Modelling the Effect of Thermal Aging on Transformer Oil Electrical Characteristics Using a Regression Approach

The effect of thermal aging on the electrical properties of the insulating oil used for transformers has been explored in this experimental work. In particular the dielectric dissipation factor, the resistivity and the breakdown voltage have been measured and correlated. The numerical results predicted by mathematical model and those measured in the laboratory have been compared by using a regression analysis. Experiments on thermal aging were performed on insulating oil (Borak 22, Nynas, Austria) during a period of time of 5000-h at three different temperatures. First, the transformer oil’s dielectric dissipation factor, the resistivity and the breakdown voltage are measured after every 500 h of aging. Then, polynomial and exponential regression expressions are proposed for modelling the oil’s electrical parameters variations with thermal ageing at different aging temperatures and periods. The results show that after thermal aging, the resistivity and the breakdown voltage decrease with thermal aging, however, the dielectric dissipation factor which increases. This trend is similar for all different aging temperatures. The numerical results show close agreement with the measured results for all the samples and all studied properties. The regression model presents strong correlation with high coefficients (>94%).