Particle volume flow rate measurement by combination of dual electrical capacitance tomography sensor and plug flow shape model

Abstract

Particle volume flow rate QPLUG· in plug flow through a cross section of horizontal pipe has been accurately measured by a combination of dual electrical capacitance tomography sensor and plug flow shape model (dECT-PFSM). The plug flow shape model divides the trapezoidal shape of the plug flow into three flow regions which are Tip, Filling, and Tail regions. The plug flow volume VPLUG is estimated by velocity and length which are measured in each region by the normalized permittivity signal changes obtained from the dECT images under the plug flow in the trapezoidal shape. The path time difference of the plug flow ΔtPLUG is also measured. The total volume flow rate of the plug flow is subsequently obtained from the sum of the plug flow volume of the three regions divided by ΔtPLUG. Consequently, the volume flow rate of the plug flow obtained by dECT-PFSM QECT, PFSM· is compared with that of high-speed camera (HSC) as reference and conventional cross-correlation (CC) method. The absolute error Eabs of the proposed method is less than that of the CC method. The dECT-PFSM method is, therefore an affordable noninvasive technique for accurate determination of the volume flow rate of the plug flow.