Accelerated thermal aging of Kraft papers impregnated with dielectric liquids

Accelerated thermal aging was conducted on Kraft papers impregnated with mineral insulating oil (MO) and palm insulating oil (PO), and the effect of aging time on the oils and Kraft papers was observed. Each sample consisted of insulating oil, dried Kraft paper, and weighed metal catalysts (copper, iron, zinc, and aluminum) in a bottle. Prior to aging, the bottles were left for 24 h at room temperature for impregnation to take place. The thermal aging experiments were carried out at 130 °C for 250, 500, and 750 h. The properties of the MO and PO (moisture content, acidity, and ultraviolet-visible absorption spectra) and the properties of the Kraft papers (tensile strength and colour) were determined. Results showed that the aged PO had higher moisture content compared with the aged MO. However, the Kraft papers impregnated with PO had better tensile strength after 750 h of aging, which may be attributed to the affinity of PO to moisture. This slows down the hydrolytic degradation mechanism. In terms of colour, the Kraft papers were darker than their original colour as the tensile strength decreased. To conclude, the Kraft paper impregnated with PO had higher tensile strength compared with those impregnated with MO.