Electrical-Impedance Tomography for Opaque Multiphase Flows in Metallic (Electrically-Conducting) Vessels

Abstract

A novel electrical-impedance tomography (EIT) diagnostic system, including hardware and software, has been developed and used to quantitatively measure material distributions in multiphase flows within electrically-conducting (i.e., industrially relevant or metal) vessels. The EIT system consists of energizing and measuring electronics and seven ring electrodes, which are equally spaced on a thin nonconducting rod that is inserted into the vessel. The vessel wall is grounded and serves as the ground electrode. Voltage-distribution measurements are used to numerically reconstruct the time-averaged impedance distribution within the vessel, from which the material distributions are inferred. Initial proof-of-concept and calibration was completed using a stationary solid-liquid mixture in a steel bench-top standpipe. The EIT system was then deployed in Sandia's pilot-scale slurry bubble-column reactor (SBCR) to measure material distributions of gas-liquid two-phase flows over a range of column pressures and superficial gas flow rates. These two-phase quantitative measurements were validated against an established 3 gamma-densitometry tomography (GDT) diagnostic system, demonstrating agreement to within 0.05 volume fraction for most cases, with a maximum difference of 0.15 volume fraction. Next, the EIT system was combined with the GDT system to measure material distributions of gasliquid-solid three-phase flows in Sandia's SBCR for two different solids loadings. Accuracy for the three-phase flow measurements is estimated to be within 0.15 volume fraction. The stability of the energizing electronics, the effect of the rod on the surrounding flow field, and the unsteadiness of the liquid temperature all degrade measurement accuracy and need to be explored further. This work demonstrates that EIT may be used to perform quantitative measurements of material distributions in multiphase flows in metal vessels.

Measuring turbulence in a flotation cell using electrical resistance tomography

“…Liter, et al [20] developed a novel EIT diagnostic system and applied it to an electrically conducting slurry bubble column reactor to quantitatively measure material distribution in both two phase and three phase flows over a range of column pressures, superficial gas flow rates and two different solid loadings. The results were validated against a gamma-densitometry tomography (GDT) diagnostic system and revealed a maximum difference of 0.15 volume fraction.…”