Breakdown Voltage and Gassing Tendency of Synthetic Esters Based MgO Nanofluids

Synthetic esters that are readily biodegradable have attracted attention as an alternative to mineral oil for transformer applications. Researchers have focused on the development of nanofluids; especially synthetic esters based nanofluids are being developed for the next generation insulating fluids. In the current investigation, synthetic ester based MgO nanofluids with various weight percent (0.001 to 0.005 wt %) of MgO nano particles were prepared under ultrasonication. The effect of MgO nanoparticles on the AC breakdown voltage (BDV), loss tangent, and gassing tendency of synthetic esters were studied in detail. The synthetic ester based MgO nanofluids, besides showing enhanced electric breakdown, also shows improvement gassing tendency behavior. Positive response on the gassing tendency was observed for the nanofluids. The synthetic ester based MgO nanofluids can be preferred as an alternative medium for power transformer insulation with reduced size to the conventionally used petroleum based mineral oil.