My Transfo 2023, the leading event in Europe for discussing transformer and insulating fluid management, made a triumphant return on October 3rd and 4th. This year’s event was a resounding success with 160 participants, 23 speakers, and representatives from 22 nationalities.
After a hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2018, the 2023 edition impressed everyone with high-quality content and participant satisfaction well beyond expectations.

A heartfelt thank you for their dedication and professionalism goes out to all the speakers, with special recognition to Vander Tumiatti, Franco Salomone, Oleg Roizman, Diego Robalino, Fabio Scatiggio, who graciously provided the following interviews.

The entire multimedia gallery is available on the event’s website.

Sea Marconi has developed and validated an innovative method for the determination of both normal dissolved gases (DGA) and SF6 dissolved in mineral insulating oil.

Thanks to a very advanced instrumental configuration it is possible to identify in a punctual manner particular troubles that could occur in bushings with oil and SF6 separated by a membrane. Thus, the contamination by SF6 in the oil is a symptom of an evolving criticality, especially relevant for step-up transformers used in nuclear and thermal power plants.

The wide applicative case history allowed Sea Marconi to validate the method and statistically classify typical values of alert and alarm; in this manner it is possible to support the operational decisions of the Users to prevent or mitigate damages also of a catastrophic type (explosion and fires). The new analytical method by Sea Marconi offers a specific response to those bearing the responsibility for the best management of fleets of equipment with insulating oils. Sea Marconi confirms being a leader, offering advanced, complete and reliable solutions in the activities for supporting the Life Cycle Management – LCM of transformers and related accessories.

February 2012, new amendment to norm IEC 61181 “Mineral oil-filled electrical equipment – Application of dissolved gas analysis (DGA) to factory tests on electrical equipment”.

This norm defines the criteria with which the analysis of gases is performed during factory tests, with particular attention for the heating tests. IEC 61181 goes into details over very specific topics, for example on sampling, the extraction of gases and the chromatographic test in the laboratory.

Sea Marconi offers an independent response from suppliers of transformers and oils, offering the most appropriate protocol, the analyses required, ensuring the best analytical and interpretative performances in accordance with IEC 61181.

The Sea Marconi analyses laboratory can be defined, without doubts, among the “front runners” after the results of two inter-laboratory tests (RRT – Round Robin Test or proficiency test) organised by ASTM International (USA).

The first RRT, in which Sea Marconi obtained extraordinary results, compared the quality of 65 laboratories on an international range in performing analytical tests on dissolved gases (DGA). In the second RRT, 87 laboratories were put in a contest in performing different physical-chemical tests (see Table below).

Both Round Robin Tests emphasised an absolute quality and a great competence by the Sea Marconi laboratory, thus confirming its role as international leader in the analytical tests of insulating fluids. For the accredited laboratories such as Sea Marconi’s. these RRT are essential to maintain the accreditation by Accredia (ex SINAL): in this instance obtained by Sea Marconi in February 2009 and extended in November 2010 and recently renewed.

To interpret correctly the data listed below, some information about these inter-laboratory tests is added. The RRT, also designated as proficiency tests, are an instrument ensuring the quality of the laboratories and the results of the analytical results issued. At the end of each RRT an evaluation is provided by a score system designated as “Z score”, the more this score is near to zero the better is the operation of the laboratory.

As a conclusion, in both the RRT the Sea Marconi laboratory has provided a great proof of force, by obtaining excellence scores both in absolute terms and in comparison with the laboratory worldwide.

* mode (most frequent value)

Among the 28 tests under exam, only the parameters for density and kinematic viscosity didn’t obtain Z scores complying with the majority of the participating laboratories.
To investigate the causes of this discrepancy, the laboratory has already implemented the internal quality procedures that shall result shortly in a corrective action. The tests for water, having a questionable result, shall be soon under evaluation again, thus more elements on this subject are going to be obtained. All the other Z scores have pointed out a great professionalism by the Sea Marconi laboratory, with points of excellence in the determination of gases and furans.

After the accreditation of the test of PCBs in February 2009, Sea Marconi has obtained last November 2010 from ACCREDIA a brilliant confirmation, by extending the accreditation to the tests of dissolved gases (DGA*, dissolved water and furanic compounds)* (see here below the detail of the accredited tests).

Created form the combination of SINAL and SINCERT, ACCREDIA is the only organism authorised by the Italian State to perform accreditation activities.

Once more the work of the Accredia inspectors in Sea Marconi, was not limited exclusively to a scrupulous evaluation of the technical and organisational procedures of the laboratory, but also to a keen check of the qualification of human and instrumental resources in all the areas of the company involved in the testing and calibration activities.

With this additional accreditation, the Sea Marconi laboratory becomes one among very few laboratories worldwide (the only one in Italy) able to offer a package of accredited tests fundamental in the diagnosis of electrical equipment with insulating fluids.

Thus, the accreditation brand on the Sea Marconi’s test report “operates as a passport on international markets, where the holder is not required to have its product, service or its professionalism subject to additional tests, inspections or verifications” [web site Accredia, page International Agreements pag. Accordi internazionali].

The accreditation of the single tests ensures that Sea Marconi’s laboratory on one side is fully complying with the analysis procedures and methods on the single matrices and in particular with the requisites of standard ISO IEC 17025 relative to the uncertainty of measurement, on the other side that it implements a constant monitoring of the performances also with the participation to international inter-laboratories circuits (RRT – Round Robin Test or Proficiency Test) achieving scores (Z score) of absolute excellency.

Thus, the Sea Marconi test report gets a specific relevance in legal terms, when required, and a full compliance with the Directives, implementation Laws or Technical standards of the sector (IEC, CENELEC, CEI, etc.) ensuring an independent and expert evaluation of the domain (since 1968, with 42 years of activity in over 30 Countries). The Sea Marconi test report, together with the other evaluation parameters, is dynamically interpreted (with the diagnostic algorithms and the Sea Marconi data bank on over 60,000 equipment) to ensure the best diagnostic coverage for the management of the life cycle (Life Cycle Management – LCM) of fleets of equipment with insulating fluids, strategic units in the generation, transportation, distribution and use of energy.Sea Marconi operates for the prevention of damages through the classification of the type and priorities of the functional and environmental criticalities as well as the correlated countermeasures to prevent and/or mitigate risks.

Sea Marconi opera per la prevenzione dei danni attraverso la classificazione del tipo e priorità delle criticità funzionali e/o ambientali nonché delle correlate contromisure per prevenire e/o mitigare i rischi.

*Complete list of the tests (6) in revision 2 of 23-11-2010

An asterisk in the first column indicates that, for the corresponding test, the Laboratory has discontinued the issue of reports with the SINAL brand.

Read more:

• Search of the laboratories accredited ACCREDIA
• EA (European Accreditation)
• IAF (International Accreditation Forum)