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Abstract The insulation performance of oil paper insulation is significantly affected by moisture such that monitoring moisture content is important. However, it is difficult to obtain the moisture content accurately due to its dynamic change under multi physical fields. Studying the moisture transportation in oil paper insulation under multi physical fields becomes a vital method in solving the problem. A multi physical model describing moisture migration was proposed, which considered the effects of temperature on moisture in different existing states in oil‐immersed paper (OIP). The temperature distribution formed a vapour pressure gradient to drive moisture migration and affected migration speed. Then, experiments and simulations of moisture migration were performed, which showed that the experiments were in good agreement with simulation. The results revealed that the temperature gradient caused uneven moisture distribution and the increased temperature reduced OIP moisture content. The established model could fully characterise moisture migration under temperature gradient, which provided a theoretical reference for predicting the risk of partial dampness and evaluating insulation performance.

Abstract Various dielectric response processes in the oil‐paper insulation are sensitively affected by the insulating states (ageing degrees and moisture contents). However, the existing research is still incomplete in revealing the microscopic mechanisms of various dielectric response processes in oil‐paper insulation with different insulating states. Given this issue, the genetic algorithm is first adopted to extract the Dissado–Hill (D–H) model parameters by simulating the frequency domain spectroscopy (FDS) of oil‐paper insulation. Then, the change laws of the extracted D–H model parameters are adopted to reveal the microscopic mechanisms of various dielectric response processes. Microscopic mechanisms of four dielectric response processes are studied, which are quasi‐dc relaxation, loss peak relaxation, optical frequency relaxation, and DC conductance. Meanwhile, due to the dielectric response processes being dominated by various polar particles (methanol, ethanol, furfural, and water molecule), the contents of various ageing by‐products dissolved in the insulating oil are measured to support the above analysis. In this respect, a dielectric theoretical reference for the FDS technique to research the insulating states of oil‐paper insulation is provided.

Abstract The main part of oil‐immersed power equipment is oil‐paper insulation. At lower ambient temperatures, transformer oil will become viscous. As a result, compared to those at room temperature or operating temperature, the frequency domain dielectric properties of oil‐paper insulation at low temperatures are drastically different. For evaluating the insulation condition of electrical equipment, it is essential to accurately determine their dielectric properties. This paper described the FDS test, the DC conductivity test, and the transformer oil viscosity test, which was carried out in a laboratory environment for different ageing of oil‐immersed pressboard and transformer oil at 233–373 K. The effects of temperature on the dielectric properties at the competing mechanisms of polarisation and conductivity loss were clarified based on variations of the FDS curves. Considering the viscosity change of ageing transformer oil at low temperatures, the Arrhenius and VFT viscosity equations were used to achieve a fitting calculation in the different temperature zones. Based on the molecular/ion transition model in the force field and electric field, the characterisation relationships between the dynamic viscosity, DC conductivity, and test temperature of transformer oil were established. The limitations of conventional transformer oil equivalent dielectric relaxation models over a wide temperature range were finally clarified by combining the test findings of the DC conductivity over a wide temperature range with observed and simulated calculations. This paper provides an essential theoretical reference when using the FDS test to diagnose the insulation performance of oil‐immersed power equipment in extremely cold regions.

Abstract Oil‐paper insulation material is an essential component for oil‐filled transformers, and polyimide (PI) insulation paper is a novel material in the field of electricity. The improvement of insulation class for insulation paper has gained significant attention in recent years. In this study, SiO2 nanoparticles were modified with a silane coupling agent (KH550), and the KH550‐SiO2 was added to the fibre membrane through in situ polymerisation. The chemical composition and microcosmic characteristics of the PI porous fibre membrane were characterised using FT‐IR and SEM FT‐IR and SEM. Consequently, the dielectric constant of the composite paper was reduced to 2.3 upon adding 3 wt% of KH550‐SiO2, and the dielectric strength reached its maximum value of 85 kV/mm. The results demonstrate that the insulation performance of the KH550‐SiO2/PI composite was significantly improved due to the incorporation of nano‐SiO2. This establishes an efficient approach for achieving excellent electrical and thermal properties in practical applications using the KH550‐SiO2/PI fibre membrane.

