Low Concentration Vegetable Oil Based Nanofluid : Dielectric properties, AC Breakdown Voltage and Kinematic Viscosity

The transformers oil acts as an insulation as well as cooling liquid of a transformer. It is very important that the transformer oil is maintained so that the oil properties are preserved with time. Petroleum-based mineral oil is widely used as insulation oil in transformer due to its excellent insulating qualities and low cost despite its' non-biodegradable and hazardous property. This paper seeks to find an alternative of mineral oil by using palm oil based nanofluids at lower concentration values that match the IEC standards for ester oil. The nanoparticles used in this project are zinc oxide (ZnO) and zirconium dioxide (ZrO₂). ZnO has conductive nature while ZrO₂ on the other hand shows insulative behavior. Three different concentration value were used which were 0.0015 g/L, 0.0025 g/L and 0.005 g/L which had never been reported before. Tests performed on the samples includes AC breakdown, dielectric properties and kinematic viscosity. Research outcome shows an outstanding result at optimum value in improving the measured properties at these low nanofluid concentrations. Reducing the amount of nanoparticles use also means saving cost and providing a more eco-friendly solution. (paper)