IEEE International Conference on Dielectric Liquids 2011, Trondheim

Experimental evaluation of water content

determination in transformer oil by moisture sensor
T. Gradnik, M. Kon an-Gradnik, N. Petric, N. Muc
Elektroinstitut Milan Vidmar
Ljubljana, Slovenia
tim.gradnik@eimv.si
Abstract Paper presents experimental research on
temperature dependency of water solubility in mineral
transformer oils. Moisture sensor measurements and
absolute water content determination by Karl Fisher
titration method were performed under controlled
laboratory conditions to investigate solubility models of
different types and conditions of mineral transformer oils.
Results of experiments demonstrate that preset moisture
solubility model of the moisture sensor affects accuracy of
water content determination. Test setup and optimised
procedure for verification and calibration of the moisture
sensor with oil-specific solubility parameters is described,
tested and evaluated. This allows higher accuracy of on-line
water content monitoring in operating transformers under
changing temperature conditions.

Keywords- power transformer; oil; solubility model;

moisture; relative water saturation; sensor; water content;
on-line monitoring; calibration; temperature;
I.

INTRODUCTION

Power transformer represents a vital element of power

transmission system with a typical life-expectancy over 40
years. Supervising transformer condition not only plays an
important role in securing longevity of transformer, but also
assures reliability of its operation. Majority of large power
transformers are filled with mineral oils because of their
excellent combination of dielectric, cooling and oxidation
stability properties. Presence of moisture in mineral oil reduces
dielectric performance of the insulation system and accelerates
ageing of the paper insulation, therefore it is vital to assure low
moisture content in new and maintain it low in operating
transformers. To control and maintain oil quality, periodic oil
tests are performed according to international standards [1],[2],
with maintenance frequency depending on the condition and
position of the transformer as well as maintenance strategy of
the transformer operator. In the standards, maximum limits of
water content are specified as mg of water per kg of oil, (i.e.
ppmw value), for new and aged transformers depending on their
voltage levels. For decades, these limits have been widely
accepted, assuring longevity and reliability of transformer
operation.
In the last decade an increased trend in use of transformer
on-line moisture monitoring devices can be observed. Moisture
sensor consists of two electrodes, connected by a hygroscopic
thin-film polymer and a temperature probe, preferably
positioned in the oil flow of the transformer cooling system
piping. Water molecules penetrate from oil into the polymer
and change its capacitance proportionally to the relative
saturation of the oil. Water content in oil is calculated by
multiplying the measured relative saturation of the oil with

absolute saturation content of the oil. The latter is a material

specific property, which is also temperature dependant.
Temperature dependency of the oil solubility is described by a
solubility curve. Some moisture monitoring applications rely
on the assumption that unified solubility curve can be used
with variety of new oils. Moisture sensor measurements are
further used to calculate water content in paper insulation by
use of moisture equilibrium curves. An overview of moisture
equilibrium curves and their use is given in [3], [14].
More observations of unexpected deviations between water
content in oil results obtained by on-line moisture sensor and
results of laboratory coulometric tests have been found and
observed [4],[5],[15]. A possible reason for the deviations was
that the solubility model used in moisture sensor relied on the
preset oil solubility model, thus neglecting specific solubility
characteristics of different oils. Researchers at SINTEF
reported a deviation between experimentally obtained
solubility model and a model found in the IEC 60422 standard
[6]. To estimate the error derived from using unified solubility
model with different oils and analyse the improvements in
accuracy using the oil-specific solubility model a laboratory
investigation was performed as follows.
II. WATER SOLUBILITY IN TRANSFORMER OIL
MODEL AND DEFINITIONS

Mineral transformer oils have low affinity for water; one

drop of water at room temperature is enough to saturate one
litre of new oil. Water is attracted to polar oil components such
as aromatic hydrocarbons and polar impurities. Lower weight
molecular acids, produced during thermal ageing of mainly
paper insulation [7], also increase moisture solubility of water
in oil. Water in transformer exists in four typical forms:
dissolved, when water concentration in oil is below its
saturation level,
chemically bound water (presence of polar oil components)
free water (water concentration exceeds the oil saturation)
water adsorbed in cellulose insulation
Relative saturation of the oil Rs, expressed in per-cent form
and its equivalent, water activity (aw), expressed in per unit
form, represent the ratio of dissolved water content in oil (Woil,
in ppmw) and water saturation content (Wsat, in ppmw). Water
saturation is a function of oil temperature, chemical oil
properties and ambient pressure. The temperature dependency
of the water saturation content can be approximated in form of
simplified Arrhenius equation:
Wsat 10

B
T

(1)

1/4

where T is the absolute temperature in Kelvin, A and B are

oil specific solubility coefficients. Different formulations of
the water saturation content in exponential form (Eq. 2) exist,
[8-12] with corresponding oil solubility coefficients (W0 and
B, Eq 3) can be found in literature, [8-12], outputting equal
solubility curves for equal types of oil.
Wsat

W0 e

B
T

III. EXPERIMENT

(2)

where A ln W0 , B=B log e

(3)

