Conduction and Breakdown in Liquid Dielectrics

Conduction and Breakdown in Liquid Dielectrics
Liquid dielectrics, because of their inherent properties, appear as though they

would be more useful as insulating materials than either solids or gases. Oil is
about 10 times more efficient than air or nitrogen in its heat transfer capability
when used in transformers. Although liquids are expected to give very high
dielectric strength of the order of 10 MV/cm, in actual practice the
strengths obtained are only of the order of 100 kV/cm.
Liquid dielectrics are used mainly as impregnates in high-voltage cables and

capacitors, and for filling up of transformers, circuit breakers, etc. Liquid
dielectrics also act as heat transfer agents in transformers, and as arc quenching
media in circuit breakers. Petroleum oils (Transformer oil) are the most commonly
used liquid dielectrics. Synthetic hydrocarbons and halogenated hydrocarbons are
also used for certain applications. For very high-temperature applications, silicone
oils and fluorinated hydrocarbons are employed.
Properties of Liquid:
Transformer Oil (Mineral Oil)
Transformer oil is the most commonly used liquid dielectric in power apparatus. It
is an almost colourless liquid consisting of a mixture of hydrocarbons which
include paraffins, isoparaffins, naphthalenes and aromatics. When in service, the
liquid in a transformer is subjected to prolonged heating at high temperatures of
about 95°C, and consequently it undergoes a gradual ageing process. With time,
the oil becomes darker due to the formation of acids and resins, or sludge in the
liquid.
Types of Liquid:
-PURE LIQUIDS
-COMMERCIAL LIQUIDS
Pure liquids are those which are chemically pure and do not contain any other
impurity even in traces of 1 in 109, and are structurally simple. Examples of such
simple pure liquids are n-hexane (C6H14), n-heptane (C7H16) and other paraffin
hydrocarbons. By using simple and pure liquids, it is easier to separate out the
various factors that influence conduction and breakdown in them.
On the other hand, the commercial liquids which are insulating liquids like oils
which are not chemically pure, normally consist of mixtures of complex organic
molecules which cannot be easily specified or reproduced in a series of
experiments.
 Purification
The main impurities in liquid dielectrics are dust, moisture, dissolved gases and
ionic impurities. Various methods employed for purification are filtration,
centrifuging, degassing and distillation, and chemical treatment.
Dust particles when present become charged and reduce the breakdown strength of
the liquid dielectrics, and they can be removed by careful filtration.
Gases like oxygen and carbon dioxide significantly affect the breakdown strength
of the liquids, and hence it is necessary to control the amount of gas present. This
is done by distillation and degassing.
Ionic impurity in liquids, like water vapour which easily dissociates, leads to very
high conductivity and heating of the liquid depending on the applied electric field.
Water is removed using drying agents or by vacuum drying.
Sometimes, liquids are shaken with concentrated sulphuric acid to remove wax and
residue and washed with caustic soda and distilled water.
A commonly used closed cycle liquid purification system to prepare liquids as per
the above requirements is shown in Fig. 3.1.
This system provides for cycling the liquid. The liquid from the reservoir flows
through the distillation column where ionic impurities are removed. Water is
removed by drying agents or frozen out in the low-temperature bath. The gases
dissolved in the liquid are removed by passing them through the cooling tower
and/or pumped out by the vacuum pumps. The liquid then passes through the
filter where dust particles are removed. The liquid thus purified is then used in the
test cell. The used liquid then flows back into the reservoir. The vacuum system
thus helps to remove the moisture and other gaseous impurities.
Breakdown Tests
Breakdown tests are normally conducted using test cells. For testing pure liquids
test cells are usually an integral part of the purification system as shown in Fig.
3.1.
The electrodes used for breakdown voltage measurements are usually spheres of
0.5 to 1 cm in diameter with gap spacings of about 100-200 µm. The gap is
accurately controlled by using a micrometer. The test voltages required for these
tests are usually low, of the order of 50-100 kV. The breakdown strengths and d.c.
conductivities obtained in pure liquids are very high, of the order of 1 MV/cm and
1018 - 1020 mho/cm respectively.
 CONDUCTION AND BREAKDOWN IN PURE LIQUIDS
When low electric fields less than 1 kV/cm are applied, conductivities of 1018 -
1020 mho/cm are obtained. These are probably due to the impurities remaining after
purification. However, when the fields are high (> 100 kV/cm) the currents not
only increase rapidly, but also undergo violent fluctuations which will die down
after some time. A typical mean value of the conduction current in hexane is
shown in Fig. 3.2
Fig. 3.3 Conduction current-electric field

