Visualisation of gas–oil two-phase flows in pressurised pipes using electrical capacitance tomography

Abstract

Electrical capacitance tomography (ECT) was used to image various two-phase gas–oil horizontal flows on a 7.62 cm (3 in.) pressurised test loop. ECT is a novel non-invasive technique for imaging mixtures of electrically non-conducting substances. One of its most promising applications is the visualisation of gas–oil flows. This work presents a series of imaging experiments using a pressure-resistant ECT sensor. By varying the oil and gas flow rates, different flow regimes were established in the test loop. ECT images were obtained for each case and compared with (a) the flow observed through a transparent section in the loop and (b) the prediction of the Taitel–Duckler flow map. The results confirm the suitability of ECT for imaging gas–oil flows.