Nanofluids in the Service of High Voltage Transformers: Breakdown Properties of Transformer Oils with Nanoparticles, a Review

• Main Authors: Jacek Fal, Omid Mahian, Gaweł Żyła
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: MDPI AG 2018-10-01
• Series: Energies
• Subjects: breakdown voltage; lightning breakdown voltage; nanofluids; insulating properties
• Online Access: https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/11/11/2942

The continuous development of electrical systems and high voltage transformers builds the need for looking for new insulating media or to improve the insulating properties of commercially available transformer oils (TO) by various modification techniques. One of these techniques is the modification of existing mineral oils by the addition of different types of nanoparticles in various concentrations. These types of materials, suspensions of nanoparticles called nanofluids, have found numerous applications in the energy industry, especially in heat exchanger systems and solar cells. Much research has been done on attempts to replace mineral oils (MO), which are harmful for the environment, with natural ester oils (NE), but to make this possible, it is necessary to improve the insulating properties of these oils, for example by adding nanoparticles. This paper presents an extensive overview of the insulating properties; including for AC, DC and the lightning impulse breakdown voltage; for both mineral and natural ester oils containing various type of nanoparticles (NP). It is presented that the use of nanofluids could improve the efficiency of existing high voltage infrastructures with a low financial cost.