Abstract The moisture generated by the ageing of the oil‐paper insulating system can easily lead to the deterioration of the performance of the insulating paper. In order to alleviate the impact of moisture on the performance of the insulating paper, we developed a kind of lipophilic hydrophobic self‐repairing cellulose insulating paper (new insulating paper) based on the ternary system of polytetrafluoroethylene, fluorocarbon surfactant and fluorinated alkyl silane, and accelerated thermal ageing test for 45 days at 130°C was carried out. The experimental results show that the new insulating paper with excellent lipophilic property can realise hydrophobic self‐repairing through heat treatment after physical damage. The tensile strength and elongation at break of the new insulating paper increased by 5%–8% and 6.25%–27% respectively compared with the original cellulose insulating paper. At the end of ageing, the relative dielectric constant and dielectric loss factor of new insulating paper are 10.4% and 9.9% lower than that of the original cellulose insulating paper, while the breakdown voltage is 6.8% higher. The acid and moisture content produced during the ageing process of the insulating oil impregnated with new insulating paper are also less, indicating that the coating can delay the ageing of the insulating paper.

Abstract The ionic transport process is an important counterpart to charge transport in oil‐paper insulation, and it significantly impacts oil flow electrification at the oil‐paper interface. Despite this, the dynamics of this phenomenon and the underlying mechanisms remain unclear, particularly at the molecular level. To understand this fundamental aspect, we conduct Molecular Dynamics study on the transport behaviour of an impurity ion in different oil‐paper insulation models under various external electric fields. Different influence factors, such as external electric fields, temperatures, and local structural characteristics, are investigated in relation to the corresponding ionic mobility in different polymer models. According to the simulations, ionic mobility and its response to electric fields are higher in weaker electrostatic models. As a result, mineral oil exhibits the highest ionic mobility and the most substantial enhancement of ionic mobility by external electric fields, followed by vegetable oil, oil‐paper blends, and insulating paper. This significant deviation in ionic mobility between oil and paper leads to the formation of an electric double layer near the oil‐paper interface. The underlying physical mechanisms of different ionic mobility and its response to the electric field in different polymer models could be explained by the different polymer structural influences in terms of interaction energy and coordination numbers in a static manner, as well as by the interactions between the impurity ion and its surrounding atoms in terms of lifetime correlation functions and velocity autocorrelation functions in a dynamic manner. In addition, the influence of temperature on ionic mobility in mineral and vegetable oil is examined, and their activation energies are calculated. Advancing in the fundamental understanding of the dynamics of the ion transport process in oil‐paper insulation is vital to improving their insulating properties for oil‐impregnated power transformers.

Abstract Engineering experience shows that for transformers with long service life and serious moisture exposure, the inter‐turn paper insulation inside the winding will precipitate bubbles under the condition of electric field and conductor heating, which will endanger the equipment insulation. In order to explore the influence factors of bubbles formation in the moist insulating paper of transformers, based on the existing research on the influence of moisture content and gas dissolution in transformer oil, this study further considers the influence of air pressure (AP) and electric field and establishes an experimental platform to change the air pressure and electric field, thereby studying the formation characteristics of bubbles in oil‐paper insulation. The results show that air pressure and electric field can affect the initial temperature, volume, and shape of bubble formation. From 0 to −0.05 MPa for air pressure, the initial temperature of bubble generation decreased by 41°C, its maximum two‐dimensional projected area increased by 418.4% with more severe distortion, and the breakdown voltage decreased. When the AC voltage applied on the needle plate electrode increased from 0 to 10 kV, the initial temperature of bubble formation increased by 29°C, and the maximum two‐dimensional projection area increased by 336.6%.

