808

M. Kohtoh et al.: Transformer Insulating Oil Characteristic Changes Observed Using Accelerated Degradation

Transformer Insulating Oil Characteristic Changes

Observed Using Accelerated Degradation in Consideration
of Field Transformer Conditions
Masanori Kohtoh, Genyo Ueta, Shigemitsu Okabe
Tokyo Electric Power Company
4-1, Egasaki-cho, Tsurumi-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa, 230-8510, Japan
and Tsuyoshi Amimoto
Mitsubishi Electric Corporation
651, Tenwa, Ako-city, Hyogo, 678-0256, Japan

ABSTRACT
To ensure soundness of highly aged transformers in their operations, it is important to
identify how aging influences insulating oil in these transformers. The characteristics of
insulating oil are roughly classified into electrical, physical, and chemical
characteristics. In the past research on insulating oil in transformers, some of the
characteristics showed a downward trend with increasing age. Among the electrical
characteristics, the volume resistivity and the dielectric loss tangent showed a
downward trend with increasing age, which is likely to reflect degradation that
accompanies aging. The analysis of insulating oil components found some components
that increased with age, which may contribute to degrading electrical characteristics of
insulating oil. This study on field transformers gave results obtained through
comparison of different samples in relation to the number of years in which they were
in the field. Detailed evaluation of aging requires study on aging patterns using the
same samples. In this paper, heat-accelerated degradation test was conducted on the
same samples, and the patterns of changes in characteristics were studied. In addition,
the influences of interactions between characteristics and water and between
characteristics and pressboard were examined. The study using accelerated
degradation test was conducted on one brand of mineral oil (1). The obtained
characteristics were the breakdown voltage, volume resistivity, interfacial tension, total
acid value, and water content, i.e., electrical characteristics and characteristics
considered to be correlated with electrical characteristics were extracted. As a result of
examination, characteristic deterioration was evident for the water content, breakdown
voltage, volume resistivity, total acid value, and interfacial tension in descending order
of deterioration. The characteristics showed evident deterioration in the initial stage of
accelerated degradation test and, thereafter, showed a saturation tendency with
increasing age.
Index Terms Field transformer, insulating oil, aging, accelerated degradation,
electrical characteristic, water content.

1 INTRODUCTION
MANY studies have been conducted on how the degradation
of insulating oil and paper progress in highly aged transformers [1,
2]. A hydrocarbon, the main component of insulating oil, is
oxidized to an alcohol, which is further oxidized to aldehydeketone, carboxylic acid, organic acid, and ester. As for insulating
paper, the average polymerization degree drops as the degradation
progresses and the mechanical strength drops accordingly. The
Manuscript received on 10 September 2009, in final form 25 February 2010.

decrease of the average polymerization degree is known to be

temperature-dependent and greatly influenced by the operating
temperature and operating time of a transformer. It is generally
considered that the life of a transformer is determined by the
mechanical strength of insulating paper wrapped around the coil
and lasts until it can no longer stand the electromagnetic
mechanical force generated at the time of external short-circuiting
of the transformer. However, transformers used at substations are
operated under a relatively low load and therefore the life of an
insulator may be prolonged, making it necessary to consider the
influence of degradation of insulating oil.

1070-9878/10/$25.00 2010 IEEE

IEEE Transactions on Dielectrics and Electrical Insulation

Vol. 17, No. 3; June 2010

Insulating oil commonly used in transformers is mineral oil or

synthetic oil made from mineral oil and alkyl benzene. Although
there are test items required for transformer insulating oil such as
the density, kinematic viscosity, pour point, flash point, total acid
value, oxidative stability, water content, breakdown voltage,
dielectric loss tangent, and volume resistivity, no different test
items are used for different types of insulating oil. The
acceptance values for insulating oil are stricter for the one to be
used for high-voltage high-capacity transformers. Mineral oil,
manufactured by purifying crude oil, contains trace quantities of
sulfur and nitrogen compounds in addition to the main
component, hydrocarbon. Synthetic oil, on the other hand, is
chemically synthesized and therefore contains no sulfur or
nitrogen compound. It is appropriate to use mineral oil to obtain
degradation characteristics of field transformer oil and it is
effective to conduct addition test using synthetic oil to study the
influence of only a specific component.
Insulating oil brands used in transformers satisfy the criteria
defined in the specification but contain components that vary
slightly depending on the brand and the manufacturing date of
the transformer. In this paper, accelerated degradation test was
conducted on the same samples in order to clarify the
characteristics that vary according to the aging of the insulating
oil. The insulating oil used in the test was one brand of mineral
oil (1). In this test, the changes in the characteristics of the
insulating oil (breakdown characteristic, volume resistivity,
interfacial tension, total acid value, and water content) were
observed, and their trends were evaluated.
In the usage environment of transformers, various
characteristics of insulating oil and diverse factors are considered
to influence each other. In the latter half of this paper,
experiment-based study was conducted in order to evaluate the
interactions with the water content and pressboard insulating
material.

