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Moisture in Power Transformer:

How to Manage It?
by Engr. Mohd. Raffi bin Samsudin,
Mr Yogendra Balasubramaniam and
En. Young Zaidey Yang Ghazali

Moisture is a major problem for the paper insulation increases when temperature increases. The chart explains
system of a transformer. The effect of moisture on the paper why transformers often fail in the mornings or evenings,
insulation is the change in the dielectric constant. The and why highly loaded transformers with high moisture
sources of moisture in transformers are residual moisture content are less likely to fail.
in the bulk paper insulation which is absorbed from the
atmosphere and the ageing decomposition of cellulose and Moisture Monitoring Techniques
oil. When this happens, it will affect the dielectric property Moisture in the transformer can be monitored by using on-
of the transformer oil. Poor dielectric properties will result line and offline methods. The online method is carried out
in electrical and thermal breakdown of the oil. It also by taking an oil sample from the transformer and send-
reduces the oil flow because the density of the oil increases. ing it to the lab for moisture content measurement. When
This will increase the temperature of the transformer due to there is indication of abnormality from the online test, it is
poor heat dissipation. important to carry out offline tests diagnostics to ascertain
The following chart shows the effect of the dielectric the overall integrity and assessment to avoid unscheduled
breakdown voltage with respect to temperature at different outages, financial and environmental damages.
moisture level. It can be seen that the dielectric breakdown
voltage of the insulation reduces as the moisture content a) Online Monitoring
increases. On the other hand, the breakdown voltage As mentioned earlier, monitoring for moisture is done in
two ways. The first is by taking an oil sample and sending
it to the lab for moisture measurement. Alternatively,
the moisture content measurement could be done at site
by installing the online moisture detection equipment to
the transformer drain valve. It is advisable to install the
moisture detection equipment at the drain valve as a better
reading can be obtained. Equilibrium curves have been
developed to relate absolute water content in oil to water
content in paper (Figure 2). The curve is called Piper curve
and is established by plotting the relationship between the
water content in paper (%) with respect to the water content
in oil (ppm) at different temperatures.
Figure 1: Effect of the breakdown voltage with respect to the temperature
In order to use the chart, the temperature during the oil
at different moisture levels (Source: Nynas) sampling is recorded. The moisture content in the oil is
measured. The moisture content, parts per million (ppm),
is plotted on the Piper chart and an estimated value for the
moisture content in paper can be determined. However, this
will give an estimated value of moisture in paper and it is
dependent on the moisture equilibrium of the transformer.
The moisture migration from the oil to paper and back to oil
is dependent on the temperature of the transformer.

b) Offline Monitoring
Normally, offline monitoring techniques are an indirect
way of estimating the moisture effect in the transfor­mer.
The most popular methods are dissipation factor (tan
delta), polarisation and depolarisation currents (PDC),
Figure 2: Piper curves equilibrium between water in oil and in paper Frequency Domain Spectroscopy (FDS), and return

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vol­tage (RVM) in the frequency and time domain. For

an example, tan delta is used to determine the insulating
capacitance of the oil. If the insulating capacitance is
low, it shows that there is high moisture level in the oil.

Moisture Management in a Transformer

Moisture in transformer always exists. This is because
the cellulose chain in the paper insulation will break
over time, thus releasing moisture in the oil. However,
the amount of moisture in the free breathing transformers
can be minimised by considering the following solutions.
The most popular moisture management devices are
silica gel, vacuum filtration, air bag and diaphragm
sealed conservator tank. Figure 3 shows the location on
the transformer where the devices are installed.

a) Silica Gel
Silica Gel (Figure 4) breathers are installed by default
on transformers with a conservator tank. Breathing is
the process of oil expansion and contraction. During
the breathing process, the external air will flow into the
conservator tank through the breather where the silica
gels are installed. The silica gel will absorb the moisture
in the air and this will change its colour from blue to
pink. The disadvantages of silica gel are:
a) It requires frequent monitoring of its colour
b) Some moisture may escape through a moisture
saturated path in the breather
c) It cannot remove the moisture in the oil

As a solution for items (a) and (b), a self dehydrating

breather (Figure 5) can be used. A dehydrating breather
differ from a conventional breather by a heating element.