Abstract Frequency domain dielectric spectroscopy (FDS) is an effective method reflecting the changes of ageing status of silicone oil‐immersed insulation paper. For better evaluating the ageing status of silicone oil‐immersed insulation paper, an evaluation method was studied by analysing the ageing kinetic model and results of FDS. First, the method to separate the different polarization losses and conductivity loss from the results of FDS was studied. Then, based on the idea of ageing correction translation coefficient and time‐varying pre exponential factor, the zero order ageing dynamic model was modified, which combines the ageing kinetic model with the results of FDS. Finally, the evaluation method for the degree of polymerisation (DP) of silicone oil‐immersed paper was proposed, and experiments were conducted to obtain the parameters in the modified model and then to verify the proposed method. The results show that the proposed method can be used to evaluate the DP effectively.

Abstract In order to improve the sensitivity and accuracy of oil‐paper insulation partial discharge detection by the fibre‐optic Fabry–Perot (FP) ultrasonic sensor, this work studied the ultrasonic signal’s frequency characteristics of typical oil‐paper insulation partial discharges and the vibration characteristics of the FP sensor’s diaphragm in the liquid environment. Based on the works above, a multifrequency FP sensor array is proposed, consisting of several FP sensors with different resonant frequencies to detect partial discharges. The experimental results show that the liquid environment has a significant effect on the vibration characteristics of the FP sensor’s diaphragm, and the sensitivity and accuracy of partial discharge detection can be improved based on the multifrequency FP sensing array, which can also be applied in the pattern recognition and localisation of partial discharges.

Abstract Furfural content in oil is considered as an effective parameter to evaluate the ageing state of oil‐immersed transformers. In previous thermal ageing experiments at 130°C, we found that moisture increment in oil‐paper system makes more furfural distribute in oil. However, the microcosmic mechanism of moisture effect on furfural diffusion from paper to oil is still unknown, and the furfural equilibrium law at transformers' typical operating temperatures is also unclear, resulting in the unreliability of the existed furfural evaluation model. To elucidate the above problems, molecular dynamics simulation and furfural equilibrium experiments at 60°C were carried out at different moisture contents. The results show that high moisture content makes part of furfural diffuse from paper to oil indeed. Supposing moisture content increases from 1% to 2%, mass fraction of furfural in oil may increase from 32.98% to 49.83%, leading to furfural content in oil increases from 0.76 mg/L to 1.06 mg/L when the degree of polymerisation of insulation paper is about 524, which increased by 39.5%. The increase in moisture content makes cellulose form hydrogen bonds with H2O preferentially, decreasing the hydrogen bonds interaction between cellulose and furfural. Thus, partial furfural falls off cellulose and diffuses into oil, leading to an increase in furfural content in oil. To eliminate the moisture interference, a corrected furfural assessment model based on the moisture equilibrium curve has been constructed, which can accurately evaluate the ageing state of insulation paper regardless of the moisture influence.

Abstract Organophilic groups of coupling agents can be the key factor for the electrical performance of Boron Nitride (BN)/meta‐aramid composite paper. In this article, four types of triethoxy‐silane coupling agents with different organophilic groups, including mercapto‐propyl (MP), glycidylether‐propyl (GP), amino‐propyl (AP) and trideca‐fluoro‐octyl (TFO) were studied. The structural and electrical properties of modified papers were compared, and the molecular simulation was conducted to reveal the interface interaction of modified BN and aramid. The results show that AP, GP and MP follow the same mechanism, improving the electrical performance by modifying the interface stability and paper structure, and the ranks of improving effects are AP, MP and GP. While, TFO mainly relies on the fluorine components to implement the electrical reinforcement, which compensates for the shortcoming in the paper structure. By choosing TFO and filler content of 15 wt%, the optimal breakdown strength of the paper can be increased to 28.17 kV/mm, 1.8 times that of the paper doped with the hydroxylated BN.

