Electrical transformers are the backbone of our nation's electrical grid and a key element in most heavy industry. As such, premature or unexpected failure can be devistating, causing huge losses both of time and money. At Lab/Cor Materials, we can take a sample of the oil used as a dielectric in these devices and determine the state of your transformer.
While many companies provide transformer oil testing similar to what we offer, none will give you the comprehensive reports we do. Transformers are analyzed first to establish a baseline reading. This data is kept on file until that specific transformer is tested again some six months later, at which time we are able to draw conclusions as to the overall health of the unit.
Once we have the baseline of the transformer's properties, we can tell if there is a minor arc or if the oil is being exposed to moisture, all well before these postential problems develop into a catastrophic failure. This will allow your service personnel to take the transformer safely offline and find the fault in a controlled manner.
You can see an example of a comprehensive report on the documents page.
Excess moisture can hamper the dielectric properties of the transformer oil so it is imperative that this attribute be monitored. Lab/Cor Materials uses a state-of-the-art Karl Fischer Titrator to measure moisture content down to the ppm, so you can be sure of how much water is in your oil. Moisture analysis is included in our comprehensive reporting.
Sampling procedures for extremely low-level moisture analysis are difficult, so please speak with an analyst before sampling your oil for moisture analysis.
One of the biggest indicators of a transformer's history is the change in gases dissolved in the oil over time. Shifts in certain ratios of gases can indicate the occurance of an electrical arc, for example. In addition, buildup of potentially explosive gases must be monitored to avoid dangerously high levels.
In our comprehensive reports, we assign each transformer a condition, 1-4, based largely on the changes and ratios of the total dissolved gases. This allows an at-a-glance indicator of the transformer's state for those who do not wish to parse the verbose data themselves.
In most areas, law requires that transformer oil be tested for PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) before disposal. This potentially harmful compound was banned from production in the US in the 1970s due to its high toxicity, but it is still legal to use it in enclosed devices such as transformers. Hence, all waste oil must be tested for PCBs prior to disposal.
Lab/Cor Materials uses a Gas Chromatograph with custom methods to provide PCB analysis of your oil with turnaround times as fast as 24 hours.
There are many other tests that we perform in order to get the overall picture of a transformer's state. These include ASTM D1500 color number, D1298 specific gravity, D5187 acid number, and index of refraction.
Individual tests are available a la carte if you choose, and we can counsel you on which tests are applicable to your installation, if you like.
