The impacts of nanotechnology on the improvement of liquid insulation of transformers : Emerging trends and challenges

The rise in transmission voltages levels, the demand for insulating reliability of the transformer is getting more and more critical. The mineral oil (MO) together with paper is the main insulation constituents in oil-immersed transformers. To enhance the insulation level of ultra-high voltage (UHV) transformers and to decrease its weight and size, it is highly required to increase the insulating conduct of transformer oil (TO) and oil-impregnated cellulose. Lately, a distinctive novel venture of application of nanotechnology with liquid insulation of transformer has been conducted and the results have displayed marvelous enhancement in the insulation properties of transformer oil. The transformer oil-based nanofluids research domain (i.e., NFs) has been attracting huge attention during recent years both in theoretical and practical fields. NFs may be applied as a potential substitute for MO in the near future. To recognize various brunts of NFs and show evolving developments and challenges, the study demonstrates a scientometric review established on 210 published features from 2004 to 2019 through co-author, co-occurring and co-citation investigations. The significance of the editorial lies in compiling former inquiries, categorizing research nature, motivations and forecasting impending research orientations. Lastly, some recommendations for future NFs research and application are suggested.