characteristic in a hydrocarbon liquid
At very low fields, the current is due to the dissociation of ions. With intermediate
fields, the current reaches a saturation value, and at high fields the current
generated because of the field-aided electron emission from the cathode gets
multiplied in the liquid medium by a Townsend type of mechanism. The current
multiplication also occurs from the electrons generated at the interfaces of liquid
and impurities. The increase in current by these processes continues till breakdown
occurs.
As the breakdown field is approached, the current increases rapidly due to a
process similar to the primary ionization process and also the positive ions
reaching the cathode generate secondary electrons, leading to breakdown. The
breakdown voltage depends on the field, gap separation, cathode work-function,
and the temperature of the cathode. In addition, the liquid viscosity, the liquid
temperature, the density, and the molecular structure of the liquid also influence
the breakdown strength of the liquid.
Typical maximum breakdown strengths of some highly purified

liquids and liquefied gases are given in Table 3.3.
It has been observed that the increase in breakdown strength is more, if the
dissolved gases are electronegative in character (like oxygen).
Similarly, the increase in the liquid hydrostatic pressure increases the breakdown
strength. These properties are shown in Figs 3.4 and 3.5.
 CONDUCTION AND BREAKDOWN IN COMMERCIAL LIQUIDS
Commercial insulating liquids are not chemically pure and have impurities like gas
bubbles, suspended particles, etc. These impurities reduce the breakdown strength
of these liquids considerably. The breakdown mechanisms are also considerably
influenced by the presence of these impurities. In addition, when breakdown
occurs in these liquids, additional gases and gas bubbles are evolved and solid
decomposition products are formed.
Several theories have been proposed to explain the breakdown in liquids, and they
are
classified as follows:
(a) Suspended Particle Mechanism
(b) Cavitation and Bubble Mechanism
(c) Stressed Oil Volume Mechanism
Suspended Particle Theory

In commercial liquids, the presence of solid impurities cannot be avoided. These
impurities will be present as fibres or as dispersed solid particles. The permittivity
of these particles (ε2) will be different from the permittivity of the liquid (ε1). If we
consider these impurities to be spherical particles of radius r, and if the applied
field is E, then the particles experience a force F, where
( )
F=

This force is directed towards areas of maximum stress, if ε2 > ε1, for example, in
the case of the presence of solid particles like paper in the liquid. On the other
hand, if only gas bubbles are present in the liquid, i.e. ε2 < ε1, the force will be in
the direction of areas of lower stress. If the number of particles present are large,
they become aligned due to these forces, and thus form a stable chain bridging the
electrode gap causing a breakdown between the electrodes.
Cultivation and the Bubble Theory

It was experimentally observed that in many liquids, the breakdown strength
depends strongly on the applied hydrostatic pressure, Which means that a
kind of vapour bubble formed is responsible for breakdown. The following
processes have been suggested to be responsible for the formation of the
vapour bubbles:
(a) gas pockets at the surfaces of the electrodes;
(b) electrostatic repulsive forces between space charges which may be
sufficient to overcome the surface tension;
(c) gaseous products due to the dissociation of liquid molecules by electron
collisions; and
(d) vapourization of the liquid by corona type discharge from sharp points
and irregularities on the electrode surfaces.
Once a bubble is formed, it will elongate in the direction of the electric field
under the influence of electrostatic forces. Breakdown occurs when the
voltage drop along the length of the bubble becomes equal to the minimum.
The breakdown field is given as
Where, σ is the surface tension of the liquid,

ε1 is the permittivity of the liquid,
ε2 is the permittivity of the gas bubble,
r is the initial radius of the bubble assumed as a sphere and
Vb is the voltage drop in the bubble
Later this theory was modified, and it was suggested that only incompressible
bubbles like water globules can elongate at constant volume, the critical field
producing the instability will be:

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Conduction and Breakdown in Liquid Dielectrics

Liquid dielectrics, because of their inherent properties, appear as though they

Liquid dielectrics are used mainly as impregnates in high-voltage cables and

Transformer Oil (Mineral Oil)

 CONDUCTION AND BREAKDOWN IN PURE LIQUIDS

Fig. 3.3 Conduction current-electric field

Typical maximum breakdown strengths of some highly purified

Suspended Particle Theory

Cultivation and the Bubble Theory

Where, σ is the surface tension of the liquid,

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