A Rapid method of analysis of insulating Oil through non-destructive Spectroscopic techniques

Abstract

Abstract Transformers are the most important component of the power system. Failure in the transformer can cause a big financial loss, so a timely inspection of the transformer is necessary. The service life of a transformer can be determined from the condition of the insulating oil by estimating carbonyl and aromaticity indices. In this research, the condition of insulating oil was evaluated through a rapid, non-destructive technique using Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) and ultraviolet and visible (UV-Vis) spectroscopies. The aging of the oil was performed in the presence of an insulating paper in an oven at 130°C for different residence time (48–192h), and the oil was examined using FTIR and UV-Vis after every 48h. The carbonyl and aromaticity indices were calculated from the area under the curves in FTIR at a specific wavenumber range between 1700–1600 cm− 1 which reflects the deterioration of the insulating oil. Further, the UV-Vis spectrum intensity between 200–400 nm was used to qualitatively analyze the quality of the insulating oil. Therefore, it can be concluded that these non-destructive techniques are rapid, inexpensive, and also carry a lot of information as compared to the traditional method which can help in deciding the state of the oil.