809

The accelerated test on oil samples was conducted under

the conditions summarized in Table 2. The procedure of the
accelerated test is as follows:
(1) Put a de-aired oil sample and a polished copper catalyst
in the heating tank.
(2) Seal dry air in the space of the heating tank at an
atmospheric pressure.
(3) Heat the heating tank in an oven kept at 120 C for a
specified length of time.
(4) After heating for a specified length of time, take out the
heating tank from the oven and let it cool down to room
temperature.
(5) Collect and test the oil sample according to the test
items listed in Table 3.
Accelerated degradation by heating was conducted on the
assumption that the remaining life was reduced by one-half
every time the temperature rose by 7 C [10]. Since the
reference temperature of insulating oil is 60 C, the heating to
120 C is roughly equivalent to an acceleration by a factor of
380 (60/7=8.57, 28.57=380). Based on this assumption,
accelerated degradation for one day was considered to be
equivalent to aging for one year in the field.
Table 1. Initial characteristic value of insulating oil.
Test item
Density at 15 C (kg/L)
Kinetic viscosity at 40 C (mm2/s)
Kinetic viscosity at 100 C (mm2/s)
Pour point (C)
Flash point (C)
Total acid value (mgKOH/g)
Corrosivity (140 C, 19h)
Breakdown voltage (kV)
Volume resistivity at 80 C (Tm)

Characteristic of 1
0.846
6.01
1.88
-37.5
148
0.00
Noncorrosive
70 or higher
8.2102

2 METHOD OF ACCELERATED
DEGRADATION TEST ON INSULATING OIL
In the past, the authors examined through experiments how
aging influences electrical characteristics of insulating oil in
transformers used in the field [3, 4]. How the characteristics of
insulating oil deteriorate with increasing age was identified
through accelerated degradation test conducted on commercial
insulating oil. For the test, a temperture, air, and copper
catalyst which mainly influence the degradation of the field
transformer insulating oil were set as a parameter to take the
field transformer condition into consideration. Table 1 lists the
specifications of field transformer oil used in this study. The
accelerated test was conducted using 1, mineral oil mainly
used in 66 kV-class transformers.
The accelerated test on oil samples was conducted in a
heating tank shown in Figure 1. The heating tank was sealed
with double O-rings on the flange face to minimize the entry
of water and air to the inside. The heating tank was also
equipped with three-valved pipes on the flange face to allow
addition of water and various components and sampling of oil
at all times.

(a) Tank appearance

(b) Interior

Figure 1. Heating tank.

Table 2. Accelerated test conditions.

Oil
sample

Item
Oil type and volume
Pretreatment
condition

Heating
conditions

Copper catalyst
Space and volume
above the oil level
Heating temperature
Number of days of
heating (Equivalent
number of years of
natural aging)

Condition
1 brand (new oil), 4 l
Perform de-airing to adjust the
water content to 10 ppm or less
Polished hard-drawn copper
wire 1 mm in diameter
Dry air of 1.6 l, sealed at
atmospheric pressure
120 C
10 days (10 years)
30 days (30 years)
50 days (50 years)

M. Kohtoh et al.: Transformer Insulating Oil Characteristic Changes Observed Using Accelerated Degradation

Test item
Water content
Total acid value
Breakdown voltage
Volume resistivity
Interfacial tension

Test method
Tested in accordance with IEC 60814 [5]
Tested in accordance with IEC 62021-1 [6]
Tested in accordance with IEC 60296 [7]
Tested in accordance with IEC 60247 [8]
Tested in accordance with ASTM D971 [9]

3 RESULTS OF ACCELERATED
DEGRADATION TEST ON INSULATING OIL
Accelerated degradation test was conducted on mineral oil
(1). The obtained characteristics of the insulating oil were
water content, total acid value, interfacial tension, breakdown
voltage, and volume resistivity. Table 4 summarizes the
acceptance values of these characteristics. The test results for
the breakdown voltage were obtained by repeating the test
five times and averaging the breakdown voltage values taken
in the second to fifth tests. For the volume resistivity, the oneminute values obtained at a temperature of 80 C with an
applied voltage of 250 kV were adopted.
Table 4. Acceptance values of characteristics.
Test item
Water content
Total acid value
Breakdown voltage
Volume resistivity
Interfacial tension

Acceptance value
40 ppm or less
0.2 mgKOH/g or less
30 kV/2.5 mm
1.01012 cm
40 dyne/cm or more

Water content (ppm)

3.1 VARIATION OF WATER CONTENT WITH TIME

Figure 2 illustrates the variation of water content with time
in accelerated degradation test. The water content in insulating
oil sharply rose from 2 ppm after 10 days of heating and
exceeded by far the acceptance value of 30 ppm for new oil in
the IEC standard. When heating was continued for 30 to 50
days, the water content showed a slight downward trend but
remained at a high level of 40 to 50 ppm. In view of the
heating-induced increase in the water content of 50 ppm and
the oil sample of 4 l, it is assumed that the total amount of
generated water was equivalent to 1.010-2 mol. Since
hydrogen and oxygen are necessary to generate water, it is
considered that hydrogen was supplied from the oil sample
(hydrocarbon) and oxygen from the air above the oil level in
this test. The space above the oil level was 1.6 l and the
amount of oxygen in this space was 4.110-3 mol. Since 0.5
mol of oxygen is required to generate 1 mol of water, the

Number of heating days (day)

Figure 2. Variation of water content with time in heating test.

amounts of water and oxygen described above were

approximately equivalent to these amounts. It is considered
that, in this accelerated degradation test in an airtight heating
tank, the water content was saturated as soon as all the oxygen
in the space above the oil level was consumed. It is also
considered that, in this test, the saturation of the water content
was reached within 10 days of heating.
3.2 VARIATION OF TOTAL ACID VALUE WITH TIME
Figure 3 shows the variation of total acid value with time in
accelerated degradation test. The total acid value was initially
0.004 mgKOH/g but rose to 0.019 mgKOH/g after 50 days of
heating, marking an approximate 4.8-fold increase. However,
the total acid value after accelerated degradation remained
below the acceptance value indicated in Table 4, with a
sufficient margin available. Although a sharp rise in 10 days
after the start of accelerated degradation is similar to the trend
of the water content, the total acid value characteristically
remained unchanged for 30 days of heating and then showed
an upward trend in the second half of the test period.
Total acid value (mgKOH/g)

Table 3. Test items for oil samples.