In Tab. 1 and Fig. 1, oil solubility parameters from different

sources [8-12] are recalculated into form of Eq. 1. for the
purpose of comparison to experimentally obtained results,
discussed in chapter III.
Table 1. Comparison of literature and estimated oil solubility parameters
Cigre Oomen Griffin GE Hydran Vaisala
EIMV
[9]
[10]
[11]
M2 [12] MMT330 [8]
(Tab. 2)
A
B

7,23
1640

7,42
1670

7,09
1567

7,71
1783

7,37
1662

5,5 - 6,8
1320-1520

Figure 1. Comparison of literature and experimental oil solubility curves

To calculate absolute water content from relative saturation

measurements, Eq. 4 is applied:
Woil

aw Wsat T ,

(4)

Oil solubility coefficients can be experimentally determined

from two relative saturation measurements in a sealed oil
sample with constant water content at two different
temperatures by applying the Eq. 5 and 6. A simple test setup
description and below equations are found in [13].
B
A log Wsat T1 ,
T1

(5)

log Wsat T2 log Wsat T1 ,

1 1

T2 T1

corresponding temperature, calculated from Eq. 4. In this

method of calculation of solubility parameters it is assumed
that the isotherm of water activity is linear to water
concentration (linearity of the moisture sensor indication) and
that the solubility curve has the form of Eq. 1 (Arrhenius form).

(6)

where Wsat(Tx) is the water saturation content at

During transformer operation, partitioning of water content

between oil and cellulose insulation in transformer is
depending on temperature changes that affect water solubility
properties. Time constant of the moisture migration is a
variable, depending on the oil-paper insulation temperature. To
investigate solely the response of the moisture sensor, the water
content during laboratory experiment needs to stay constant,
which means that the laboratory test cell needs to be free of any
hydrophilic materials that could adsorb and absorb water to oil
as oil temperature changes during test.
Laboratory test setup in Fig. 2 was used to obtain constant
moisture content in the test cell. A 100 ml Erlenmeyer glass
flask with hydrophobic polytetrafluoroethylene bushings was
used and a gas-sealed oil dilatation system was setup to prevent
ambient moisture ingress during KF oil sampling and coolingdown period. Magnatic stirrer and heater with external
temperature regulation probe were used to obtain a
homogenised and constant temperature of the test cell. A
calibrated Vaisala HMT338 moisture and temperature sensor
was inserted into the oil flask and connected to a personal
computer through a digital rs-232 output, enabling continuous
logging of temperature, relative saturation and water content.
According to the Calibration report of the test instrument its
accuracy was within the manufacturer specifications
(temperature accuracy error <0,5 C, relative saturation error
<1%, including non-linearity, hysteresis and repeatability
errors).
The experiment consisted of a heat-up-cool-down test cycle
ranging from 25 C to 60 C, simulating normal operating
temperatures in a transformer. At least two oil samples for KF
water content measurements were taken during test cycle to
minimize the repeatability error of the KF water content
measurement and to check the sealing of the test system.
The obtained measurements were used to calculate
oil-specific solubility parameters, from which oil-specific water
content plots in Figs. 3-6 were made.
Relative saturation and temperature measurements were
carried out on variety of new and service aged oils, presented
in Tab. 2. The seven tested oil samples are well known mineral
inhibited transformer oils according to IEC 60296
specifications. Samples No. 1, 2 (Ergon) and No.3 (Nynas) are
new unused oils of two producers with moisture levels 12-34
ppm. Samples No. 4,5,6,7 are aged oils from operating
transformers of two different producers, of different aging
degree (interfacial tension 53mN/m -16 mN/m, acidity 0,010,16) and moisture level from 14 ppm - 32 ppm. The level of

Table 2. Chemical properties with experimentally determined oil-specific solubility coefficients of the tested oils
#
1
2
3
4
5
6
7

Chemical properties

Oil
type

Condition

Ergon Highvolt III

Ergon Highvolt III
Nynas Nytro 4000X
Technol Y3000 (aged)
Technol Y3000 (aged)
Modri a Traafomol S
Modri a Traafomol S

new, wet
new, wet+
new, wet
aged, dry
aged, wet
aged, dry
aged, wet

Aromatics
(%)
1.7
1.7
4.5
10.5
10.4
14.2
14.2

Color
1
1
1
5
3
3-4
4

Acidity

Interf. tension

(mg KOH/g oil)

(mN / m)

