Fracture toughness as an alternative approach to quantify the ageing of insulation paper in oil

Abstract

Oil-immersed transformers use paper and oil as insulation system which degrades slowly during the operation of these machines. Cellulose materials are used generally as insulation solid in power transformers. The degree of polymerization (DP), defined as number of repeating β-glucose residues in the cellulose molecule, is a critical property of cellulosic insulation material used in transformers, since it provides information about paper ageing and its mechanical strength. The fast-developing electric power industry demanding superior performance of electrical insulation materials has led to the development of new materials, as well as different drying techniques performed during transformer manufacturing and service when required. Both developments have caused some practical difficulties in the DP measurement. Moreover, the increasing interest in synthetic dielectric materials replacing cellulose materials requires measuring alternative properties to the DP to quantify the degradation of insulation solids over time. In this sense, this paper proposes the possibility of analyzing paper degradation through fracture toughness. This approach is different from the study of mechanical properties such as tensile strength or strain because it provides a tool for solving most practical problems in engineering mechanics, such as safety and life expectancy estimation of cracked structures and components which cannot to be considered through the traditional assessment of the mechanical resistance of the material. An accelerated thermal ageing of Kraft paper in mineral oil was carried out at 130 °C during different periods of time, to obtain information on the kinetics of the ageing degradation of the paper. Double-edged notched specimens were tested in tension to study their fracture toughness. The evolution of the load–displacement curves obtained for different ageing times at the ageing temperature of 130 °C was utilized to the determination of the stress intensity factor. Furthermore, different kinetic models based on this stress intensity factor were applied to relate its evolution over time as a function of the temperature. Finally, the correlation between the DP and stress intensity factor, which depends on the fiber angle, was also defined. Graphic abstract