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Non-destructive diagnosis of power transformer condition is an increasingly important area of research. Power transformer coils are typically insulated with Kraft paper and immersed in mineral oil. There is a clear need to be able to estimate the aged condition of the coil insulation non-destructively. A portable fibre-optic spectroscopic probe system has been developed which can achieve this quickly by determining the degree of polymerization (DP), an indicator of degradation, to an accuracy of 30 DP units. The system can also determine water content to an accuracy of 0.1% w/w, and oil content and condition, very rapidly from the same measurements. The system uses a broadband spectroscopic diffuse reflectance probe operating in the visible and near infrared (NIR) range and interfaced to dedicated multivariate analysis software. Following calibration and measurement trials in the laboratory, the instrument has recently been adapted for use in the field, in which DP predictions have been made from in-situ measurements on the exposed windings of de-tanked transformers. These values have been validated when checked against DP measurements of the same paper taken in parallel using conventional viscometric methods. The system is now being further optimized and is being developed for other applications in the power industry and other industrial areas such as the paper industry and the plastics recycling industry. The system is modular and different probe types can be attached allowing the measurement of a wide variety of solid material surfaces and liquid media. Index Terms--Power transformers, transformer windings, paper insulation, aging, oil insulation, nondestructive testing, spectroscopy, multivariate statistical analysis

Knowledge of the condition of power transformer winding insulation paper is fundamental to making optimum asset replacement decisions in the power industry. The ability to assess the aged condition of Kraft paper quickly and non-destructively using portable instrumentation would significantly increase the opportunities for gaining this knowledge. Insulation paper degrades over time in-service and its degree of polymerization (DP) reduces, eventually affecting its mechanical strength. At low DP levels the insulation may start to disintegrate and the risk of electrical breakdown increases. Currently-used methods of estimating DP are either approximate or destructive. The use of spectroscopy together with multivariate statistical analysis (MVSA) provides a powerful non-destructive evaluation of the condition of paper. From initial feasibility studies, we have developed a simple, portable system (TRANSPEC) using fiber-optics and broad-band spectroscopy that can measure the degree of polymerization of various aged transformer papers to a precision of approximately 30 DP units with a spatial resolution of 14 mm. The system can also measure the chemical composition and condition of the insulating mineral oil. MVSA regression models were constructed from library spectral data, and these models are used to predict the DP of other papers with parameters that fall within the range spanned by the set of calibration samples. Separating oil and moisture information from wetted paper is possible and will be reported in a separate publication. With a single TRANSPEC system, non-destructive in-situ analysis of the DP of insulating paper is possible, providing a rapid cost-effective method for transformer insulation condition assessment and monitoring, which correlates well with current destructive methods. Index Terms--Cellulose degradation, multivariate statistical analysis, nondestructive testing, paper insulation, power industry, power transformers, spectroscopy, transformer windings

A portable fiber-optic spectroscopic system (TRANSPEC) has been developed for nondestructive measurement of aged transformer insulating paper. Following successful measurement of degree of polymerization (DP) of a range of transformer-aged paper samples, the system has now been shown to separate the oil and paper information for measurement of DP in oil-wetted paper samples. In addition, the system has been shown to be capable of the prediction of both oil and water content of paper to a high accuracy, and is also capable of identifying and quantifying different water species. Spectroscopic measurements have been used together with gravimetric water adsorption measurements to investigate the kinetics of uptake of water vapour into paper from air in the case of nominally dry and oil-impregnated samples. Relationships between water adsorption parameters and properties of the paper insulation have also been investigated using measurements under controlled conditions. Index Terms--Humidity control, multivariate statistical analysis, oil insulation, paper insulation, power transformers, spectroscopy, weight measurement, water content

The effects of intermolecular interactions in the crystal on both the optical and inelastic neutron scattering (INS) spectra of dodecahedrane are investigated and the results of a more detailed interpretation of the INS spectrum based on a periodic density functional theory (DFT) calculation, are presented. The Raman spectrum of crystalline dodecahedrane, C20H20, a species of nominal I(sub h) symmetry, exhibits splitting of the H(sub g) Raman active modes.