0,01
0,01
<0,01
0.16
0.08
0.02
0.05

53
53
45
16
26
27
26

Solubility coef.
moisture content
(ppmw)
17.1
34.4
12.3
15.0
31.8
14.0
25.7

1520
1520
1320
1030
1130
1270
1270

6.8
6.8
6.2
5.5
5.8
6.2
6.2

aromatic compounds as determined by IEC 60590 varies from

very low (1,7%) to high (14,2%). The range of humidity and
aging degree of the tested samples is representative for new
and up to 35 years old transformer oils in operating
transformers.
As a reference measurement for water content
determination, an accredited test method IEC 60814 Karl
Fischer (KF) coulometric titration with direct injection and
high precision scale was performed on a Methrom 684KF
instrument in EIMV Physical-Chemical Transformer
Diagnostics laboratory. Accuracy and repeatability of the
reference test method is approved through an ISO 17025
accreditation, by certificate L339 (EIMV), [16].
IV. TEST RESULTS & DISCUSSION
Example of a test measurement course for new oil with low
aromatic and acidic content is shown in Fig. 3. Water content
readings calculated by MMT338 preset solubility model
(dotted line) at room temperature (25C) are close to reference
KF measurements (black dots with 1 ppm error lines), as at
higher temperatures, excessive indication of water content is
observed. Similar deviations can be found also with other types
of new oils tested (Nynas 10X, GeminiX), independently of
their water content levels. Water content indication of the oilspecific solubility model (full line) on the other hand
compensates the temperature dependant error and shows only
shorter overshoots during steep temperature changes, which
can be attributed to moisture sensor response time. A
negligibly small increase in KF water content measurements is
observed at higher oil temperatures with dry oil samples, which
could be related to oil sample contamination during the KF
sample handling.
Evaluation of solubility characteristics from Moisture vs.
time diagram can be improved by constructing Moisture vs.
temperature diagram (Fig. 4). In this diagram, hysteresis
reflecting different physics of water content absorption and
desorption processes is exposed. During normal service
operation of sensor, the hysteresis reflects in a dynamic
measurement error. The size of hysteresis error depends on the
moisture sensor response time which further depends on
several factors, such as speed of oil circulation around sensor,
rate of temperature change, oil humidity and solubility
characteristics.

50

Temperature vs. time:

Nynas 4000X(wet)

80

Comparing calculated water content values at stabilized

temperature levels (25 C, 40 C and 60 C) to KF
measurement results in Moisture vs. temperature diagram, the
calibration of oil specific parameters can be visually confirmed
or in some cases corrected to get better fitting of the oilspecific model, compared to the two-point method calibration
described in chapter II. From Fig. 4, matching of water content
level obtained by the KF measurements and oil-specific
solubility model in Fig. 4 is within 1 ppm. The dynamic
overshoot of ca. 2 ppm is estimated. Using Moisture vs.
temperature diagram, it is also simple to check and quantify
error of water content calculated using the preset solubility
model, as well as to evaluate its temperature dependency. A 5
ppm difference in water content results of preset model or ca.
40% overestimation of water content can be observed at 60 C.
In Fig. 5, Moisture vs. temperature diagram of an aged and
wet oil sample is shown. As water solubility of such oil is
higher than in new oil, preset model yields too low results
compared to the reference KF method (13 ppm or -35%
difference between readings and reference values at room
temperature). As oil temperature rises, water content error is
compensated by inaccuracy of the preset model.
25

70
60
50

Moisture vs. temperature:

Nynas4000X(wet)

20

40

40

30
20
30

Figure 2. Comparison Test setup: Oil cell with moisture and temperature
probe and oil-dilatation system, right: moisture sensor (Vaisala HMT338) and
Karl-Fisher coulometer (Methrom 684 KF)

15

Moisture vs. time:

10
20

10

rel.sat. (%)
ppm (preset)

ppm(oil- spec)
ppm (KF)

Koef:
A= 1320
B= 6.2

ppm(oil-spec)
ppm (KF)

Tem perature (C)

Figure 3. Temperature and humidity measurements for sample #3

Figure 4. Moisture vs. temperature profile for sample #3

ppm (preset)

35

Moisture vs. temperature:

30

Trafomol(wet)

30

Moisture vs. temperature:

HighVolt3(wet)

25

25

20

20
15
15
10

10
5
0

Koef:
A= 1270
B= 6.2

5
ppm(oil-spec)

ppm (preset)

ppm (KF)

0
Temperature (C)

V. CONCLUSION
Oil-specific solubility factors for several characteristic oil
types were experimentally determined according to method,
provided by a moisture sensor manufacturer, and checked with
direct comparison to results obtained by a reference KF test
method in an accredited laboratory.
Experimental findings described in this paper demonstrate
that determination of water content using moisture is not
accurate if adequate (oil-specific) solubility parameters are not
accounted for. The size of the error depends on the oil type and
condition and in most cases also on the temperature of the oil.
The magnitude of observed errors can be high enough to
disturb functionality of transformer monitoring/diagnostic
systems either by causing potentially false alarms with new oils
or under-estimating water content values with aged oils.
Further research of on-line moisture measurements in
transformer insulation systems is continuing at Milan Vidmar
Institut with aim of improving transformer moisture diagnostic
methods.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Authors would like to thank Mrs. Paasima (Vaisala) and
Mr. Gasperlin (IAG) for technical support and discussions.

ppm(oil-spec)

ppm (preset)

ppm (KF)

Temperature (C)

Figure 5. Moisture vs. temperature profile for sample #7

Fig. 6 shows Moisture vs. temperature diagram of new oil

with very low aromatic content. Water determination error of
the moisture sensor through the temperature range is varying
from +4 to +9 ppm (+25% to +45%). Sorption hysteresis is
relatively small though same temperature dynamics was taking
place during the test cycle as with other oil samples.

Koef:
A= 1520
B= 6.8

Figure 6. Moisture vs. temperature profile for sample #1

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