The Insulation Characteristics of Optical Fiber in Transformer Oil under Long-term Thermal Aging

Traditional methods cannot detect hot spot temperature, mechanical vibration and partial discharge signal and other state parameters of the transformer in real time. Optical fiber sensing technology has a wide range of application prospects due to its high accuracy, strong anti-interference ability and distributed measurement. However, the premise for its application is that the embedded optical fiber does not affect the safe operation of the transformer. This paper explores the interact between embedded fibers and transformers. In this paper, four different types of optical fibers were initially selected to prepare fiber-oil composite insulation. Samples under different aging time were obtained through accelerated thermal aging experiments. The mechanical strength and optical loss characteristics of fibers with different aging degrees were tested separately. At the same time, moisture content, acid value, oil chromatogram, dielectric loss factor and volume resistivity of insulating oil were tested. The results show that the mechanical strength of the PVC tight fiber decreases significantly as the aging time increases. PVC tight fiber significantly improves the dielectric loss factor, CO2/CO and total hydrocarbon content in insulating oil. The mechanical properties of the other three optical fibers remain basically unchanged and have little effect on the insulating oil. Thermal stress does not affect the optical transmission characteristics of all optical fibers. The PVC tight fiber is not suitable as the embedded optical fiber in transformers, while the other three optical fibers meet the basic requirements of the embedded optical fiber. The experimental results provide solutions for the safety risk assessment of the embedded optical fiber in transformers.