Number of heating days (day)

Figure 3. Variation of total acid value with time in heating test.

3.3 VARIATION OF BREAKDOWN VOLTAGE WITH

TIME
Figure 4 indicates the variation of breakdown voltage with
time in accelerated degradation test. The total acid value was
initially 84 kV/2.5 mm but dropped to 30 kV/2.5 mm,
equivalent to the acceptance value shown in Table 4, after 10
to 50 days of heating. Figure 5 gives the relationship between
the water content and the breakdown voltage. It is assumed
that, as the accelerated degradation progressed, the water
content in the oil increased and the breakdown voltage
lowered accordingly.
Breakdown voltage (kV/2.5 mm)

810

Number of heating days (day)

Figure 4. Variation of breakdown voltage with time in heating test.

Vol. 17, No. 3; June 2010

811

Interfacial tension (dyne/cm)

Breakdown voltage (kV/2.5 mm)

IEEE Transactions on Dielectrics and Electrical Insulation

Water content (ppm)

Number of heating days (day)

Figure 7. Variation of interfacial tension with time in heating test.

3.4 VARIATION OF VOLUME RESISTIVITY WITH

TIME
Figure 6 shows the variation of volume resistivity (80 C,
one-minute value) with time in accelerated degradation test.
The volume resistivity was initially 8.21014 cm but
dropped to 1.01013 cm after 10 to 50 days of heating. The
volume resistivity showed significant changes for 10 days of
heating and showed a saturation tendency thereafter. This
value is significantly lower than the acceptance value for new
oil indicated in Table 4.

3.6 RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ACCEPTANCE

VALUES OF VARIOUS CHARACTERISTICS
Table 5 displays the margins of acceptance values of
various characteristics of an oil sample (1) after heating test.
In Table 5, risks are used as an index and can be expressed by
equations (1) and (2) below.

Volume resistivity (cm, 80 C)

Figure 5. Relationship between water content and breakdown voltage in

heating test.

- If the acceptance value is expressed as an upper limit (a

measurement must be equal to or less than this value):
Risk (%) = Measured value / Acceptance value 100
(1)
- If the acceptance value is expressed as a lower limit (a
measurement must be equal to or more than this value):
Risk (%) = Acceptance value / Measured value 100
(2)

For both of these types, a larger risk value represents a

higher risk. A value exceeding 100 means that a acceptance
value listed in Table 4 is exceeded. The relationship between
risks after 10, 30, and 50 days of heating is: Water Content >
Breakdown Voltage > Volume Resistivity > Total Acid Value.
The water content and breakdown voltage are indexes for
which acceptance values for new oil tend to be exceeded due
to an influence from aging.

Number of heating days (day)

Figure 6. Variation of volume resistivity with time in heating test.

3.5 VARIATION OF INTERFACIAL TENSION WITH

TIME
Figure 7 exhibits the variation of interfacial tension with
time in accelerated degradation test. The interfacial tension
was initially 49.3 dyne/cm but dropped to a value equivalent
to 40 dyne/cm after 10 to 50 days of heating. This is
equivalent to the acceptance value in Table 4. The interfacial
tension showed a large change for 10 days of heating and then
showed a saturation tendency thereafter, in the same way as
for other characteristics.

4 INFLUENCE EVALUATION ON
INTERACTION WITH WATER
Water in insulating oil is known to have a significant
influence on the breakdown characteristics. In field
transformers, various components and water in insulating oil
coexist and are considered to interact with each other. Since
ionic components are readily soluble in water, an increase in
ionic components may lower the volume resistivity in the
presence of water. It is necessary to evaluate the influence of

Table 5. Risks of exceeding the acceptance values of various characteristics.

Test item
Total acid value
Water content
Breakdown voltage
Volume resistivity

After 10 days of heating

Measured value
Risk (%)
0.013
55
33
6.81012

6.5
140
91
15

After 30 days of heating

Measured value
Risk (%)
0.013
48
29
6.41012

6.5
120
100
16

After 50 days of heating

Measured value
Risk (%)
0.019
45
28
5.71012

9.5
110
110
18

M. Kohtoh et al.: Transformer Insulating Oil Characteristic Changes Observed Using Accelerated Degradation

812

interaction with water on the electrical characteristics of

insulating oil.
This section describes examining the water-dependence of
various characteristics of new 1 oil in order to identify the
influences of the water in insulating oil on the breakdown
voltage and volume resistivity.
4.1 TEST METHOD
As the initial characteristics, new oil was studied to identify
the influences of water on various characteristics (total acid
value, breakdown voltage, and volume resistivity) at this point.
The type of new oil was the 1 oil used in Sections 2 and 3.
The water content of oil samples was adjusted so that samples
of nine different concentrations from 5 ppm to 60 ppm could
be obtained. 60 ppm is close to the saturated water content of
the 1 oil. The adjustment method was as follows:
(1) New oil in a beaker was put it in a desiccator filled with
water to increase the water content with time. Figure 8
displays how the water content was adjusted.
(2) The water content of the oil sample was measured and
increased with time to nearly a saturated water content level. It
was diluted with de-aired oil to prepare oil samples with
different water contents. Samples obtained through this
adjustment had water contents of 8 ppm, 12 ppm, 15 ppm, 25
ppm, 32 ppm, 35 ppm, 39 ppm, 51 ppm, and 60 ppm,
respectively.

