News Releases 2016Oil Lab Upgrade - Meiden’s Commitment to Effective & Accurate Transformer Health Testing
Transformers form a critical part of any power supply utility and industrial application. Besides down time being a premium, any potential operational faults could result in dire consequences to both productivity and safety. Hence, Meiden astutely recognizes the importance of testing transformer health to ensure reliability. As with human health, regular check-up and testing will extend years of reliable service.
Honoring its commitment to provide an effective and modern testing environment, Meiden’s Oil Lab is undergoing an extensive upgrading programme which commenced in August 2016. The upgrading serves four key purposes:
• Improving the testing environment of the laboratory
• Upgrading the Headspace DGA
• Upgrading the Acidity equipment
• Upgrading the fire wall
These improvements increase both the testing capacity and testing accuracy of the Oil Lab facility. With the upgraded fire wall, the Oil Lab maintains one of the highest standard in fire safety.
For instance, the lead time for testing by the Headspace DGA machine is now reduced by 25%, thereby increasing the sample count Meiden can process every day. Similarly, the new Acidity machine is able to reduce the testing lead time to just 15 minutes (as opposed to 25 minutes), and can detect even lower levels of acids than before.
About Headspace DGA
The Headspace DGA machine heating a sample of the transformer oil to liberate any gases into a sealed vial or ‘headspace’. The gases are then sent for gas chromatography for identification. Identification and quantification of these gases provide invaluable insight and an early indication of problems developing in the transformer, which is instructive for preventive maintenance programs.
About Acidity Equipment
The Acidity Equipment tests for the total acid number of a transformer oil sample. The new Mettler Toledo T5 titrator used by Meiden can detect low levels of acid, in accordance with SAC accuracy requirements. Acids in the oil can indicate contamination from the atmosphere, or from oil decomposition or oxidation. These acids are detrimental to the insulation system. An increase in acidity could indicate the rate of deterioration of the oil. As a guide, the acidity of oil in a transformer must not be allowed to exceed 0.25 mg KOH/g oil, which is the Critical Acid Number. Beyond this level, deterioration increases rapidly.