Accelerated aging characteristics of lubricating greases used for separable insulated connector applications

Author

Ferrito, Sam J. ; Makal, John M.

Author_Institution

Thomas A. Edison Tech. Center, Cooper Power Syst., Franksville, WI, USA

Volume

1

fYear

1999

fDate

11-16 Apr 1999

Firstpage

89

Abstract

An accelerated aging program was devised for evaluating the performance characteristics of various lubricating greases designed for use with separable insulated connectors. In addition, a series of experimental grease formulations containing multi-functional silicone and perfluoropolyether base oil fluids with various types of gelling agents, antioxidants and stabilizers were examined. Grease properties were evaluated at regular intervals after being thermally aged at 121°C for up to 20 weeks. Disassembly forces of 25 kV class separable loadbreak elbow connectors were measured and the interfaces were photographed to visually document physical changes occurring to the grease. Significant performance differences between grease formulations supplied by different manufacturers were observed. Also, select synthetic perfluoropolyether base oil formulations were found to outperform the traditionally used silicone base oil formulations. The physical property best correlatable to performance was found to be the rate of base oil polymerization

Keywords

ageing; cable jointing; electric breakdown; electric connectors; insulation testing; life testing; lubrication; power cable insulation; power cable testing; 121 C; 20 week; 25 kV; accelerated aging characteristics; antioxidants; base oil formulations; base oil polymerization; gelling agents; grease properties; lubricating greases; multi-functional silicone; perfluoropolyether; performance characteristics; power cable connectors; separable insulated connectors; separable loadbreak elbow connectors; stabilizers; Accelerated aging; Connectors; Elbow; Force measurement; Insulation; Insulators; Manufacturing; Petroleum; Power system protection; Testing;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Transmission and Distribution Conference, 1999 IEEE

Conference_Location

New Orleans, LA

Print_ISBN

0-7803-5515-6

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/TDC.1999.755322

Filename

755322