Flow Loop Study of ECT-Based Volume Fraction Monitoring in Oil–Water Two-Phase Flows

Abstract

Measurement of phase volume fractions in water-containing multiphase flows is necessary for the optimization of a host of industrial flow processes. Many water-containing multiphase flows can be classified as either water-dispersed or water-continuous mixtures. A recently developed approach based on Hanai’s mixture formula and utilizing electrical capacitance tomography (ECT) sensors have shown good potential for obtaining water volume fraction estimates in two-phase water-containing flows with different water salinity levels. However, the proposed approach was investigated via controlled experiments restricted to static configurations while, in practice, multiphase flows can be dynamic and unpredictable. In this work, we perform a flow loop study of the proposed ECT-based method for volume fraction estimation in oil-water two-phase flows. We evaluate the performance of the proposed method in both water-dispersed and water-continuous flow regimes by employing different types of capacitive sensors in cylindrical arrangements and in parallel-plate rectangular arrangements.