Total acid value (mgKOH/g)

Desiccator

4.2 TEST RESULTS

Table 6 shows the test results for oil samples. Table 6
summarizes the values of the water content, total acid value,
volume resistivity, and breakdown voltage. The volume
resistivity values are zero-minute, one-minute, and fiveminute values at normal temperatures. The breakdown voltage
values are the results of five breakdown voltage tests on the
same oil sample and the average values of the results of
second to fifth test results.
Figure 9 shows the relationship between the water content
and the total acid value. The total acid value was 0.04
mgKOH/g for all the oil samples regardless of the water
content, showing no influence of the water content on the total
acid value. It is considered that, at the water content levels
detected in ordinary transformers (several to several tens of
ppm), water will not be a cause for influencing the total acid
value test.
Figure 10 exhibits the relationship between the breakdown
voltage, water content, and measurement count (1st to 5th
times) of the 1 oil. As the water content increased, the
breakdown voltage showed a downward trend. Although the
breakdown voltage value increased and decreased between
measurements, no influence on the characteristics due to
repetition was observed.

De-aired oil

Water

Water content (ppm)

Figure 8. Preparing oil samples with different water contents.

Figure 9. Relationship between the water content and the total acid value.

Table 6. Results of test regarding the influence of water on various characteristics.

Water content
(ppm)

Total acid value

(mgKOH/g)

Volume resistivity (cm, room temperatures)

Breakdown voltage (kV/2.5 mm)

st

0-minute value 1-minute value 5-minute value 1 time 2 time 3rd time 4th time 5th time
15

15

16

nd

Average between
2nd to 5th times

0.004

7.510
9.91014

1.010
1.51015

88

90

87

85

87

0.004

2.310
7.91014

66

12

76

83

75

80

82

80

15

0.004

1.11015

4.51015

1.61016

54

71

65

68

69

68

25

0.004

2.51014

3.41014

5.91014

55

61

62

61

57

60

32

0.004

1.21015

1.61015

1.91015

55

54

55

55

53

54

35

0.004

9.21014

1.21015

1.61015

39

44

48

42

44

44

39

0.004

8.71014

1.61015

1.31015

41

50

48

48

46

48

51

0.004

1.11015

1.41015

1.91015

26

31

27

31

33

30

60

0.004

7.01014

9.31014

1.41015

31

41

40

36

34

38

IEEE Transactions on Dielectrics and Electrical Insulation

Vol. 17, No. 3; June 2010

Breakdown voltage (kV/2.5 mm)

100

acid value. This is considered to be because new oil had such

a low concentration of ionic components that the impacts of
the water content did not become obvious.

1st time
2nd time
3rd time
4th time
5th time
Average between 2nd to 5th times

90
80
70

5 INFLUENCE EVALUATION ON
INTERACTION WITH PRESSBOARD

60
50
40
30
20
10
0
8 ppm

12 ppm 15 ppm 25 ppm 32 ppm 35 ppm 39 ppm 51 ppm 60 ppm

Water content (ppm)

Figure 10. Relationship between the breakdown voltage and the measurement
count.
1.0E+17
0-minute value
1-minute value

Volume resistivity (cm)

813

5-minute value
1.0E+16

1.0E+15

1.0E+14
8 ppm 12 ppm 15 ppm 25 ppm 32 ppm 35 ppm 39 ppm 51 ppm 60 ppm

Water content (ppm)

Figure 11. Transition of the volume resistivity of oil samples.

Figure 11 displays the relationship between the water

content and the volume resistivity. Although many samples
with a water content of 25 ppm or more had a low volume
resistivity around 1.01015 cm, there were large variations
between samples, and no clear correlation was found between
the water content and the volume resistivity. For the volume
resistivity values, there was commonly a relationship of zerominute value < one-minute value < five-minute value.
Generally, the volume resistivity is inversely proportional to
the absorption current I as given by equation (3). The
absorption current I, as represented by equation (4), shows a
downward trend with time. In other words, the volume
resistivity is considered to increase with time, which is
consistent with the trend indicated in Figure 11.
=A/I

(3)

I = I0 exp (-Vt / d2)

(4)

Where A is an electrode constant, I0 is an absorption current

at time t=0, V is an applied voltage, and d is a gap distance.
As a result of evaluating the influences of interactions with
water, the breakdown voltage showed a downward trend with
an increasing water content, but the water content did not have
a significant influence on the volume resistivity and the total

