The effects of C=C, ester and β-H groups on the ionization potential (IP) and electron affinity (EA) of molecules in natural ester insulation oil were investigated by density functional theory (DFT). The major contribution to the highest occupied molecular orbital (HOMO) comes from the carbon atoms adjacent to C=C. Thus, the IPs of triglycerides decrease as the number of C=C double bonds increases. The C=C in alkanes may also lower the IP. However, the β-H in triglycerides has little effect on the IP, and C=C and β-H have only a small effect on the EAs of the triglycerides because of the major contributions of atoms near the ester group in triglycerides to the lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO). This study calculated the IPs of 53 kinds of molecules in FR3, which are significantly lower compared with those of molecules in mineral oil (MO) and trimethylolpropane triester without C=C. However, the lightning impulse breakdown voltage (LI Vb) of trimethylolpropane triester is still significantly lower than that of MO at the large gap. Therefore, the transition from slow to fast streamers under low lighting impulse voltage is determined by the ester group rather than by C=C and β-H. The ester group may attract more electrons, impacting itself more compared to alkane in MO and facilitating the transition from slow to fast streamers.
Keywords: electron affinity; ester insulation oil; ionization potential; lighting impulse breakdown; streamer.