Optimised mode selection in electromagnetic sensors for real time, continuous and in-situ monitoring of water cut in multi-phase flow systems

Yuan, Chao; Bowler, Alexander; Davies, Jonathan Gareth; Hewakandamby, Buddhika; Dimitrakis, Georgios

Abstract

Measurements of the composition of multiphase flows, especially water-cut in oil-water flow, is a frequently encountered problem in the petroleum industry. New techniques that can offer improvements towards that are continuously sought and the use of microwave sensors is considered very promising. The current paper reports on the performance of a microwave cylindrical resonator, integrated into a multiphase flow experimental facility, used to determine water-cut in an upward flowing oil-water mixture. The performance and suitability of two microwave resonant modes (TM010 and TM110) was studied. The TM110 mode was found to be less dependent on the spatial phase distribution of the oil-water flowing mixture and provided more consistent results across a broader flow regime. The relative errors between the predicted and actual water-cut were from −6.53% to 9.16% and relative errors of 78% of the total data points were inside −5% to 5%. The results suggest that appropriate sensor design and careful selection of the operating frequency/resonant pattern can offer a powerful technique for real time, on-line and non-destructive determination of water-cut in multiphase flow systems.

Citation

Yuan, C., Bowler, A., Davies, J. G., Hewakandamby, B., & Dimitrakis, G. (2019). Optimised mode selection in electromagnetic sensors for real time, continuous and in-situ monitoring of water cut in multi-phase flow systems. Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical, 298, Article 126886. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.snb.2019.126886

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jul 25, 2019
• Online Publication Date: Jul 30, 2019
• Publication Date: Nov 1, 2019
• Deposit Date: Aug 5, 2019
• Publicly Available Date: Jul 31, 2020
• Journal: Sensors and Actuators B: Chemical
• Print ISSN: 0925-4005
• Electronic ISSN: 1873-3077
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 298
• Article Number: 126886
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.snb.2019.126886
• Keywords: Instrumentation; Electrical and Electronic Engineering; Materials Chemistry; Electronic, Optical and Magnetic Materials; Surfaces, Coatings and Films; Condensed Matter Physics; Metals and Alloys
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/2391670
• Publisher URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0925400519310858
• Contract Date: Aug 5, 2019