The application of a periodic density functional theory (DFT) code for the analysis of the inelastic neutron scattering (INS) spectrum of an ionic material is discussed. Cation plays an important role in stabilizing the complex by removing the charge from the transition metal and hydride ligand.

In this paper we exploit the complementarity of inelastic neutron scattering (INS), infrared and Raman spectroscopies with ab initiocalculations to generate an updated assignment of the vibrational modes of C60. We have carried out periodic-DFT calculations of the high temperature face centred cubic phase modelled as the standard structure and also of the low temperature simple cubic phase, the latter for the first time. Our assignment differs from all previous work, however, it is the only one that is able to successfully reproduce the INS spectrum in terms of both transition energies and intensities. In addition to the INS spectrum we are also able to quantitatively simulate the major features of the infrared and Raman spectra in the high temperature phase and the infrared spectrum in the low temperature phase. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Provides a complete set of assignments for the vibrational spectrum of metal hydride complexes. explanation for the unusual infrared spectrum of the potassium salt; Application of the periodic density functional theory code to the analysis of the inelastic neutron scattering spectrum of an ionic material.

Changes in protein secondary structure and conformation of ovalbumin and beta-lactoglobulin (15% protein w/w) were investigated by Fourier transform Raman spectroscopy and self-deconvolution. The amounts of alpha-helix, beta-sheets, random coil, and beta-turns in native beta-lactoglobulin were 15, 54, 6, and 25%, respectively, and those for ovalbumin (41, 34, 13, and 12%) compared well with published values obtained by X-ray crystallography. The proteins were heated at 90 degrees C for 30 min and high-pressure-treated at 600 MPa for 20 min. Heating increased beta-sheet structures in both proteins at the expense of alpha-helix; for beta-lactoglobulin beta-sheet structures increased from 54 to 70% and for ovalbumin, from 34 to 54%. Random coil increased from 6% in the native protein to 30% in high-pressure-treated beta-lactoglobulin. However, for ovalbumin, the contribution from beta-turns doubled in high-pressure-treated samples, with little change in random coil. Further examination of the deconvoluted amide I band in heated samples revealed several component bands. Bands at 1626 and 1682 cm(-1) for ovalbumin and at 1625 and 1680 cm(-1) for beta-lactoglobulin were observed and are associated with aggregated, intermolecular beta-sheet (beta-aggregation), indicative of heat denaturation. The band seen at 1632-1640 cm(-1) corresponded to intramolecular beta-sheet structures, whereas the band at 1625 cm(-1) is associated with exposed beta-sheets (for example, beta-strands with strong hydrogen bonding that are not part of the core of beta-sheets). In high-pressure-treated samples bands were also observed at 1628 and 1680 cm(-1) for ovalbumin and at 1626 and 1684 cm(-1) for beta-lactoglobulin, suggesting involvement of beta-sheet structures in protein aggregation. Raman bands were observed at 1665-1670 cm(-1) for ovalbumin and at 1663-1675 cm(-1) for beta-lactoglobulin due to random coil structures. The bands at 1650-1660 cm(-1) due to alpha-helices were observed in both heated and high-pressure-treated samples. In addition, in heated samples of both ovalbumin and beta-lactoglobulin, peak intensity increased for beta-sheet in the amide III region, 980-990 cm(-1), and decreased for helix structures (900-960 cm(-1)). In contrast, there was no peak at 1240 cm(-1) (amide III beta-sheet structures) in either high-pressure-treated ovalbumin or beta-lactoglobulin, suggesting that high-pressure denaturation at 600 MPa for 20 min is less extensive than heat denaturation at 90 degrees C for 30 min., (Copyright 2004 American Chemical Society)