Velocity profile measurement in oil/gas flows [using capacitance tomography]

This paper describes a capacitance tomography system for imaging oil/gas flows in circular pipes. The system is capable of computing the distribution of each component of a flow at two adjacent cross-sections in real-time. These two images are then cross-correlated off-line to obtain velocity profile measurements of the gaseous component. Extensive tests have been performed on a 3 inch diameter, two-phase flow loop; superficial oil velocities ranged from 0.1 to 0.8 m/s, and superficial gas velocities ranged from 0.05 to 0.5 m/s. Some typical component distribution and velocity profile measurements are presented.