Gold is among the highly conductive and stable materials, which are ideal anodes for microbial fuel cells (MFCs). However, previous studies have shown that bare gold surface is recalcitrant for the colonization of some exoelectrogens, e.g., Shewanella putrefacians. In this work, the problem regarding the poor bio-compatibility of gold as an anode material was sorted out through coupling it with carbon paper. A new composite anode material was fabricated through sputtering gold layer homogeneously on carbon paper matrix. Results of cyclic voltammetry and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy in Fe(CN)6(3-/4-) solution demonstrated better electrochemical performance of the carbon paper-gold (C-Au) composite than either carbon paper or bare gold, when they were used in MFCs. With Shewanella oneidensis MR-1 as the inoculum, the C-Au anode-based MFC produced total electric charges higher than the carbon-paper-anode-based MFC by 47%. The cyclic voltammetry analysis and the scanning electron microscopy observation showed that the MR-1 biofilm growth was accelerated when the carbon paper surface was sputtered with gold. Utilization of such a carbon paper-gold composite significantly enhanced the MFC performance., (Copyright © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Abstract Cellulose insulation paper is the main component of oil‐paper insulation systems in oil‐immersed transformers. However, the poor thermal conductivity and thermal stability of the cellulose can lead to thermal ageing. It is critical to address this issue by improving the performance of cellulose, nano‐SiC‐modified cellulose models were established by molecular simulation, while nano‐SiC composite papersheets were prepared based on the simulation results, and the effects of different contents of nano‐SiC on the papersheets were investigated. Macroscopically, doping nano‐SiC particles can enhance the thermal stability of cellulose; compared with the unmodified papersheet, the thermal conductivity and tensile strength of the modified papersheets are increased by 44.3% and 42.8%, respectively. The degree of polymerisation of the modified papersheet decreased more slowly than that of the unmodified papersheet under accelerated thermal ageing, showing that the modified papersheet has better anti‐ageing properties. Microscopically, with the addition of nano‐SiC, the simulations showed that the mean square displacement of the cellulose decreases dramatically and the distribution of the free volume becomes difficult to disperse, which corresponds to the decrease in porosity in the experiments. As a result, this research provides a way for improving the thermal‐mechanical properties of cellulose that has practical application significance.

Abstract This study extensively investigated the ageing characteristics and lifetime model of oil–paper insulation for oil‐immersed paper condenser bushing. The accelerated thermal and electrothermal ageing experiments of oil‐immersed paper condenser bushing were conducted respectively. The properties of oil–paper insulation during the ageing process were investigated. Results showed that descending speed of degree of polymerization of the innermost and the outermost layer paper was higher than that of middle layer paper, the difference in water content on different paper layers caused varying deterioration speeds. The aluminium foil contributed to a surge in aluminium dissolution in oil, further accelerating the ageing of insulation. Based on the obtained degree of polymerization data under thermal ageing at 90°C, 100°C and 130°C, the lifetime model of oil–paper insulation for condenser bushing model was established. In addition, the surface breakdown of the scale model of bushing occurred after 133 days ageing, the properties of bushing decreased gradually during the ageing process and sharply after the breakdown. Degree of polymerization deviation of different paper layers in bushing between calculated value according to the above lifetime model and actual value of bushing after the breakdown was less than 6%, further verifying the validity of lifetime model.

Abstract The ageing kinetic model is regarded as an effective tool to describe the degradation of transformer paper insulation. However, the temperature of the transformer winding is unevenly distributed, and the existing ageing kinetic models only depend on experimental data of accelerated thermal ageing at a constant temperature. Given this issue, this work proposes an improved second‐order kinetic model accounting for the non‐uniform thermal field. First, oil‐paper insulation samples with different ageing stages are prepared under the non‐uniform thermal field. Then, the sample's experimental data of moisture dispersion and distribution of degree of polymerisation are collected. On this basis, the improved second‐order kinetic model is derived to simulate insulating paper's ageing process subjected to an axial temperature gradient. Further, the relationship of the parameters in the improved second‐order kinetic model with the temperature and moisture content at different winding heights is obtained. Finally, the proposed model is validated, and the results show that the proposed model is more scientific than the traditional models to describe the degradation of paper insulation. In that respect, this work illustrates an improved second‐order kinetic model to provide a reference for the ageing assessment/life prediction of transformer paper insulation under the non‐uniform thermal field.