Whereas the major cause of insulating oil characteristic

deterioration is considered to be degradation of insulating oil,
a field transformer contains transformer winding, pressboard
insulating materials, iron core, etc., and the interactions with
these coexisting materials need to be considered. This section
describes conducting normal-temperature and heating tests on
pressboard and thus evaluating the influence of the insulating
materials on insulating oil characteristics.
5.1 NORMAL-TEMPERATURE TEST ON
PRESSBOARD
The normal-temperature test on pressboard is aimed at
evaluating the influences of components eluted from
pressboard on the insulating oil characteristics in normal
operation in the initial operation stage of a transformer.
5.1.1 TEST METHOD
The normal-temperature test on pressboard was conducted
using the following procedure:
(1) The pressboard was dried in the air at 100 C for 4
hours and then in vacuum at 105 C for 24 h. At this point, the
water content of the pressboard was 0.25% being sufficiently
lower level.
(2) The 1 oil was used as an oil sample. The oil sample
was de-aired and the water content was adjusted to 10 ppm or
less.
(3) 400 g of dried pressboard was placed in a heating
container having an inner capacity of 5 l and vacuumimpregnated with 4 l of de-aired oil sample. The air in the
space above the oil level in the heating container was replaced
with nitrogen gas. For the sake of comparison, tests were
conducted on two cases, one with and the other without
pressboard.
(4) After the heating container was heated in a 65 C oven
for 0 to 60 days, oil samples were collected and subjected to
various characteristic tests. Since the heating conditions were
relatively mild, nearly no degradation of insulating materials
and oil due to heating was expected.
5.1.2 TEST RESULTS
Table 7 summarizes the results of normal-temperature test
on pressboard. Figure 12 shows the comparison of water
contents of oil samples. In each of the test cases, the water
content on day 0 of heating was 1 or 2 ppm, satisfying the
target value, 10 ppm. Heating caused the water content to vary
but within a range of 1 to 3 ppm, showing no significant
increase.
Figure 13 shows the result of comparison of total acid
values. In each of the test cases, the total acid value was
within a range of 0.003 mgKOH/g to 0.004 mgKOH/g,
showing no significant difference due to the presence or

M. Kohtoh et al.: Transformer Insulating Oil Characteristic Changes Observed Using Accelerated Degradation
0.01

Total acid value (mgKOH/g)

absence of pressboard. The values after 15 to 60 days of

heating in each of the test cases were the same as the initial
values, showing no degradation of pressboard and insulating
oil.
Figure 14 shows the comparison of breakdown voltages. In
each of the test cases, the breakdown voltage value on day 0
of heating ranged from 75 kV/2.5 mm to 82 kV/2.5 mm,
showing no significant difference due to the presence or
absence of pressboard. The breakdown voltage values after 15
to 60 days of heating in each of the test cases ranged from 63
kV/2.5 mm to 83 kV/2.5 mm, some of them showing a 10% to
20% drop from the initial values but none of them showing
any significant drop on the whole.
Figure 15 shows the comparison of volume resistivity oneminute values. The volume resistivity varied more than other
characteristics but remained in the same level regardless of the
measurement conditions, showing no difference due to the
presence or absence of pressboard.
Figure 16 shows the comparison of interfacial tensions. In
each of the test cases, the interfacial tension on day 0 of
heating ranged from 46.0 dyne/cm to 46.8 dyne/cm, showing
no difference due to the presence or absence of pressboard.
The interfacial tension after 15 to 60 days of heating ranged
from 42.8 dyne/cm to 47.0 dyne/cm, being equivalent to the
values on day 0 of heating. No difference due to the presence
of pressboard or degradation of the insulating oil was
observed.
Figure 17 compares the average polymerization degrees of
pressboard before and after the test in a test case with
pressboard. "After the test" shows a value measured after 60
days of heating at 65 C. The average polymerization degree

0 day
15 days
30 days
60 days

0.008
0.006
0.004
0.002
0
Without pressboard

With pressboard

Figure 13. Comparison of total acid values of oil samples.

100

Breakdown voltage (kV/2.5 mm)

814

80
60
40
0 day
15 days
30 days
60 days

20
0
Without pressboard

With pressboard

Figure 14. Comparison of breakdown voltages of oil samples.

1.0E+17

0 day
15 days
30 days
60 days

Water content (ppm)

4
3
2

Volume resistivities (cm)

5
1.0E+16

1.0E+15
0 day
15 days
30 days
60 days

1.0E+14

1
1.0E+13
Without pressboard

0
Without pressboard

With pressboard

Figure 12. Comparison of water contents of oil samples.

With pressboard

Figure 15. Comparison of volume resistivities of oil samples (80 C, oneminute values).

Table 7. Results of normal-temperature test on pressboard.

Oil sample
Number of
Presence of
days of
pressboard
heating
0
Without
15
pressboard
30
60
0
With
15
pressboard
30
60

Insulating oil characteristics

Water content
Interfacial
Breakdown
Total acid value
of oil
tension
voltage
(mgKOH/g)
(ppm)
(dyne/cm)
(kV/2.5 mm)
2
0.003
46.0
75
3
0.003
46.5
63
3
0.003
45.5
64
1
0.003
42.8
83
1
0.004
46.8
82
3
0.004
46.1
76
3
0.004
44.6
74
1
0.004
47.0
82

Insulator characteristics
Volume resistivity
Average
Water content of
one-minute value
polymerization
insulator (%)
(cm)
degree
9.31014
1.11016
4.21015
8.31015
4.21014
0.25
1133
1.11016
7.31015
0.14
1090
1.71016

IEEE Transactions on Dielectrics and Electrical Insulation

Vol. 17, No. 3; June 2010

Interfacial tension (dyne/cm)

50
40
30
20
0 day
15 days
30 days
60 days

10
0
Without pressboard

With pressboard

Figure 16. Comparison of interfacial tensions of oil samples.

