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for the top oil (the hottest oil) rarely exceeds 100°C and should results obtained by Griffin et al. [8] show that in the presence
be limited as per C57.91 to less than 110°C. The temperature of dicy, 5H2F was depleted to a great degree, whereas 2FOL,
limit for the average winding temperature at rated condition is 5M2F, 2FAL, and 2ACF appeared to have a small decrease (see
95°C, with a hot-spot limit of 110°C. So again, during normal Figure 4).
operation, the furan compound in the insulation should remain One theory for the observation of lower levels of 2FAL is that
stable without significant loss. dicy prevents a buildup of acids (acid capture), which prevents
Test results from the experiments carried out by Allan in 1995, the formation of 2FAL. Hydrolysis of cellulose is always acid
in which the furans-in-oil solutions were open to atmosphere air, catalyzed [10].
show that when the temperature increases from 70°C to 110°C,
the oxidative stability of furans gets increasingly worse, espe- Furan Analysis Techniques
cially that of 2FOL and 5H2F. These two furans are almost de- Although furans are produced by the deterioration of the cel-
pleted by the oxidation reactions when the temperature is above lulose paper insulation, it is the concentration of furans in the oil
90°C. So Allan suggested that the usefulness of 2FOL and 5H2F that is measured. Oil samples are drawn and sent to a laboratory
would be reduced in the transformers with free-breathing sys- for testing, and three different approaches to the interpretation of
tems, but the remaining three furans, 2FAL, 5M2F, and 2ACF, furan test results have been used, namely,
would be stable enough to be used as diagnostic indicators for
almost all transformers [7]. (1) Correlating the furan concentrations in the oil to the DP
Under oxidizing conditions found when a significant amount of the paper,
of oxygen is present in the oil, laboratory tests show the stability (2) Comparing the furan concentration with a threshold
of these five furans is lowered. It has been found that the stability value based on statistical analysis of a large population,
of furan compounds has the following order: 2ACF ≈ 5M2F > and
2FAL > 5H2F > 2FOL [2], [6], [8], meaning that 2ACF is about (3) Trending the furan concentration level over time.
the same as 5M2F, and both are more stable than 2FAL, and so
on. The correlation between the furan concentrations in the oil
Dicyandiamide, known as “dicy,” is used in thermally up- and the DP of the paper has been the object of much research.
graded insulation paper to help improve thermal performance, Because DP has been accepted as a reliable indicator of the de-
control the rate of aging, and for stability. The effect of dicy terioration of Kraft paper insulation, a direct correlation to the
on the stability of furan compounds remains a controversial is- measured furan content would prove to be the missing link to de-
sue. It was reported in 1999 that dicyandiamide appears to be termine the extent of the aging of the paper without the intrusive
involved in breaking down furan compounds [9]. Laboratory measures required to obtain a representative sample that could
be tested for its DP value. The efforts to establish that correla- DP is calculated using experimentally established equations that
tion have been based on laboratory tests, and they are discussed can be found in the standard test method. For a well-performed
in this article. The last two approaches are mainly based on the DP measurement, repeatability would typically be 2% and re-
statistical analysis on actual data collected from laboratories or producibility about 10% [11].
from utilities, and they will be discussed later in the article. Viscometric degree of polymerization measurement is an
analysis method that has long been recognized as a viable mea-
Correlation Between Determination sure of paper insulation aging. It gives the average number of
of the DP and Furan glucose units per cellulose chain. The length of the cellulose
Degree of polymerization is determined in accordance with molecule is measured in terms of the DP. New insulation pa-
ASTM D4243 - 99(2009), Standard Test Method for Measure- per has an average chain length of 1,100 to 1,500. Drying the
ment of Average Viscometric Degree of Polymerization of New transformer after winding reduces the DP of the paper further to
and Aged Electrical Papers and Boards. Standard IEC 60450 is around 1,000 to 1,100 [2], [12], [13].
a similar test method. The viscosity of a solution of macromol- When the insulation paper degrades to the point that the DP
ecules is dependent on the molecular weight at a given low con- is approximately 200, many would consider the paper to have
centration. This phenomenon is used for the determination of the reached the end of its useful life. It is no longer capable of re-
DP of cellulosic insulating materials. covering from the mechanical stresses expected in a normally
For each test a small amount of fluffed paper or board, of operated transformer. Although many transformers remain in
mass 50 to 100 mg, that has the oil removed is dissolved in cu- service with DP levels below 200, selecting a DP value as the
priethylenediamine. The viscosity of the paper solution is deter- point of the insulation end of life is a matter of engineering
mined using a capillary viscometer. From this result the average judgment.
