Influence of zinc oxide nanoparticles on dielectric performance of natural ester oil

In this study, the effect of semi-conductive zinc oxide nanoparticles on the dielectric performance of natural ester oil FR3 ^TM is addressed. The nanoparticles are integrated in the oil volume in weight percentages of 0.004% (zNF1) and 0.008% w/w (zNF2). AC Breakdown Voltage of the nanofluid samples is measured and compared to the respective properties of both the base oil and the nanofluids-containing SiC nanoparticles. Furthermore, the Partial Discharge Inception Voltage of Nomex ^® Dupont ^TM paper impregnated in NF samples is determined and explained. The processing of the results shows that zinc oxide nanoparticles can increase the dielectric strength of the transformer oil only in the lower concentration (zNF1) by 7%, while zNF2 has a reduced AC breakdown voltage by 17.1%. In terms of Partial discharge ignition voltage, it is found that the paper impregnated to zNF1 shows increased partial discharge ignition voltage with respect to paper impregnated to zNF2 by 25%.