Abstract The low‐frequency polarisation information of oil‐paper insulation could be easily obscured by the conductance effect, and the contained polarisation information thus can not be readily extracted from the frequency domain spectroscopy (FDS). Given this issue, an alternative idea is reported to extract the low‐frequency polarisation information by using logarithmic‐derivative spectroscopy (LDS). The present findings proved that the parameters extracted by using the LDS can be applied for studying the low‐frequency polarisation behaviour under the moisture effect. In that respect, the novelty of this work is in the exploration of the LDS as a potential tool to extract feature parameters for analyzing the low‐frequency polarisation information of transformer oil‐paper insulation.

Abstract In recent years, there have been many cases of transformer failures caused by corrosive sulfides. At present, research mainly focuses on the single sulfide dibenzyl disulphide, but few research on multiple sulphur or the oil‐paper hybrid insulation. In this study, three typical sulfides dibenzyl disulfide, hexadecyl mercaptan and benzothiophene were selected to form seven sulfide‐oil‐paper models. Then relaxation calculations were carried out, and through molecular dynamics simulation, the synergistic effect of different sulfides on the properties of insulating paper and insulating oil was discussed. Results show that the coexistence of the three sulfides has the most severe weakening on the mechanical properties of cellulose, and it also causes great damage to hydrogen bonds. Hexadecyl mercaptan has a weaker effect on hydrogen bond destruction, but it will greatly aggravate the cellulose chain movement. The viscosity of insulating oil is generally increased by the influence of sulfide. Hexadecyl mercaptan is the main factor affecting the viscosity. Thiophene has little effect on the viscosity, ctive protection technology on sulphur corrosion.

Abstract In order to elucidate mechanical impacts affecting the insulation strength of thermal‐ageing oil‐impregnated pressboards, we perform mechanical degradation experiments of impacting forces that are represented as the winding‐suffered stresses on thermal‐ageing oil‐paper insulation in transient short‐circuit of transformer. Water content, degree of polymerisation (DP), partial discharge inception voltage and AC breakdown field strength are tested and analysed for diverse thermal‐ageing levels. An analytical model of mechanical degradation is established by relating dielectric breakdown strength to mechanical impact. Mechanical impacts result in less water content in thermal‐aging oil‐impregnated pressboards while causing reduction and increment of DP, respectively, in mildly and severely aged oil‐impregnated pressboards. Partial discharge inception voltage and dielectric breakdown strength vary significantly with the numbers of impact cycles, showing a maximum value under low‐intensity impact and decreasing monotonously under high‐intensity impact. High‐intensity mechanical impacts will evidently exacerbate the thermal deterioration process of oil‐impregnated pressboards, which is primarily attributed to cellulose fibre fractures in pressboard cracks produced by equivalent tensile stress of mechanical impacts. It is acceptable for mildly aged oil‐impregnated pressboards to suffer low‐intensity mechanical impacts that will alleviate insulation degradation by restraining partial discharge in smaller oil‐gaps and prolonging breakdown discharge pathways along impact‐caused cracks.

