Progress in Real-Time Capacitance Tomography of Multiphase Flows Based on the Maxwell-Wagner-Sillars Effect

Abstract

Multiphase flow tomography involves the decomposition and continuously monitoring of different phase components in a multiphase flow mixture. This work summarizes recent progress on electrical capacitance tomography (ECT) exploiting the Maxwell-Wagner-Sillars (MWS) effect at various frequencies. The MWS effect is used to distinguish and monitor different phases of a water-dispersed multiphase flow. Alternatively, it enables ECT to monitor non-conducting phases in water-continuous multiphase flows. We illustrate the application of the method in a three-phase flow of air and water dispersed in oil (water-dispersed case) and in a two-phase flow of oil dispersed in water (water-continuous case) using a conventional ECT measurement sensor hardware. It is observed that the proposed method inherits the high speed of acquisition of ECT, including the potential for real-time monitoring.