Optical Detection of the Degradation of Transformer Oil

Abstract:

<p>This document is a summary for the project titled 'Optical Detection of the Degradation of Transformer Oil'.</p> <p>Transformers are components in electrical networks which change voltages from one level to another. This allows for efficient transmission of the electricity from where it is generated to where it's needed (e.g. home, business, factory etc). However they fail from time to time resulting in a loss of power to the home and in rare cases have resulted in the death of those who maintain them. One of the main reasons these transformers fail is because the oil that serves to both cool and insulate them can lose its effectiveness over time.</p> <p>This research will explore a cost effective optical technique to look for changes in the oil that might indicate it is losing its effectiveness with a view to scheduling its replacement during the next planned maintenance run. The traditional method for checking transformer oil is to draw a sample and have it chemically analysed, use of an optical technique would save both time and money compared to this method.</p> <p>This project has led to a number of follow on projects for which further funding has been obtained, these include an extension to the original study for which ENW has provided a further &pound;69,000 of funding. It has also led to a project investigating This project has led to follow on work, for which &pound;167 k has been obtained, in partnership with ENW Ltd and Ashridge Engineering Ltd which will focus on using these prototypes to identify contaminants in oil.</p>

Author(s):

Spencer, J.