Measurement Characteristics of a Novel Microwave Sensor Based on Orthogonal Electrodes Method

In the natural gas industry, gas-water flow endures complex transfer process in the transmission pipeline, resulting in a variety of flow regimes. The research on the sensor with abilities of flow regime identification and water content measurement is of significance, an orthogonal electrodes microwave sensor (OEMS) is thus designed in present work. Based on the microwave transmission technology, two orthogonal electrodes are cross assembled constructing a 2-D electromagnetic detection plane inside OEMS. By virtue of the COMSOL Multiphysics software, the measurement characteristics of water content of OEMS are investigated, and the optimum working frequency band (0.36– 0.40 GHz) is determined. The coupling simulation results of flow field and electromagnetic field manifest that the OEMS can identify the flow regimes of stratified, wavy, slug and annular flow. The measurement results of the simulation, vector network analyzer (VNA) and self-developed circuit coincide, suggesting the rationality of OEMS. The recommended working frequency is effective for flow regime identification and water content measurement in the range of 0–100% in gas-water flow systems.