Transformer Oils for Power Generation

Description:

Shell Diala S4 ZX-I is the new electrical insulating oil from Shell designed to offer excellent heat transfer and dielectric properties to meet the challenges presented by the latest power transformers.

Video for Lubricants Power DVR (EDF)

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Instrumental music with strings, at times increasing in rhythm and intensity, gentling at other times.

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Head and shoulders still shot, towards frame-left, of a man wearing safety gear, and holding a two-way radio, seen against background graphics of a skyline of buildings. Grayscale graphics representing a transformer fill the outline of the man’s clothing.

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Shell Diala S4 ZXI

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Head and shoulders still shot of a man, at frame-right, wearing safety gear, seen against background graphics of a skyline of factory structures. Grayscale graphics representing factory/plant structures also fill the outline of the man’s clothing.

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Protecting assets through collaboration

Interview with Dawn Sheerin

[Title]

Transformer Oil Sector Lead UK Shell Lubricants

[Dawn Sheerin]

Today, we’re at Techcom. This is an exhibition for electrical engineers and also service providers for the whole sector.

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Footage of Dawn Sheerin engaged in conversation with various groups of men at an exhibition, while other attendees and exhibitors and their stalls and marketing materials are visible in the background. High angle rear view footage of two men seated at a table, one man typing on his notebook computer. Low-angle close-up of Shell Diala S4 ZX-I signage. More footage of Dawn engaged in conversation with a man, their attention on a booklet in her hands.

[Dawn Sheerin]

My name is Dawn Sheerin. I’m the Transformer and Turbine Oil Sector Lead for the UK. I’ve been with Shell for 18 years.

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Head-and-shoulders still shot of Dawn Sheerin towards frame-left, text displaying at frame-right.

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Dawn Sheerin / Transformer Oil Sector Lead UK Shell Lubricants

[Dawn Sheerin]

In 2013, Shell launched a new product onto the market, Diala S4 ZXI. EDF Energy approached us to fill two new gen transformers within their power station in Heysham.

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Wide footage of rows of barrels of oil on a production line on a factory floor, workmen dressed in safety gear visible in the background. Close-up of Dawn Sheerin as she speaks to the off-screen interviewer against a background of white walls and a window. Close-up of EDF Energy vertical pylon sign, seen against a background of pale skies and treetops, and welcoming those who pass the sign to Heysham power stations. Wide low angle view of buildings at Heysham power station and a power pylon alongside the buildings, with a green grassy bank in the foreground and pale skies in the background. Another low angle view of buildings at Heysham power station, seen against a background of bright blue skies.

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Black and white graphic of the aforementioned buildings at Heysham power station, with text displaying above.

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EDF Heysham 2 power station produces 1,230 megawatts of power to the national grid.

Critical to its operation are two new Generation transformers.

Interview with Douglas Barker

[Title]

Electrical Engineer EDF Heysham 2 Power Station

[Douglas Barker]

Heysham 2 Power Station is a nuclear power station in the Northwest of England. We have two advanced gas cooled reactors – enough to supply about two million homes.

[Video footage]

Close-up of Douglas Barker as he speaks to the off-screen interviewer against a background of pale walls and a window. Low angle panning footage of buildings at Heysham seen against pale skies. Wide footage of the pipes and machinery inside the buildings; several workmen dressed in safety gear can be seen in the distance, walking alongside the huge structures.

[Douglas Barker]

I’m Douglas Barker, Electrical Engineer. I work at Heysham 2 Power Station for EDF Energy.

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Head-and-shoulders still shot of Douglas Barker towards frame-left, text displaying at frame-right.

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Douglas Barker / Electrical Engineer EDF Heysham 2 Power Station

[Douglas Barker]

The old transformers were installed when the station was built. By 2015, they had reached the end of their life, so it was decided to proactively replace them with two new transformers.

[Video footage]

Close-up of Douglas Barker as he speaks to the off-screen interviewer against a background of pale walls and a window. Wide footage of two workmen dressed in safety gear walking along a paved area beside buildings signposted as the “Zero Harm Centre.” Rear view footage of workers dressed in safety gear, entering yellow cartridge/cassette-type objects into electronic machines attached to a wall panel; between the machines, pigeon hole units hold rows of the yellow objects. Mid-view in profile of a man speaking into a two-way radio and standing in front of a bank of control panels. Rear view footage of three men standing in front of the bank of control panels, their attention on the screens above the controls.

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Black and white graphic of the aforementioned three men standing at the control panels, with text displaying above.

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The industry is reluctant to use new transformer oils.

A poor performing oil could result in costly down time.

Interview with Dawn Sheerin continued

[Dawn Sheerin]

The industry is typically conservative in its approach to new products. Shell Diala S4 ZXI has only been on the market for three years. And when you go into a nuclear power station, you generally have to have many years of tested product in the market.

[Video footage]

Close-up of Dawn Sheerin as she speaks to the off-screen interviewer against a background of white walls and a window. High angle footage of a forklift hoisting four oil barrels before reversing.  More footage of workmen dressed in safety gear walking along the plant floor. Mid-view of three workers dressed in safety gear, standing in front of plant machinery and engaged in conversation. Close-up of “Heysham 2” branding on the sleeve of a worker’s overall.

Interview with Douglas Barker continued

[Douglas Barker]

The oil is very important to the reliability of the transformer, particularly its long-term reliability. So we were keen to use a very good oil. EDF Energy is part of the wider EDF group which is based in France, so they have a very good research and development department. They gave us some confidence that it was a good oil and that it was suitable for use in our transformers.