Average polymerization degree

1200
1000
800
600
400
200
0
Before the test

After the test

Figure 17. Comparison of average polymerization degrees of pressboard.

Water content of paper (%)

0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0
Before the test

After the test

Figure 18. Comparison of water contents of pressboard insulator.

815

5.2 HEATING TEST ON PRESSBOARD

The heating test on pressboard was conducted in
consideration of aging of transformers and aimed at evaluating
how aging components generated from pressboard influenced
the insulating oil characteristics. The heating temperature was
120 C and the maximum heating time was 450 h. Under these
heating conditions, which are the same as those used in
Section 2, 450 h of accelerated aging is equivalent to about 20
years of natural aging.
5.2.1 TEST METHOD
The heating test on pressboard was conducted using the
following procedure:
(1) After the pressboard was dried in the air at 100 C for 4
hours and then in vacuum at 105 C for 24 h. At this point, the
water content of the pressboard was 0.06% being sufficiently
lower level.
(2) The 1 oil was used as an oil sample. The oil sample
was de-aired and the water content was adjusted to 10 ppm or
less.
(3) In a bellows-type heating container having an inner
capacity of 500 ml, 40 g of dried pressboard and 450 ml of deaired oil sample were placed, and copper catalyst and oxygen
were added. Then, the heating container was heated in a
120 C oven for a specified length of time. The copper
catalyst was a polished copper wire 1 mm in diameter and 9.5
m in length. This amount is equivalent to 66 cm2/100 ml of
insulating oil. Oxygen was supplied as 10 ml of air added.
This amount is equivalent to an oil oxygen concentration of
22,000 ppm. For the sake of comparison, tests were conducted
on two cases, one with and the other without pressboard.
(4) After being heated for a specified length of time, the
heating container was taken out from the oven and let cool
down to a room temperature. Then, samples were collected,
and various characteristics were measured.
5.2.2 TEST RESULTS
Table 8 summarizes the results of heating test on
pressboard. Figure 19 shows the comparison of water contents
of oil samples. In each of the test cases, the water content on
day 0 of heating was 1 or 2 ppm, satisfying the target value,
10 ppm. Without pressboard, the water content was on an
upward trend with time. With pressboard, no upward trend of
the water content was observed.
25

Water content (ppm)

after the test was 1090, a little lower value than the value
before the test, 1133. Assuming that the average
polymerization degree of new pressboard is about 1000 to
1100, it is concluded that there was no significant difference
before and after the test.
Figure 18 compares the insulator water contents in the test
case with pressboard. As in Figure 17, "After the test" shows a
value measured after 60 days of heating. Although the
insulator water content after the test was 0.14%, a little lower
than the value before the test, 0.25%, it is concluded that there
was no significant difference between them.

0 hour
250 hours
450 hours

20
15
10
5
0
Without pressboard

With pressboard

Figure 19. Comparison of water contents of oil samples in heating test.

M. Kohtoh et al.: Transformer Insulating Oil Characteristic Changes Observed Using Accelerated Degradation

816

Table 8. Results of heating test on pressboard.

Insulating oil characteristics
Water content
Interfacial
Breakdown
Total acid value
of oil
tension
voltage
(mgKOH/g)
(ppm)
(dyne/cm)
(kV/2.5 mm)
1
0.003
44.6
88
7
0.004
45.5
76
14
0.004
46.4
75
2
0.003
45.8
79
1
0.004
44.0
86
1
0.004
45.4
79

100
80
60
40
0 hour
250 hours
450 hours

20
0
Without pressboard

With pressboard

Figure 21. Comparison of breakdown voltages of oil samples in heating test.

1.0E+17
0 hour
250 hours
450 hours

1.0E+16

1.0E+15

1.0E+14

1.0E+13
Without pressboard

With pressboard

Figure 22. Comparison of volume resistivities of oil samples in heating test.

0.010

50
0 hour
250 hours
450 hours

0.008
0.006
0.004
0.002
0.000

Interfacial tension (dyne/cm)

Total acid value (mgKOH/g)

Insulator characteristics
Volume resistivity
Average
Water content of
one-minute value
polymerization
insulator (%)
(cm)
degree
16
2.510
5.71014
4.21014
2.51016
0.06
1075
1.91015
0.07
956
0.07
916
6.91014

Figure 25 compares the insulator water contents in the test

case with pressboard. The insulator water content shows little
change from the initial value to the value after 450 hours of
heating.
Breakdown voltage (kV/2.5 mm)

Figure 20 shows the result of comparison of total acid

values. In each of the test cases, the total acid value was
within a range of 0.003 mgKOH/g to 0.004 mgKOH/g,
showing no significant difference due to the presence or
absence of pressboard. The values measured after 250 to 450
hours of heating in each of the test cases were the same as
those measured at 0 hour of heating, showing no difference
due to degradation of pressboard and insulating oil.
Figure 21 shows the comparison of breakdown voltages.
Without pressboard, heating caused a downward trend of the
breakdown voltage. With pressboard, the initial value and the
value measured after heating were approximately the same,
showing no significant difference due to accelerated heating.
Figure 22 shows the comparison of volume resistivity oneminute values. In each of the test cases, the volume resistivity
measured after 250 to 450 hours of heating dropped from the
initial value approximately by one order of magnitude. Hardly
any difference due to the presence or absence of pressboard
was observed.
Figure 23 shows the comparison of interfacial tensions. In
each of the test cases, the interfacial tension on day 0 of
heating ranged from 44.6 dyne/cm to 45.8 dyne/cm, showing
no difference due to the presence or absence of pressboard. In
each of the test cases, the interfacial tension after 250 to 450
hours of heating ranged from 44.0 dyne/cm to 46.4 dyne/cm,
being equivalent to the values on day 0 of heating. No
difference due to the presence of pressboard or degradation of
the insulating oil was observed.
Figure 24 compares the aging trend of average
polymerization degrees of pressboard in the test case with
pressboard. The average polymerization degree shows a
downward trend with time.

