Nano-breakthrough for transformers
Feb
10
Written by:
10/02/2012 12:26
Nanoparticle technology could help boost the heat efficiency of transformers and microelectronic components.
Nanoparticle technology could help boost the heat efficiency of transformers and microelectronic components.
The boost from a new nanoparticle-infused oil could be as much as 80%. The specially constructed boron nitride (h-BN) particles function as electrical insulators as well as being dispersant.
Electrical transformers have fluids that help to cool and insulate the core, as well as having components that must be kept apart to stop the voltage from shorting out or leaking. The project leader, Prof Pulickel Ajayan of Rice University, said: "Thermal management is a big issue in industry, but the right choice of materials is important; for transformer cooling, one needs dispersants in oils that take heat away, yet remain electrically insulating."
The team found that a small amount of h-BN particles - hexagonal, two-dimensional cousins to graphene - in standard mineral oils are an efficient way of removing heat from a system.
The particles, about 600nm wide and up to five atomic layers thick, disperse in oil and, unlike carbon-based graphene, are resistant to electricity. Transformer oil's heat-shedding efficiency is enhanced by up to 80% with just a 0.1 h-BN weight percentage.
Copyright Press Association 2012