The increasing demand for world paper consumption stimulates the growth of paper and pulp industries and lead to high carbon emission. Electricity and thermal energy are critically demanded by the paper and pulp industries. The premises utilizing grid electricity are carbon intensive as the grid energy mainly generates electricity from burning coal. Alternative energy resources that are less carbon-intensive such as natural gas and solar energy, can be used to generate electricity to fulfil the energy demand of the pulp and paper industry and mitigate carbon emissions. This study implemented cogeneration natural gas boilers and solar energy to substitute the dependency on grid electricity from Tenaga National Berhad as they are less carbon intensive than coal fuel. Carbon and economic analysis were conducted on the case studies that replaced grid electricity supply from TNB by implementing cogeneration natural gas boilers and solar energy. The results show that the total savings/kWh of energy produced from cogeneration natural gas boiler range from 0.155 MYR/kWh to 0.164 MYR/kWh. The total savings per kWh of energy produced from solar energy is higher, which was 0.207 MYR/kWh of solar energy produced. Solar has better operation cost savings per unit of electricity generated, but a limited installation area restricts the implementation. In the future, the increasing efficiency of solar technology will make the option viable while achieving more cost savings and carbon emission reduction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract The charge transport and accumulation in oil–paper can cause the insulation degradation. So far, the most widely used model to simulate space charge transport and accumulation is the bipolar charge transport (BCT) model, which can well simulate the space charge dynamics. However, there are two shortcomings in the algorithms for solving the BCT model. One is that there is almost no use of vectorisation technology, which may increase the complexity of the algorithm, the other is the usage of fixed step size which might bring extra computation cost. In view of this, an adaptive time‐stepping transient upstream finite element method (FEM) is developed to solve the BCT model considering trapping/detrapping, as well as the recombination phenomenon under DC condition in this article. Then, a vectorisation technology is used in the method to optimise the algorithm. Moreover, the adaptive time‐stepping method is introduced in simulation to reduce computation time and calculation amount. Simulation results are obtained by programing and later presented, which are basically consistent with the corresponding experimental results. Therefore, the proposed method is expected to promote the optimization design of the oil–paper insulation system.

The development of new materials for use in advanced distribution transformers is required to improve their heat resistance rating, operational safety, and reliability. The combination of polymer and nanoparticles is the preferred approach to improve the thermal stability of materials. In this study, the thermal stability of laboratory-prepared meta-aramid insulation paper modified with polyphenylsilsesquioxane (PPSQ) was evaluated. The results showed that the thermal stability of the modified insulation paper was superior to that of the unmodified paper. Molecular dynamics simulations were used to analyse the internal mechanism of the performance improvement achieved by modification with PPSQ. From a microscopic perspective, the addition of PPSQ provided a relatively larger structural space for the meta-aramid fibre and increased the free volume of the entire system, which tightened the meta-aramid fibre molecular chains, increased the density of the structure of the paper, and enhanced the mutual permeability between meta-aramid fibre chains. Therefore, the stress can be better transmitted, the performance loss such as phase delamination was effectively prevented, and the bonding between the meta-aramid fibres was strengthened.

Insulation oil is an important dielectric in power devices, and many studies on mixed insulation oil have been conducted in recent years to improve the performance of insulation oils. To replace mineral oil directly, the authors previously developed a novel three-element mixed insulation oil successfully; the main parameters of which satisfy the IEC 60296-2012 standard for mineral oil. In the present study, the AC breakdown properties of insulation paper (pressboard) immersed by the new mixed oil and naphthenic mineral oil were compared. For both insulation oils, the increase in temperature cannot significantly reduce the breakdown strength of oil-immersed insulation paper (pressboard) at a low moisture content, and the increment of moisture content cannot reduce the breakdown voltage at a low temperature (25°C). The breakdown voltage decreases only when the two factors increase simultaneously. For the mixed and mineral oils, the AC breakdown voltage of oil-immersed paper (pressboard) with different thicknesses has significant difference. The mineral oil has a high breakdown voltage for the thin insulation paper, whereas the mixed oil has a high breakdown voltage when the thickness of the insulation paper (pressboard) exceeds 0.2 mm. This phenomenon is mainly caused by the breakdown field strength that varies with the increase of dielectric thickness and the different change trends of paper (pressboard) immersed with the mixed and the mineral oils. Moreover, the stack of thin multilayer insulation paper enables the mixed oil-immersed paper to have a higher breakdown strength than the mineral oil-immersed paper. For the AC breakdown voltage of oil-immersed pressboard with an oil-gap structure, the mixed oil is comprehensively superior to the mineral oil due to its larger relative permittivity.

