Abstract
This article describes the results of laboratory tests on an oil-wedge-type electrode system, which were supplemented by FEM (finite element method) simulations. The studies were focused on the comparison of the partial-discharge inception voltage (PDIV) in the abovementioned system when immersed in different liquid dielectrics, namely inhibited mineral oil, uninhibited mineral oil, synthetic ester, and natural ester. In addition, the electric field stress obtained from the simulations was used in each case to determine the safe level for the actual transformer insulation. The studies were performed under AC voltage. Both electrical and optical detection methods were applied in order to properly determine the discharge inception. The statistical analysis of the results obtained from the laboratory measurements was carried out using Weibull distribution. We found that both mineral oils demonstrated better properties than the ester liquids in terms of resistance against partial-discharge appearance under the conditions of the oil-wedge-type electrode model. Therefore, for all considered cases, the inception electric field stress obtained from the FEM-based simulations corresponding to the partial-discharge inception voltage was found to be significantly higher than the commonly accepted safe design level, which is in the range of 10−12 kV/mm. This proved the good electrical strength of all liquids under test.