Simulation and evaluation of fan-shaped beam ultrasound transducers for multiphase flow process tomography

The measurement of volume fractions of different components in multiphase flows is of great interest in many industrial applications such as oil production. Ultrasound based methods, especially ultrasound tomography, have a great potential for the differentiation between liquid and gaseous phases in a measurement pipe. Some well-established methods are using transducers with fan-shaped beams to allow for a small measurement time. In this contribution a design of a piezoceramic ultrasound transducer in the shape of a tube segment is discussed. The transducer does not protrude into the measurement pipe and the fan-shaped beam pattern is obtained by focusing onto the inner wall of the pipe. After a brief discussion of the transducer's geometry and the choice of materials, the performed simulations and derived results are presented. Finally, results of measurements, which have been performed with an implemented transducer, are discussed and compared to the results of the simulations.