>> M >>> More i important to measure the water t tt th t content in paper than oil
Mass of the oil: 100000 kg Mass of the solid insulation: 13000 kg

Water content at 60 C: 40 ppm

Water content at 60 C: 4%

Mass of the water, desolved in the oil:

Mass of the water contained in the paper:

4 kg
OMICRON

520 kg
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How to Measure Water in Paper Insulation?

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Moisture Estimation
There is no practical direct way of measuring moisture levels in transformer insulation, therefore a wet condition may go unnoticed for a long time This has led to indirect method of moisture estimation

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Direct Method
Take paper sample from transformer and test for moisture content using KFT
Limited use since possible only during repair or tear-down

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Indirect Methods
Measure properties of the insulation which can be related to moisture content
1. Moisture-in-Oil Measurements (Chemical Method) 2. Moisture Saturation (Relative Humidity) 3. Dielectric Spectroscopy (Electrical Method)

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Moisture-In-Oil Method
Karl Fischer Titration on oil sample Use Equilibrium Curves to correlate moisture in oil to q moisture content in paper Easy to Perform Need to wait for equilibrium (days ~ weeks) Uncertainty in Estimates Errors introduced during handling (oil samples) Not accurate for aged oil over estimate Tend to over-estimate
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Equilibrium Curves

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Round Robin Test at Oil Samples

Moisture in oil [ppm] i 60 Uni Stuttgart B C D E F G 54,8 D Deviation from average [% m %] 340,5 ppm pp 180 160 140 120

50

44,3 39,8 35,3 32,8 32 8 39,7

40

100 80

30 19,8 16,2 15,2 11,2 10 6,7 4,7 47 12,1 9,5 4,8 48 5,8 12,2 8,9 7,5 20 0 Sample A Sample B Sample C US B C D E F G

20

60 40

3,5

Comparison of oil sample done at 7 different laboratories

December 2007

Moisture Saturation Method

Uses Sensor to measure moisture saturation level instead of ppm as in the lab Moisture probes inside the transformer measures changes in capacitance of water molecules Moisture diffused into the probe and changes its capacitance, capacitance from this the moisture saturation is determined More accurate than oil sampling method since no p g handling is involved Instrusive R Requires E ilib i i Equilibrium
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Equilibrium Diagrams Based on Water Saturation B d W t S t ti

Moistu in paper [%] ure r 6 5 4 3 21C 2 1 0 0 10 20 30 40 40C 60C 80C

Moisture relative to saturation [%] Onsite and online application possible pp p

M. Koch, Advanced Online Moisture Measurements in Power Transformers CMD 2006

Dielectric Spectroscopy
Electrical Method Method of Choice due to:
Non-Destructive N D t ti (< 200V) Non-Instrusive High repeatability No need to wait for equilibrium No inaccuracies due to sampling / handling of oil Can be done as part of electrical tests on transformers during a maintenance outage

Drawbacks
Ti Time consuming (3 9 h i (3-9 hours) )
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Dielectric Spectroscopy
Time Domain Method
Polarization Spectrum

F Frequency Domain M th d D i Method

Tangent Delta (Power Factor) vs. Frequency

Both methods looks at the electrical response of the dielectric and compares to laboratory data and models Accuracy of the estimation depends on the accuracy of the model (e.g. takes into consideration geometry of insulation, conductivity of oil, etc.) , y , )
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Frequency Domain Method

Tangent Delta (Power Factor) measurement over wide frequency range (0.1mHz to 2kHz) A Accurate models available f t t d l il bl for transformers f Widely used, reliable method Automatic curve fitting and comparison to laboratory curves Automatic estimation of water content and assessment based on international standards

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FDS Frequency Domain Spectrospy

Sufficient data are gathered Hump

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Tan Delta vs. Water Content

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Curve fitting with model curves for estimating water content

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Example (On-Site Drying)

Before Drying ( (5.4% w.c.) )

After Drying (3.1% (3 1% w.c.) )

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FDS Disadvantages
Takes too long for one measurement
1 to 3 hours for aged/wet transformers 3 to 9 hours for new/dry transformers

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FDS Instrument

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Time Domain Method

Polarization-Depolarization Current (PDC) Step DC voltage is applied to a fully discharged transformer t f Polarizing current (pA) is measured until stable Short circuit the voltage and measure the depolarizing current until stable Compare the curve against laboratory models

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PDC Test Method T t M th d

Polarization-Depolarization-Current

Principle

Current

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PDC in Cellulose Dependency on the Water Content

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PDC Disadvantages
Very small current is measured (prone to power system interference) Applied voltage must be pure DC, free of any ripple Does not contain any information at higher frequencies

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PDC Instrument

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Combined PDC+FDS Method

Measure in Frequency Domain from 2kHz down to a 0.1Hz Measure in Time Domain from 0.1Hz down to 0.1mHz Transform Time Domain Data to Frequency Domain Curve Perform comparison in Frequency Domain Advantage: Significantly reduces testing time
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PDC up t 0 1H and FDS above 0 1H to 0.1Hz d b 0.1Hz

Switch-over Frequency

FDS

PDC

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Combined FDS and PDC

FDS 9 h measuring time PDC measurement only up to 0.1 Hz

0.1 - 2000 Hz 0.1 mHz 0.1 Hz FDS+PDC 0 1 mHz - 2000 Hz 0.1 in less than 3h measuring time

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What Can Be Done?

Oven Drying H t Oil S Hot Spray On-line Oil Drying (not very useful since most of water is in paper)

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Oven Drying
IV. Trocknung

Application Manufacture of new transformers Refurbishment of aged units

Evaluation Very effective Expensive disassembly and transport to workshop

December 2007

Onsite-Drying

IV. Trocknung

Low Frequency Heating Drying using LF heating Removal / storage of oil g Effective drying

Vapour Phase / Hot Oil Spray Removal / storage of oil Sprayer required

Transformer has to be switched off Insulation may be damaged

Online-Drying y g
Application as Molecular sieves Oil drying plant

IV. Trocknung

g fuller's earth Oil regeneration

Properties OTP online Fast recovery of oil insulation strength Long drying time for solid g y g insulation (months years)

Summary
Moisture in Paper Insulation can reduce the in service in-service life of a transformer significantly Practical and reliable methods are available for moisture estimation Keeping the transformer dry can extend the life of your most expensive assets y p

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Thank you for your attention!

OMICRON

9 November 2009

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