Investigation of the effect of moisture in transformers on the aging of the solid insulation for dynamic rating applications

Sammanfattning: In the present thesis an investigation is performed for the effect of moisture contenton the aging of the solid insulation for transformers that are dynamically loaded. Theinvestigation is based on a theoretical analysis and a model.First, a literature review is conducted on the basics of transformer operation, transformerinsulation and moisture in oil-paper systems. Furthermore, a model is developedbased on moisture equilibrium curves created by Oommen and MIT, moisture diffusionprocesses in oil-paper insulation systems and calculations for the aging of cellulose insulationfrom IEC 60076-7. The model represents an experimental system which is loadedon different load patterns that simulate dynamic loading. The aim of the model is toconclude whether the load patterns will cause the paper to age differently dependingon the frequency that the moisture migration phenomenon between paper and oil occurs.The result of the modeling part is that the aging process is affected by the load pattern,and that the higher the frequency the moisture migration phenomenon occurs within aloading cycle, the larger the impact on insulation degradation. This difference, though,is too small to be measured experimentally in terms of DP and it is suggested thatdifferent load patterns are used in the experiment than those used in the model, whichwill amplify the effect of moisture migration even further.Finally, experimental work is conducted in the thesis, which focuses on implementingthe LabVIEW design from previous work into hardware, debugging the system andpreparing the experimental set-up on practical matters that occurred in the lab. Somefinal work is required before the experiment is able to run, such as preparation of theexperimental units.