Studying Physical Properties of Gas-To-Liquid Compared with Mineral Oil under Accelerated Thermal Aging

Abstract

Mineral oil (MO) has long been utilized in high-voltage power transformers, as a cooling and dielectric medium; because of it is availability as it is extracted from fossil oil. Recently, Gas-To-Liquid (GTL) has a significant increase in use due to its superior performance, its purity and chemical consistency over conventional mineral oils. This paper presents examination of the temperature effects on mineral (Diala S2) and gas to liquid (Diala S4) oil physical properties. Fresh oil and aged oil samples, of the two oil types, have been tested in this paper. Accelerated thermal aging test have been conducted in laboratory to simulate the heat stress experienced by transformers during operation. Three aged oil samples, of the two types of oil, have been prepared in laboratory (3, 6, and 10 days). Density and viscosity measurements were performed on these fresh and aged oil samples. The results concluded that during the initial years, chemical changes cause a minor drop in the density of the mineral oil. Conversely, GTL oil has superior qualities since it stays more stable over time. Over time, the density of both oils exhibits comparable stability, however GTL oil is favored over mineral oil due to its consistency and stability. Diala S4 and Diala S<inf xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</inf> oils have higher viscosity, suggesting superior cooling performance before aging. However, Diala S<inf xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</inf> dropped to 10.649 mm<sup xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" xmlns:xlink="http://www.w3.org/1999/xlink">2</sup>/s after three years, indicating its long-term consequences. Diala S4 oil had higher flow efficiency, enhancing transformer cooling and insulating performance within thermal aging. This is due to GTL oil, derived from natural gas, has higher resistance to chemical deterioration, allowing it to sustain its viscosity stability over extended periods. These results emphasize the importance of choosing oils, especially GTL oil type based on their apparent and physical stability over time.