Volume resistivities (cm)

Oil sample
Heating
Presence of
time
pressboard
(hours)
0
Without
250
pressboard
450
0
With
250
pressboard
450

40
30
20
0 hour
250 hours
450 hours

10
0

Without pressboard

With pressboard

Figure 20. Comparison of total acid values of oil samples in heating test.

Without pressboard

With pressboard

Figure 23. Comparison of interfacial tensions of oil samples in heating test.

IEEE Transactions on Dielectrics and Electrical Insulation

Vol. 17, No. 3; June 2010

Average polymerization degree

1200
1000
800
600
400
200
0
0 hour

250 hours

450 hours

Figure 24. Comparison of average polymerization degrees of pressboard in

heating test.

Water content of paper (%)

0.5
0.4
0.3
0.2
0.1
0.0
0 hour

250 hours

450 hours

Figure 25. Comparison of water contents of pressboard insulator in heating

test.

6 DISCUSSION ABOUT INFLUENCES ON

ELECTRICAL CHARACTERISTICS
Heat-accelerated degradation test was conducted to evaluate
how changes occur in the electrical characteristics (breakdown
voltage and volume resistivity) and characteristics considered
to have correlations with the electrical characteristics. All of
the obtained characteristics, which are water content,
breakdown voltage, total acid value, volume resistivity, and
interfacial tension, showed a significant change for 10 days of
heating (accelerated aging equivalent to 10 years of natural
aging) and, except for the total acid value, showed a saturation
tendency thereafter. It is considered that, since the water
content was approximately equivalent to the amount of
oxygen available in the heating tank, it was dependent on the
oxygen supply. As indicated in Figure 10, there is such a high
correlation between the water content and the breakdown
voltage that the major cause for the drop in the breakdown
voltage is considered to be water.
In the test results taken after 30 days or less of heating, the
total acid value and the water content showed similar trends.
The correlation between the total acid value and the water
content was further studied but, as exhibited in Figure 9, no
clear relationship between the total acid value and the water
content was found. Since the total acid value is an index that
shows the progress of oxidative deterioration of components
in insulating oil, the characteristic changes are considered to
vary depending on the oxygen supply. To evaluate whether

817

there are interactions between the total acid value and the
water content, it is considered necessary both to change the
water content and promote oxidative degradation.
In consideration of the correlation with ionic substances,
the volume resistivity is considered to be qualitatively
susceptible to the influence of water. Figure 6 displays heating
test results in which the volume resistivity had a high
correlation with the water content. However, Figure 11 does
not show a clear correlation. This is considered to be because,
depending on the concentration of ionic substances in
insulating oil, the correlation with the water content may not
become obvious. It may be necessary to conduct experimentbased study using the concentration of a component in
insulating oil as another index.
In the past research, the authors considered that the
interfacial tension has a high correlation with the charging
mode in insulating oil. Additionally, a high correlation
between the volume resistivity and the interfacial tension was
experimentally demonstrated. The accelerated degradation test
through heating of insulating oil also found the same trend. It
is expected that the correlation can be further clarified by
comparing factors that have influence on the volume
resistivity and then comparing the trend of the interfacial
tension.
Pressboard had little influence on the electrical
characteristics in the normal-temperature test. The water
content in insulating oil was 3 ppm or less, showing no
remarkable increase. In consideration of the absorption and
equilibrium of water between the insulator and insulating oil,
transition of water from pressboard to the oil sample was
suspected because of a relatively high heating temperature of
65 C in this test but this phenomenon was not observed in the
normal-temperature test.
In the heating test on pressboard, on the other hand, an
increase of the water content with time was observed in the
absence of pressboard. This is assumed to be because water
was generated through oxidized degradation of insulating oil.
In the presence of pressboard, on the other hand, the water
content did not show an upward trend. This is considered to
be because water generated through oxidative degradation of
the insulator and insulating oil was absorbed by the insulator.
When calculated from the water increase in the absence of
pressboard, the water increase in the insulator is 0.013%. This
is approximately consistent with the water increase in the
insulator in the presence of pressboard between before and
after heating. In the heating test, the breakdown voltage
showed a downward trend only in the absence of pressboard.
The volume resistivity also showed a steeper downward trend
in the absence of pressboard. Regarding the influence on the
electrical characteristics, pressboard is considered to serve as
an absorbent and exert an effect of improving insulating oil
characteristics.

