A large population of aged equipment is apparently contaminated with moisture. Effects on life of Power transformer due to moisture in the solid insulation are:
Accelerated rate of aging for cellulosic materials such as paper and press board
Reduction of the dielectric strength of paper and press board materials
Risk of bubble evolution at high temperatures and limited Overloading capacity. Now a days two approaches are applied; the measurement of charging and discharging currents in time domain (Polarization and Depolarization Currents PDC) and the dielectric spectroscopy in frequency domain (Frequency Domain Spectroscopy FDS) & provides an indication of the insulation condition such as:
Moisture content in the oil/paper insulation
Faults in OIP, RBP and RIP high voltage bushings & CT
Faults in the generator, motor and cable insulation
Monitoring of moisture content in solid insulation during maintenance actions such as On-site drying will be very effective and should be considered as an important application