MODELING AND OPTIMIZATION OF THE THERMOPHYSICAL PROPERTIES OF A NATURAL ESTER BASED NANO FLUID FOR A HIGH VOLTAGE TRANSFORMER

Abstract

In recent times, due to environmentally friendly issues, sustainable resources, and higher concerns regarding safety, research in the area of alternative liquid insulation in high voltage apparatus has been necessary. To actualize this goal, vegetable oil has been studied extensively and it has the potential to replace mineral oil in power transformers. In addition, the incorporation of nanoparticles has been remarkable in producing improved characteristics of insulating oil. In this study optimization of the Thermophysical properties which include viscosity, and the flash point was done using the Taguchi approach of design of experiment. The concentration of the nanoparticles, mixing, and drying time were varied and an optimal combination of parameters was observed and recorded. The optimum parameter combination for flash point is 0.9wt% concentration, 45 minutes mixing time, and 3hrs drying time. Viscosity has its optimum parameter combination at zero concentration of nanoparticles, mixing, and drying time. The optimized values of the thermophysical properties of the nanofluid reveal that the natural ester-based nanofluid is a suitable replacement for mineral oil in transformer cooling and insulation because of its improved properties. A mathematical model for the combination of concentration of nanoparticles, mixing and drying time for viscosity and flash point was developed and statistically validated. Hence can be used to navigate and predict the viscosity and flash point of the nanofluid within and outside the experimental design space.

Keywords: Methyl ester, Viscosity, Flash Point, Optimization