Abstract The active sulphur compounds in transformer oil would react with copper wires and produce cuprous sulphides, which then attach themselves to the surface of copper wires and insulating paper, thus reducing the electrical performance of oil–paper insulation and causing insulation failure. This article aims to make a comprehensive summary on the field of sulphur corrosion of oil–paper insulation in the mineral oil transformer, including the corrosion mechanism of sulphide on copper sheets, the deterioration mechanism of sulphide on oil–paper, the factors influencing sulphur corrosion reaction, the method of characterising the degree of sulphur corrosion, the protection technology of sulphur corrosion and the field operation measures for sulphur corrosion. Moreover, four key problems that need to be further solved were sorted out: the synergistic deterioration mechanism of sulphide and its transformation mechanism, the micro‐process and forming path of sulphur corrosion reaction, the characteristic parameters and quantitative characterisation methods of sulphur corrosion degree, and the effective protection technology of sulphide corrosion. To solve these problems, efforts will be made for deeper understanding of the sulphur corrosion phenomenon and its deterioration mechanism based on theoretical background, the assessment methods and protection technology, endeavouring to put forward solid theoretical basis and feasible technical means for preventing sulphur corrosion insulation failure.

Abstract Raman spectroscopy, with its specific ability to generate a unique fingerprint‐like spectrum of certain substances, has attracted much attention in diagnosing the ageing degree of oil–paper insulation. In this study, the feature extraction and ageing diagnosis methods of oil–paper insulation Raman spectroscopy data are further studied. Based on the non‐linear analysis of Raman spectra of different ageing samples, kernel principal component analysis was applied to extract the spectral features, and the back‐propagation neural network was used to build a diagnosis model with high diagnostic accuracy. The results show that Raman spectroscopy combined with kernel principal component analysis and the back‐propagation neural network can diagnose the ageing state of oil–paper insulation, with a diagnostic accuracy of 91.43% (64/70). The proposed method provides an effective and feasible method for the ageing assessment of oil‐immersed electrical equipment.

Abtsract Oil–paper composite insulation (OPCI) is used as the main insulation material in the converter transformer. However, the dielectric properties of insulating oil and oil‐impregnated paper are markedly mismatched under direct current (DC) voltage, resulting in an unbalanced distribution of voltage, which is considered to be a major cause of large insulation margin but frequent failures. Therefore, it is necessary to adjust the voltage distribution in OPCI to enhance its breakdown strength. In this work, surface‐treated TiO2 nanoparticles were employed to modify OPCI. The polarisation current tests revealed that by changing the additive amount of nanoparticles, the polarisation intensities of both oil and oil‐impregnated paper could be adjusted. Based on this, a model taking relaxation polarisations into full consideration was established to analyse the voltage distribution in OPCI and predict the optimal concentration. The prepared OPCI with the concentration of 0.02 g/L has desired balanced voltage distribution due to the influence of nanoparticles on interface charge, and therefore high breakdown strengths under both DC voltage and polarity reversal voltage, which can be increased by 22.6% at most. This work puts forward a novel idea to improve insulation property of OPCI and provides a reference for broader application of nanomaterial in power equipment.