Kraft Paper
Several of the widely recognized technical papers that have
proposed correlation equations for the relationship of the furan
concentration to DP are summarized in the following:
ples that have been aged at different rates for different times and tain threshold values of furans for diagnostic purposes. However
different temperatures using a standard aging test protocol and most of the survey results are from transformers using standard
when it is presumed he followed the identical test procedures, Kraft paper that were designed according to IEC standards. The
the results show little precision (Figure 9). After reviewing, and results may have limited application to transformers using ther-
analyzing, this incredibly wide variation in the test data, and the mally upgraded paper designed according to IEEE standards.
correlation equations, the authors cannot conclude that the pro-
cedure for these furan tests and the conversion into an equivalent A. Dong et al. [25] collected 750 furan test records of dif-
DP is valid today. ferent transformers from China. No detailed informa-
tion on these transformers was given. Through a sta-
Studies of Data From Operating tistical approach, a significant effect of service age of
step-up transformer on 2FAL level in oil was observed,
Transformers but the effects of rated voltage and capacity were con-
The correlation between the logarithm of 2FAL and DP in
sidered insignificant. They also claimed that the pro-
operating transformers has been difficult to establish—consider-
duction of 2FAL in oil would speed up, especially
able scatter was found on the correlation between the collected
after 15 years or so of service. This phenomenon of
DP value and the furan levels on the real transformers [23], [24].
accelerated generation was also observed in a labora-
This uncertainty may be caused by many factors such as a dif-
tory experiment conducted by Emsley et al. [17], who
ferent paper-to-oil ratio, partitioning of furan in paper and oil,
reported that the most significant rise in 2FAL level oc-
which may depend on the temperature, oil quality, and water
curred when DP had deteriorated to below 400.
concentration in oil, or possible decomposition of furans in the
B. Xue [14] collected 2FAL test results on 77 step-up
presence of dicy, oxygen and high temperature, and oil process-
transformers in power plants from northern China, with
es.
rated voltages ranging from 100 to 500 kV. Through re-
Also, because the measured furan level in oil is an indicator
gression analysis of these data, the following equation
of the average paper degradation, it cannot indicate the degrada-
to calculate the mean values of 2FAL for transformers
tion at the worst-case location. In addition, the pattern of aver-
with different service years was obtained: log10(2FAL)
age paper degradation will vary from one transformer design to
= −1.83 + 0.058 × t, where 2FAL is expressed in milli-
another. A transformer with moderate levels of overall degrada-
grams per liter and t is the number of years in operation
tion can have the same 2FAL concentration in the oil as another
of the transformer. The upper and lower 99.5% confi-
unit with generally low overall levels but also a small area with
dence bounds of 2FAL level were obtained from these
severe deterioration. Similar transformers may be operated at
two equations: log10(2FAL) = −1.29 + 0.058 × t and
different average and different peak loading throughout their
log10(2FAL) = −2.37 + 0.058 × t. The results are plotted
lifetimes. It should be expected that the insulation would age
in Figure 11.
differently in these units, and therefore the furan content would
C. Researchers [19], [26] published several papers shar-
be different. Thus, an accurate correlation between DP and the
ing their experience with furan analysis in field trans-
furan concentrations in oil for field transformers is difficult to
formers. In 1998, a survey was conducted on the fu-
establish.
ran test results over the three-year period from 1994
through 1997 [26]. All small pole-top transformers
Statistical Analysis of Furan Data were excluded from the survey. In the survey, most of
Many have attempted to conduct statistical analyses on furan the samples were taken from mineral oil. However, the
data sampled from field transformers. The objective is to ob- sources of the transformers were mixed, including the
from actual in-service transformers has not provided data that transformers with the furan test results, and then with tests of
will correlate the two. Again because of the variability of furan actual insulation removed from these units, are essential. Only
test results due to differences in design and application, none of after establishing that correlation can the transformer industry
the methods reviewed have provided a set of threshold values gain the experience and history required to allow furan testing to
or ranges of results that will allow classification of the extent of become a reliable and valuable tool for determining the degree
aging that apply to all transformers. of paper insulation deterioration in a particular transformer.
The best available analysis technique appears to be compar- As a final remark, it may be of interest to also look into other
ing relative furan test results between transformers that have insulation aging traces and possible correlations with furans
similar design and construction and similar service histories. as well as the actual deterioration of the solid insulation. One
The industry expectations must be managed to recognize that chemical indicator of aging that seems to be a serious candi-
perhaps the only valid conclusion could be that one of the units date is methanol [29], [30], although further investigation is still
in this comparison appears to be aging at a faster rate than the needed to clarify a number of issues, such as the effect of oil ag-
other. ing and nitrogenous substances on the occurrence of methanol,
Continued thermal aging tests while controlling the factors in order to provide a reliable indicator.
that affect the aging rate, and gathering of paper samples, along
with furan data, should help the industry to establish a more de- Acknowledgments
finitive relationship between furans, DP, and overall transformer The authors would like to thank the IEEE Transformer Com-
paper aging characteristics. Laboratory tests to examine furan mittee for its support of the Task Force of Furan Analysis for
behavior in a full range of degradation states, from around 1,000 Liquid Power Transformers and the following individuals for
DP up to 200 DP level, for 100% thermally upgraded insula- their valuable suggestions: Brian Penny, Jocelyn Jalbert, Jos
tion paper would enhance the understanding of this technology. Veen, Joseph Kelly, Juan Castellanos Gonzalez, Mike Lau, and
However, data to correlate the operating conditions of in-service Paul Boman.