Numerical simulation of charging and discharging of particles in contaminated transformer oil

Experiments were carried out on transformer oil contaminated by cellulose fibre. After the high voltage was applied to the electrodes, the pressboard particles started to accumulate charge from one electrode and discharge to the other electrode. We have developed a mathematical model to simulate the charging and discharging dynamics. The dielectrophoretic, coulomb and drag forces are considered for simulation of the particles motion. The predicted particle movement path and the velocity between the electrodes showed similar trend to the experimental results. The model is a successful means of predicting particle movement phenomenon compared with the experimental data.