Figure 3: The installation locations of the moisture management devices on a

power transformer

Figure 4: Breather with silica gel Figure 5: Self-dehydrating breather

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A heater is mounted within the container to heat the nowadays have integrated particles filter (Figure 6). A
desiccant at selected intervals. The heater within the continuous flow of oil is supplied from the transformer to
container is supplied with electrical power to heat the the filtration equipment. The oil will be heated and passed
desiccant and condense the moisture and discharge it through through the vacuum chamber. Under high vacuum and
the vent valve. The voltage supply to the self-dehydrating temperature, the oxygen and moisture content will be re-
breather needs to be connected to the alarm system so that moved from the transformer oil. Then, the oil will pass the
it can trigger the alarm if the supply failed. particles filter before flowing back to the transformer.
The advantage of using the vacuum filtration technique
b) Vacuum Filtration is that it offers the ability to remove moisture down to very
Moisture filtration in paper and oil can also be done using minimum levels. On the other hand, the cost of the filtration
a vacuum medium. This technology is taking advantage equipment is comparatively high. In addition, the moisture
of the moisture migration inside the oil-paper insulation. in the oil is removed at a slower rate. The equipment can-
Most of the vacuum filtration equipment in the market not be pushed to filter at extra speed because it will lose
its efficiency and may cause oil surge in the transformer
which will eventually trip the transformer.

c) Air bag
The air bag is installed inside the conservator tank to
prevent the insulating oil and surrounding air from coming
into contact (Figure 7 and Figure 8). It is filled with air
and connected to a breather.
The air bag will prevent undesirable elements in the
atmosphere, such as water and oxygen; and prevent the
contamination of the transformer oil within the conser-
vator. This will also prevent condensation and oxidation
Figure 6: Vacuum filtration equipment
activity inside the transformer and suppress gas bubble

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cholz relay (if any) and the pressure relief valve. The ad-
vantages of the hermetically sealed transformers are:
• Less oil and cellulose ageing due to less oxidation
• No dehydrating breathers thus no maintenance is
required

Figure 7: Air bag

However, these types of transformers have several limita-
tions:
• The capacity of the transformer is limited to distribution
capacity (up to 15MVA). Research works are ongoing
to increase the capacity to a higher level.
• Incipient fault inside the transformer cannot be diag-
nosed by Dissolved Gas Analysis (DGA). The DGA is
like a blood test for the transformer.

For hermetically sealed transformers, oil sampling can-

not be done. On the other hand, users can also consider
Cast Resin Transformers. The cast resin transformers en-
case the windings in the epoxy resin materials. It needs
Figure 8: Air bag inside the conservator tank
less fire protection because the fire hazard has been mini-
mised with the absence of insulating oil. The windings are
completely sealed, so it is free from moisture and dust. In
addition, it requires less maintenance thus reducing the
running cost. However, these types of transformers have
several limitations:
• Most designs are for indoor use only
• Larger in physical size compared to hermetically sealed
transformers of the same capacity
• Initial purchasing cost is high

CONCLUSION
The lifespan of a transformer could be increased if the mois-
Figure 9: Diaphragm sealed conservator tank design
ture level in it is managed effectively. This could be done by
monitoring the moisture level via online or offline methods,
formation in the transformer oil. On the other hand, an installing silica gel, air bag, diaphragm or filtration equip-
air bag is expensive and the installation for the in-service ment. Users have the option to upgrade the transformer to a
transformers will require retrofitting. hermetically sealed type or cast resin type. n

d) Diaphragm Sealed Conservator Tank

REFERENCEs
The diaphragm sealed conservator tank is similar in con-
cept as the air bag, which is to prevent the insulating oil [1] Lampe, Spicar: “Oxygen-free transformer, reduced Ageing by con-
tinuous Degassing”, CIGRE, paper 12-05, Paris, 1976
and surrounding air from coming into contact. A thin [2] D.H. Shroff and A. W. Stannett.: “A review of paper ageing in power
rubber-like material is put across the conservator tank transformers“, IEE Proceedings, Vol.132, Pt. C, No 6, November 1985
(Figure 9). However, it has a limited flexibility over a pe- [3] J. Fabre and A. Pinchon: “Deterioration processes and products of
paper in oil”, CIGRE, paper 137, Paris, 1960
riod of time. The rubber can get torn due to internal pres-
[4] J. Altmann, Bukvis: “The oil-moisture diagnostic problem of aged
sure from the transformer main tank. transformers”, ARS2000, www.transformer-consulting.com
[5] “Product description of moisture transmitter for transformer oil
Other Options of Solving the Moisture HMP228”, www.vaisala.com
[6] U. Gafvert, G. Frimpong and J. Fuhr: “Modelling of dielectric Mea-
Issue in a Transformer surements on Power Transformers”, CIGRE, paper 15-10, Paris, 1998
The user of the free breather transformers can upgrade [7] T. Leibfried et al.: “Ageing and Moisture Analysis of Power Transform-
their transformers to a hermetically sealed transformer. er Insulation Systems”, CIGRE, paper 12-101, Paris, 2002
The hermetically sealed transformer does not have any [8] T.V. Oommen: “Moisture Equilibrium in Paper-Oil Systems”, Proceed-
ings of the Electrical/Electronics Insulation Conference, Chicago,
conservator tank. This type of transformer requires low pp.162-166, October 3 to 6, 1983
maintenance. The only maintenance that is required for [9] Y. Du et al.: “Moisture equilibrium in transformer paper-oil systems”,
this transformer is to release the gasses stored in the Bu- IEEE El. Ins. M.,1999, Vol. 15, No. 1

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