Plug Regime Flow Velocity Measurement Problem Based on Correlability Notion and Twin Plane Electrical Capacitance Tomography: Use Case

Sensors (Basel). 2021 Mar 21;21(6):2189. doi: 10.3390/s21062189.

Abstract

In this paper, the authors present the flow velocity measurement based on twin plane sensor electrical capacitance tomography and the cross-correlation method. It is shown that such a technique has a significant restriction for its use, particularly for the plug regime of a flow. The major issue is with the irregular regime of the flow when portions of propagated material appear in different time moments. Thus, the requirement of correlability of analyzed input signal patterns should be met. Therefore, the checking of the correlability should be considered by such a technique. The article presents a study of the efficiency of the original algorithm of automatic extraction of the suitable signal patterns which has been recently proposed, to calculate flow velocity. The obtained results allow for choosing in practice the required parameters of the algorithm to correct the extraction of signal patterns in a proper and accurate way. Various examples of the application of the discussed algorithm were presented, along with the analysis of the influence of the parameters used on the quality of plugs identification and determination of material flow.

Keywords: correlability; electrical capacitance tomography; multiphase flow; pattern.