The new standard IEC 62961 for the transformer oil quality testing has just been released. Some of the issue related to the current ASTM D971 standard are better addressed in the new one. In this blog post, the main differences between the two are discussed.
The most significant difference is the time point at which the measurement is done. According to the ASTM standard, the measurement should be performed within 60 s after the oil -water interface has been formed. At this time point, the equilibrium has not been reached as it generally takes much longer for the impurities to adsorb at the oil -water interface. This makes the method less accurate and more sensitive to the timing of the measurement. With the new standard, the time point is set to 180 ±30 s. Although the equilibrium is probably not achieved even in this time frame, it gives much more realistic value for interfacial tension without increasing the testing time too much. Also, with this measurement protocol, it is possible to distinguish between differently aged ester liquids, which is not possible with ASTM D971 standard.
The purity of the water is also highly important. The ASTM standard instructs to check the purity of the water prior to each interfacial tension measurement. It also defines the acceptable surface tension range for water to be 71 – 73 mN/m*. This is quite strict as the surface tension of water is very easily affected by even the smallest impurity. The new standard loosens the requirement a bit and the range is now set to 70 - 73 mN/m. Also, the measurement of surface tension is not required before each test but a daily check is enough.
As the measurement is done with the du Noüy ring method, the speed at which the ring is moved through the interface is meaningful and the motion should be as smooth as possible. The force determining the interfacial tension is measured just prior the detachment of the film and is not equal to maximum force. The automated instrument can detect that maximum electronically and reverse the platform movement to prevent the detachment of the film. This makes it possible to do several measurements in a row.
As purity is highly important for successful measurements, the new standard gives a lot of emphasis on cleaning. Clear instructions for the cleaning of both the beaker and the du Noüy ring are given.
Please watch the short webinar below that discusses the changes more in detailed.
Susanna is an Application Scientist at Biolin Scientific. In her PhD thesis, she developed fabrication methods for a new type of inorganic-organic polymers. Microfabricated polymer chips were utilized as tool for biomolecule separation in analytical chemistry.
