UQ team develops test kit for health and longevity of high-voltage transformers
A computerised test kit for high-voltage transformers developed by University of Queensland researchers will save companies and taxpayers millions of dollars as equipment can be serviced to extend its life or replaced before failing.
At the heart of the testing tool is a technique known as "Return Voltage Measurement" developed by Computer Science and Electrical Engineering Department researchers over the past six years.
The technique's success at diagnosing problems in transformers recently led to the development of three-year, research program, supported by TransGrid, the organisation responsible for bulk electricity transmission in New South Wales. The University and TransGrid have signed a collaborative research agreement to carry out and jointly fund the program, estimated to cost almost $750,000.
Project manager and Department senior lecturer Dr Tapan Saha said the project would provide TransGrid with mathematical models for predicting the remaining life of their power transformers.
"With around half of Australia's high-voltage transformers set to run beyond their 30-40-year design lives in the next few years, our testing tool will provide an accurate assessment of their condition," Dr Saha said.
"The technique provides a kind of early warning system for transformers. Transformer failure is common in many Third World countries blacking out entire cities."
Weighing many tonnes, high-voltage transformers cost around A$1 million each and allow engineers to vary the voltage of power sent across hundreds of kilometres to substations servicing major population centres.
Their life largely depends on the state of the insulating paper and hydrocarbon oil within their tanks. Dr Saha said as part of the TransGrid project, Chemistry Department Associate Professor David Hill would examine the properties of these insulating materials.
The project is the culmination of hundreds of laboratory experiments using a computer-controlled diagnostic technique developed by Dr Saha's team. Initially funded by the Electricity Supply Association of Australia, the research involved Emeritus Professor Mat Darveniza and Dr Hill in its early stages.
It has led to a number of short courses and invited seminars for electrical engineers conducted by Dr Saha over the years and more than 30 published research papers in international journals and at conferences. It currently involves PhD student Zheng Tong Yao and a yet to be appointed postdoctoral research fellow.
For more information, contact Dr Tapan Saha (telephone 07 3365 3962).
