Online monitoring of transformer oil breakdown voltage

The standard oil BDV test is performed on oil samples removed from the transformer, being representative only for the oil condition during the laboratory test due to changes in the oil sample's relative humidity between the time of sampling and the time of the test.

byAnatoliy Mudryk, Marco Tozzi, Nathan Jacob, Viktor Berezhny


Mudryk

The standard oil BDV test is performed on oil samples removed from the transformer, being representative only for the oil condition during the laboratory test due to changes in the oil sample’s relative humidity between the time of sampling and the time of the test.

The water content in oil is continuously changing during transformer operation as moisture migrates to and from the cellulose. An oil temperature gradient exists inside the transformer from top to bottom, and variations in loading and active cooling during operation dynamically change the oil’s relative humidity, changing the BDV depending on internal location and time. To provide an accurate assessment of oil dielectric condition, an online estimation for the oil BDV is needed.

In the article, Anatoliy Mudryk, Marco Tozzi, Nathan Jacob and Viktor Berezhny propose an online BDV calculation methodology.

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