With the aim of exploring an alternative method of nano-doping in cellulose paper and improving flashover strength of oil-impregnated paper, radio frequency (RF) magnetron sputtering method is introduced into the structural modification of insulating paper for converter transformers. In this experiment, insulating paper was treated with ZnO sputtering for 0, 7.5, 15 and 30 min, respectively. The surface morphology of dry paper was observed with a scanning electron microscope. The bonding mode of sputtered ZnO particles with cellulose matrix was investigated via attenuated total reflection infrared (ATR-IR) spectroscopy and mechanical property of the sputtered samples were studied. Surface and volume conductivities of the oil-impregnated sputtered paper were measured. Moreover, the charge dissipation characteristics of sputtered insulating paper was investigated by means of surface potential decay. In addition, trap distribution and carrier mobility of specimen were further obtained. Finally, the DC flashover strength were tested. The results showed that ZnO magnetron sputtering had a distinct influence on the structure of the insulating paper, resulting in the formation of hydrogen bond and chemical bond and an increase of the surface and volume conductivities. ZnO sputtering was found to decrease the initial potential and accelerate charge decay. Moreover, appropriate sputtering enhanced the surface flashover strength.

Researchers have been exploring dielectric testing techniques both in time and frequency domain for insulation condition assessment of oil-paper insulated transformers. In a practical dielectric system, dipoles are found to behave according to a distribution of elementary Debye relaxation properties. Suitable distribution density functions have been proposed to characterise such many-body interaction processes. Cole–Cole diagrams can be one of the methods for studying the nature of frequency dependency of dielectric materials of complex structure. Cole–Cole plots are commonly used for characterising different materials such as dielectric mixtures, ionic liquids, cable insulating oil, polar liquids etc. The scope of its application for assessing transformer oil-paper insulation considering distributed relaxation process has not been explored yet. The present contribution discusses mathematical formulations used for transforming the experimentally obtained time domain dielectric response test data to distribution domain and further to frequency domain for obtaining the Cole–Cole plots. Findings about the influence of various operating conditions and insulation status on the Cole–Cole diagram have been reported in this contribution. Results of tests on field transformers are also presented. This paper attempts to employ the features of Cole–Cole diagrams as potential indicators for analysing condition of the oil-paper insulation considering distributed relaxation process.

Pulp and paper production is an energy intensive process, that accounts for about 9% of industrial final energy use in Italy in 2016. While the energy intensity of the total manufacturing sector has decreased by 51% over the last twenty years, pulp and paper industry has shown a slower improvement, of only 4%. The sector presents wide opportunities for improving energy efficiency and, for this purpose, adequate knowledge of the energy saving potentials and their costs are essential prerequisites to design effective policies. In this paper, after assessing the current technologies and energy performance of the Italian pulp and paper industry, we identify the technical and economic potentials for fuel and electricity savings in the sector. While many studies in this field use data on efficient technologies from available literature, surveys or even theoretical estimates, the added value of this paper is the use of real data coming from 110 energy efficiency measures implemented in the field by the pulp and paper companies under the Italian White Certificates Scheme. The analysis indicates that the energy saving potentials, under conservative technology penetration rates, amount to 0.88 TWh for electricity and 4.47 TWh for fossil fuels consumption: such savings equal 12.6% and 18.6% of the sector electricity and fuel demand, and can be translated into mitigated CO2 emissions of 353 kt. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

At present, the insulation performances of electrical apparatus under lightning impulse voltages are always evaluated by the withstand test of standard lightning impulse voltage (1.2/50 µs), which is recommended by IEC Standard. However, the actual time parameters of transformer invading lightning impulse voltage present an obvious dispersibility characteristics. The standard wave shape is only representative of one particular class of lightning waves, which is far from satisfactory to act as the guidance waveform in the design of power equipment insulation. On the basis of the above research background, the relationship between breakdown characteristics of oil paper insulation and time parameters of applied lightning impulse voltage was investigated in this study. The 50% breakdown voltage characteristics of oil paper insulation under lightning impulse voltage with different time parameters were determined. The test results indicate that a short wave front time could lead to relatively low 50% breakdown voltage, while when the wave tail time varied, the 50% breakdown voltage of oil paper insulation barely changed. At last the simulation model of oil paper insulation was developed, and the current flowing through the oil paper insulating system under lightning impulse voltage was calculated. On the basis of the simulating results, the relationship between current and time parameters was analysed.