[Video footage]

Close-up of Douglas Barker as he speaks to the off-screen interviewer against a background of pale walls and a window. High angle wide view of exterior plant structures, workers visible at various points on scaffolding platforms. Footage of a man walking down a corridor lined with a bank of control panels. Rear view footage of people seated at workstations, facing computer screens, control panels visible in the background against the wall. Close-up of a gloved hand holding up a test tube containing a golden liquid. High angle front view footage of a man seated at his computer, another man bending alongside him, both wearing white lab coats and safety goggles. Mid-view in profile of a man wearing a white lab coat, gloves and safety goggles, doing testing or experimentation at a counter.  Close-up of a person’s hand holding a pen and writing on a page. The person’s left hand comes into view, placing two test tubes into a test tube holder in the background.

Interview with Yves Bertrand

[Title]

Chercheur-Expert Liquides Dielectriques EDF France – Research and Development

[Yves Bertrand]

EDF is very conservative. We don’t like too much innovation. As blood in a human body, oil is the best way to follow the state of the transformer.

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Close-up of Yves Bertrand as he speaks to the off-screen interviewer against a background of a marketing or promotional banner.  Close-up of an optical vial inspection machine. Mid-view of a woman working at a lab counter, wearing a white lab coat, gloves and safety goggles.

[Yves Bertrand]

I am Yves Bertrand. I work at EDF, Électricité de France, in the R and D department and I am Expert for Liquides Dielectriques.

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Head-and-shoulders still shot of Douglas Barker towards frame-left, text displaying at frame-right.

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Yves Bertrand / Chercheur-Expert Liquides Dielectriques EDF France – Research and Development

[Yves Bertrand]

These transformers are very, very important because one failure – all the plant has to be stopped. It is very difficult to start again a fleet after. Until now, maybe we have not used many GTL oil. It’s a very good oil, a good quality and… But it’s not enough for my colleagues – we have to find the best balance between conservative and innovation.

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Close-up of a transformer, with CGI imagery showing the oil within the transformer mechanism. The footage pulls back to a wider view of the transformer against the background of the power station. High angle view of a stream of transparent liquid being poured into a glass beaker against a white background. Close-up of Yves Bertrand as he speaks to the off-screen interviewer against a background of a marketing or promotional banner.  High angle view of another optical vial inspection machine. More footage of a woman working at a lab counter, wearing a white lab coat and gloves.  Close-up of Yves Bertrand as he speaks to the off-screen interviewer against a background of a marketing or promotional banner.  Low angle footage of a power pylon at frame-right, seen against a background of pale blue skies.

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Black and white graphic of the aforementioned power pylon at frame-right, with text displaying at frame-left.

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Armed with research and Shell’s technical support, Douglas’ team decided to use the new product, Shell Diala S4 ZXI

Interview with Douglas Barker continued

[Douglas Barker]

Dawn’s been to site quite a few times to particularly see whether it could be mixed with older oils. It was important for us to make sure the transformer was running as cool as possible, so we wanted an oil with low viscosity, also something with no sulphur, so it was important for us that we had good technical support from both the transformer manufacturer and the oil supplier. Dawn’s been very good at organizing the filling of our transformers, making sure the oil arrives on time. But it’s down to good communication really.

[Video footage]

Close-up of Douglas Barker as he speaks to the off-screen interviewer against a background of pale walls and a window. Wide low angle view of buildings at Heysham power station and a power pylon alongside the buildings, with a green grassy bank in the foreground and pale skies in the background. Close-up of the upper part of these buildings, seen against pale skies. More footage of the transformer, panning and zooming closer to include CGI imagery of the temperature of the liquids inside the transformer. Close-up of Douglas Barker as he speaks to the off-screen interviewer against a background of pale walls and a window. Wide high angle view of a Douglas and Dawn walking together and talking at the previously mentioned exhibition, while groups of people stand together, engaged in conversations of their own in the foreground.  More footage of Douglas and Dawn and another man engaged in conversation while standing at the Shell exhibition stand. Mid-view in profile of a man standing in front of a bank of control panels while speaking into a two-way radio.

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Black and white graphic of the aforementioned man standing in front of the bank of control panels, with text displaying at frame-left.

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The solution found by the Shell Lubricants Team and the EDF engineers has improved both performance and lifespan of Heysham 2’s new transformers.

Interview with Dawn Sheerin continued

[Dawn Sheerin]

The oil’s been in place now for 18 months. All feedback is very positive. The oil is performing incredible well.

[Video footage]

Close-up of Dawn Sheerin as she speaks to the off-screen interviewer against a background of white walls and a window. Footage of men wearing overalls walking in both directions along enclosed bridge or corridor. Close-up in profile of a lab tech wearing safety goggles, his attention on the apparatus in front of him.

Interview with Douglas Barker continued

[Douglas Barker]

We’re seeing very good reliability so far, particularly reduced oil temperatures. We’re happy to be working with Shell and looking forward to the Shell Diala S4 ZXI working well into the future.

[Video footage]

Low angle close-up of “Laboratory Oil Analysis” signage. Mid-view of three workers dressed in safety gear, standing in front of plant machinery and engaged in conversation. Mid-view footage of a man bent over screens and control panels against the background of an office environment. Close-up of Douglas Barker as he speaks to the off-screen interviewer against a background of pale walls and a window.

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Shell Lubricants / Together anything is possible

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Shell jingle.

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Shell Pecten centred on a white background with text displaying below

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© Shell International Limited 2017