Diffusion characteristics of multi-component gases in gas to liquid insulating oil via molecular dynamics analysis
CSTR:
Author:
Affiliation:

Clc Number:

TM855

Fund Project:

  • Article
  • |
  • Figures
  • |
  • Metrics
  • |
  • Reference
  • |
  • Related
  • |
  • Cited by
  • |
  • Materials
  • |
  • Comments
    Abstract:

    In power transformers, insulating oil deteriorates continuously due to aging, overheating, discharge, and other factors, accompanied by the production of characteristic gases such as H2, CH4, C2H2, C2H4, C2H6, and varying degrees of diffusion within the oil. However, due to differences in gas structure and insulation systems, the diffusion characteristics of characteristic gases in gas to liquid (GTL) insulating oil are not yet clear, and the interactions among multiple gas molecules remain unclear. In order to elucidate this diffusion mechanism, this study employs molecular dynamics methods to investigate the diffusion behavior of mixed gases in stationary GTL insulating oil at the microscopic level. By comparing the diffusion coefficients, trajectories, free volume fractions, and interaction energies of single-component, binary, and multicomponent gas systems, the influence of mixed gas addition on diffusion is analyzed. The results indicate that for single-component diffusion systems, the diffusion coefficients of gases in GTL insulating oil exhibit the order: H2 > hydrocarbon gases, and the diffusion coefficients of hydrocarbon gases are inversely proportional to molecular mass, with diffusion of different gases conforming to the "vacancy jump diffusion theory". For binary diffusion systems, the diffusion of gas molecules in mixed gas systems exhibits a synergistic effect, manifested by repulsive interactions between different gas molecules. Moreover, the addition of mixed gases reduces the interaction energy of CH4 with GTL insulating oil by 9.21 kJ/mol and that of H2 by 3.76 kJ/mol, respectively; the free volume fractions of H2 and CH4 increase by 27.5% and 113.7%, respectively, expanding gas movement space, weakening GTL's binding effect on gases, and increasing gas diffusion coefficients. Clarifying the diffusion characteristics of gases in GTL insulating oil will effectively serve the fault diagnosis of power transformers.

    Reference
    Related
    Cited by
Get Citation

LIU Jinfeng, CHEN Beibei, ZHANG Wenqian, LI Xiaohan, ZHANG Xiang, JIANG Jun. Diffusion characteristics of multi-component gases in gas to liquid insulating oil via molecular dynamics analysis[J]. Electric Power Engineering Technology,2026,45(1):154-163.

Copy
Related Videos

Share
Article Metrics
  • Abstract:
  • PDF:
  • HTML:
  • Cited by:
History
  • Received:June 11,2025
  • Revised:August 18,2025
  • Adopted:
  • Online: February 02,2026
  • Published: January 28,2026
Article QR Code