Development of a Novel Linear ERT Sensor to Measure Surface Deposits

Abstract

This paper investigates the feasibility of using Electrical Resistance Tomography (ERT) to visualize surface deposit during a Cleaning-In-Place (CIP) process, which is a common problem in various industries. A pilot scale cleaning rig with a purposely designed ERT test section was used for monitoring the pre-rinse CIP stage of cleaning milk paste adhering to a test section. The ERT test section comprises a CIP-ERT multi-linear sensor consisting of 4 planes of 8 electrodes. The Industrial Tomography System (ITS) P2000 ERT system was used to collect voltage data, which were processed in a MATLAB based ERT toolkit. Three dimensional (3-D) images were reconstructed using the L-curve Tikhonov method. A feasibility study was conducted to evaluate the performance of the CIP-ERT sensor. Image analysis showed that ERT is suitable for monitoring and visualizing the CIP process for the materials which foul similarly to milk pastes. The success of this work contributes to a time/energy efficient industrial process as the cleaning process can be visualized and over cleaning can be avoided.

Considerations on the Electrode-Spacing-to-Electrode-Diameter Ratio in Electrical Resistivity Tomography (ERT): An Operational Approach

“…(lorenzo.ciani@unifi.it; gabriele.patrizi@unifi.it) Agnese Innocenti is with the Department of Earth Sciences of the University of Florence, Italy, and the Department of Agriculture, Food, Environment and Forestry of the University of Florence, Piazzale delle Cascine, 18, Florence, Italy. (agnese.innocenti@unifi.it) hazard assessment [6], waste/residual investigation [7], agronomy [8], Oil&Gas [9], civil engineering [10], dredging engineering [11], and archaeology [12]. Furthermore, ERT is commonly used also for the reconstruction of the resistivity of other objects instead of the soil.…”