Interview with Paul Griffin

In our industry, there are always challenges, and sometimes it was on diagnostics that there was a lot of focus.

byTransformers Magazine

86 Paul Griffin

Paul, what approach do you use when writing papers so that they encourage the readers?

I think it has varied over the years. In our industry, there are always challenges, and sometimes it was on diagnostics that there was a lot of focus. Problems such as static electrification or corrosive sulfur in transformers arise, so you perform research in those areas to try and provide people with practical information on how to deal with those issues. I think that on the diagnostic side, if you are using them frequently, you see the limitations, some of the misunderstandings, and you try to add to the literature and to the understanding to continue to develop those diagnostics in the industry.

In the later years, towards the end of my career, I really felt a responsibility to publish papers that I thought would be useful reference materials for others. Others have also joined me; one example would be a case study on a gassing problem. I remember that someone had called me up and said, “I have a problem with a transformer, and it looks like it is gassing. I have taken some corrective measures, and I degasified the oil, so the problem should have gone away.” In a case like this, what happens is that if there is a problem that develops over a long period of time, the gasses in the bulk oil get into the oil that has impregnated the pressboard and the other solid insulation. After you degasify it, it takes about three months for the gases to re-equilibrate between the oil in the solid insulation and that in the degasified bulk oil. So, you have to wait for that period of time to see the effect. And some of the gases, including acetylene and some other gases that might make you nervous, are going to come back out of the oil in the solid insulation before they reach this new equilibrium.

Together we presented a case study on that topic to make it available in the literature. So, you take those moments and see what is missing in the literature and you publish it.

To read the article, subscribe and choose the option which suits you best. We offer both free and paid options, and the registration takes only a minute.
Subscribe to Transformers Magazine