7 CONCLUSION
One brand of mineral oil (1) used in transformers was
subjected to heat-accelerated degradation test to obtain the

818

M. Kohtoh et al.: Transformer Insulating Oil Characteristic Changes Observed Using Accelerated Degradation

trends of characteristic changes experimentally. In particular,

the influences from interactions between the water content and
other characteristics was considered, and the correlation with
other characteristics was evaluated by varying the water
concentration. The results can be summarized as follows:
1. As a result of heat-accelerated degradation test, the water
content rose to 50 ppm in 10 days after the start of heating
because of the oxidized aging of insulating oil and showed
a saturation tendency thereafter. Since the amount of
oxygen required to generate the increased amount of water
was approximately equal to the amount of oxygen that
existed in the space above the oil level in the heating tank,
it is concluded that the oxygen supply determined the trend
of water increase and saturation in this test.
2. The breakdown voltage, volume resistivity, and interfacial
tension showed a significant change from the start of
heating to the 10th day and showed a saturation tendency
thereafter. The total acid value also increased for 10 days of
heating, showed a saturation tendency until the 30th day of
heating, but showed an upward trend again in the latter half
period of heating.
3. For the sake of evaluation of interaction with the water
content, the relationship between the water content in the
oil and other characteristics was studied experimentally and,
as a result, a high correlation between the breakdown
voltage and the water content was observed. On the other
hand, no correlation between the volume resistivity or total
acid value and the water content was observed. When the
interaction between the water content and other
characteristics is examined, the evaluation must be
conducted in consideration of the amount of ionic
substances in insulating oil and the influence of oxidation
hysteresis.
4. For the sake of evaluation of how the characteristics of
insulating oil are influenced by interaction between it and
pressboard, normal-temperature and heating tests were
conducted. Whereas no significant influence was observed
in the normal-temperature test, pressboard demonstrated an
effect of absorbing water in the heating test. Pressboard was
found to have an effect of improving the insulating oil
characteristics.
As the basic condition for evaluating the influence due to
accelerated degradation of insulating oil in transformers, heataccelerated degradation test was conducted on insulating oil in
consideration of field transformers. As a result, findings were
made on the aging trends of various characteristics and the
correlations between characteristics. However, when the
residual life expectation or diagnostic technique of
transformer is considered, it is effective to make mechanisms
of these findings clear in further detail. In the future, the
authors will select some oil components suspected of
influencing the characteristics of insulating oil as model
substances and conduct an addition test using these
components to identify the influences of them.

REFERENCES
[1]

D. H. Sroff and A. W. Stannett: A Review of Paper Aging in Power

Transformers, IEEE Proc., Pt.C, Vol. 132, pp. 312-319, 1985.
[2] K. Goto, H. Tsukioka, and E. Mori: Measurement Winding
Temperature of Power Transformers and Diagnosis of Aging
Deterioration by Detection of CO2 and CO, CIGRE, Proc. Int. Conf.
Large High Voltage Elect. 33, No.1, 1-7, 1990.
[3] M. Kohtoh, S. Kaneko, S. Okabe and T. Amimoto: Aging Effect on
Electrical Characteristics of Insulating Oil in Field Transformer, IEEE
Trans. Dielectr. Electr. Insul., Vol. 16, pp. 1698-1706, 2009.
[4] M. Kohtoh, S. Kaneko, S. Okabe and T. Amimoto: Analysis Results for
Insulating Oil Components in Field Transformers, IEEE Trans. Dielectr.
Electr. Insul., Vol. 17, pp. 302-311, 2010.
[5] IEC 60814, Insulating liquids - Oil-impregnated paper and pressboard Determination of water by automatic coulometric Karl Fischer titration,
1997.
[6] IEC 62021-1, Insulating liquids - Determination of acidity - Part 1:
Automatic potentiometroc titration, 2003.
[7] IEC 60296, Fluids for electrotechnical applications - Unused mineral
insulating oils for transformers and switchgear, 2003.
[8] IEC 60247, Insulating liquids - Measurement of relative permittivity,
dielectric dissipation factor (tan ) and d.c. resistivity, 2004.
[9] ASTM: Standard Test Method for Interfacial Tension of Oil Against
Water by the Ring Method, ASTM D971-99a, 2004.
[10] V. M. Montsinger: Loading Transformer by Temperature, AIEE Trans.
Bd. 49, pp. 776-792, 1930.
Masanori Kohtoh received the B.Eng. and M.Eng.
degrees in electrical engineering from Kanazawa
University in 1987 and 1989, respectively. He has been
with the Tokyo Electric Power Company since 1989,
and was engaged in diagnosing deterioration in oilimmersed transformers when attached to the High
Voltage & Insulation Group. He is currently working
for the Technical Support Group in the Development
Planning Department.
Genyo Ueta received the B.S. and M.S. degrees from
Doshisha University in 2000 and 2002, respectively.
He joined Tokyo Electric Power Company in 2002.
Currently, He is a researcher at the High Voltage &
Insulation Group of R&D Center and mainly engaged
in research on insulation characteristics of GIS.

Shigemitsu Okabe (M98) received the B.Eng., M.Eng.

and Dr. degrees in electrical engineering from the
University of Tokyo in 1981, 1983 and 1986,
respectively. He has been with Tokyo Electric Power
Company since 1986, and presently is a group manager
of the High Voltage & Insulation Group at the R & D
center. He was a visiting scientist at the Technical
University of Munich in 1992. He has been involved in
several research projects on transmission and
distribution apparatuses. He is a member of CIGRE.
Tsuyoshi Amimoto was born on 18 September 1969.
He received the B.S. degree in chemistry from Ibaraki
University in 1992. He joined Mitsubishi Electric
Corporation in 1992 and has been engaged in the
research and development of material, diagnosis for
transformers. Mr. Amimoto is a member of the Institute
of Electrical Engineers of Japan and The Japan
Petroleum Institute.