Dielectrometry measurements of moisture dynamics in oil-impregnated pressboard

In oil-impregnated pressboard of medium and low humidity the complex dielectric spectrum's shape and amplitude do not change with variations in temperature and moisture content, but only shift in frequency. Thus it is possible to create a 'universal' curve, with appropriate temperature correction factors, which can be used to extract information about the moisture dynamics of solid transformer insulation from dielectrometry measurements. To create the universal curve, measurements are taken with the material placed in a parallel-plate structure whose complex impedance is measured. To measure spatial distributions of dielectric properties, imposed /spl omega/-k (frequency-wavenumber) dielectrometry is used, where a set of interdigitated electrodes on one surface of the material cause the electric field to have a limited depth of penetration into the dielectric, proportional to the electrode spacing. Measurements using the parallel-plate methodology establish a mapping of the dielectric spectrum of EHV-Weidmann HIVAL pressboard impregnated with Shell Diala A transformer oil, as a function of temperature and water content. This mapping is then used to determine spatial moisture profiles in pressboard in other experiments which make use of a three-wavelength interdigitated sensor. >