Visualization and holdup measurement of viscous oil and water dispersed pipe flow by capacitance wire-mesh sensor

M.J. Da Silva1,2, U. Hampel2, I.H. Rodriguez3, O.M.H. Rodriguez3

1 Department of Electrical Engineering, Universidade Tecnológica Federal do Paraná, Brazil, m.dasilva@ieee.org

2 Institute of Safety Research, Forschungszentrum Dresden-Rossendorf, Germany, u.hampel@fzd.de

3 Mechanical Engineering Department, Engineering School of Sao Carlos, Universidade de São Paulo, Brazil, oscarmhr@sc.usp.br

ABSTRACT

In this article, we report on the application of a novel wire-mesh sensor based on permittivity (capacitance) measurements to investigate the flow of viscous oil and water in a horizontal pipe. Holdup values were calculated from the raw data delivered by the wire-mesh sensor using different mixture permittivity models. Furthermore, these data were validated against quick-closing valve measurements showing that Maxwell-Garnett mixing model for permittivity are better suited for the case of investigated liquid-liquid disperse flow. Images of time-averaged cross-sectional holdup distribution were used to visualize and disclose some details of the flow.

Keywords wire-mesh sensor, liquid-liquid flow, viscous oil, holdup measurement, flow visualization