Overview
Français
Read this article from a comprehensive knowledge base, updated and supplemented with articles reviewed by scientific committees.
Read the articleAUTHOR
-
Noëlle BERGER: ATOFINA Safety Department - Rhône-Alpes Research Center
INTRODUCTION
Insulating liquids have been used from the very beginning of the development of high-voltage electrical equipment. In general, liquids are associated with solid insulators, and their main role is to replace air in the cavities of solids to improve resistance to partial discharges and insulation breakdown. In some cases, notably in transformers and some power cables, the insulating liquid is primarily a heat-transfer fluid, used to evacuate the heat generated at the heart of the device.
Until the late 1960s, insulating liquids posed no environmental or toxicity problems. The discovery of worldwide pollution by polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) put the finger on the insulating liquid family as a whole, and made it the target of media attention. The result was growing suspicion of them, and their use became increasingly restricted and subject to regulation by national authorities. It is this phobia that has prompted research into "green" substitutes, notably based on vegetable oils.
A general presentation of insulating liquids in electrical engineering and a study of their main physico-chemical properties are given in the previous article. . You can also consult the table of notations and symbols.
The Ultimate Scientific and Technical Reference
EDITIONS
Other editions of this article are available:
This article is included in
Conversion of electrical energy
This offer includes:
Knowledge Base
Updated and enriched with articles validated by our scientific committees
Services
A set of exclusive tools to complement the resources
Practical Path
Operational and didactic, to guarantee the acquisition of transversal skills
Doc & Quiz
Interactive articles with quizzes, for constructive reading
Insulating liquids in electrical engineering
Mineral oils
Bibliography
Article references [D 2 471].
Standardization
International Electrotechnical Commission IEC
- Matériel électrique pour atmosphères gazeuses explosives. Quatrième partie : Méthode d'essai. - CEI 60079 - (1975)
- Isolants liquides. Détermination de la tension de claquage à fréquence industrielle. Méthode d'essai. - CEI 60156 - (1995-08) ...
Composition of petroleum and mineral oils
The main compounds found in petroleum and mineral oils are classified by family in figure 1 .
Nomenclatures for insulating liquids
These are listed in tables 1 and 2 , together with the names of the main commercial products.
Characteristics of some commercial liquids
The characteristics and properties of some commercial insulating liquids are given in tables 3 , 4 , 5 .
Suppliers
PCB destruction
Decontamination of PCB-containing equipment :
• Aprochim SA (solvent extraction decontamination)
• GEP General Pyralene Extraction (vapour phase extraction)
PCB destruction :
Atofina (liquid injection incinerator)
EMC Service Division PEC
Tredi (liquid...
Organizations
Bureau de normalisation du pétrole BNPé (F) (website under construction)
Center national de la recherche scientifique CNRS http://www.cnrs.fr
Laboratory of Electrostatics and Dielectric Materials LEMD (F) http://www.lemd.polycnrs.gre.fr/
Center professionnel des lubrifiants...
The Ultimate Scientific and Technical Reference
