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Streamers in transformer oil initiated by partial discharge in a bubble at low AC electric fields

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Abstract

The possible mechanisms of electrical breakdown of transformer oil at low voltage values at alternating voltage were investigated. The formation of streamers from the surface of bubbles into a liquid dielectric after partial discharge in a bubble was detected. This phenomenon has been observed for bubbles in pure transformer oil, in transformer oil with the addition of carbon nano-tubes, in oil after operation. At very low voltages, streamers in transformer oil were registered if a partial discharge in the bubble was stimulated by X-rays. Three possible mechanisms of electric breakdown of a gap filled with transformer oil were revealed at low values of electric field strength in the range from 13 to 51 kV/cm. The appearance of streamers from bubbles was preceded by deformation of the bubble due to one or more partial discharges in it. Streamers always appeared in pairs from the poles of the bubble except for the case of the transformer oil with carbon nanotubes. The results obtained are important for understanding the mechanisms of breakdown of transformer oil at very low voltage and can explain the causes of a number of accidents in high-voltage installations.

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Acknowledgements

Authors thank the Russian Science Foundation for financial support.

Funding

The study was supported by the Russian Science Foundation, grant No 22-79-10198.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Novosibirsk State Technical University, Novosibirsk, Russia

    S. M. Korobeynikov, A. V. Ridel, A. G. Ovsyannikov, D. I. Karpov, M. N. Lyutikova, V. A. Loman & R. A. Savenko

  2. Lavrentyev Institute of Hydrodynamics, Novosibirsk, Russia

    D. I. Karpov & R. A. Savenko

Authors
  1. S. M. Korobeynikov
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  2. A. V. Ridel
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  3. A. G. Ovsyannikov
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  4. D. I. Karpov
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  5. M. N. Lyutikova
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  6. V. A. Loman
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Contributions

S.K. formulated the problem, provided general guidance, analyzed experimental results, and wrote manuscript text. A.R. made experimental setup, performed the experiments, analyzed experimental results, treated experimental video and current signals, wrote Introduction of the manuscript. A.O. designed the experimental setup, participated in the experiments, and analyzed the experimental data. D.K. analyzed the experimental results, wrote text of the manuscript, made theoretical estimates, prepared pictures and format the paper. M.L. prepared transformer oils (pure and operated) for experiments, checked the composition and the quality of oils and mixture used. V.L. participated in measurements and analysis of PD in experiments. R.S. participated in analysis of PD electrical characteristics, made theoretical estimates of electrical characteristics of PD before streamer initiation.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to D. I. Karpov.

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The authors declare that we have no competing interests as defined by Springer, or other interests that might be perceived to influence the results and/or discussion reported in this paper.

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The manuscript is not submitted to more than one journal for simultaneous consideration. The submitted work is original and has not been published elsewhere in any form or language (partially or in full), unless the new work concerns an expansion of the previous work. A single study is not split up into several parts to increase the quantity of submissions and submitted to various journals or to one journal over time (i.e., “salami-slicing/publishing”). Results are presented clearly, honestly, and without fabrication, falsification, or inappropriate data manipulation (including image-based manipulation). No data, text, or theories by others are presented as if they were the author’s own (“plagiarism”). Proper acknowledgments to other works are given.

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Korobeynikov, S.M., Ridel, A.V., Ovsyannikov, A.G. et al. Streamers in transformer oil initiated by partial discharge in a bubble at low AC electric fields. Electr Eng (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00202-024-02359-y

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