Advancing oil and gas pipeline monitoring with fast phase fraction sensor
Sprache des Titels:
Englisch
Original Kurzfassung:
In the oil and gas sector, the design of monitoring equipment usually prioritizes durability and
long-term reliability. However, such equipment does not provide resolution for scientific
research, where capturing transient and dynamic events is crucial to enhancing flow
understanding. This work describes the development of a capacitive sensor system optimized
for phase fraction measurements in oil?gas industrial environments. The sensor features high
sensitivity and temporal resolution to meet flow measurement investigative requirements. The
measurement technique is based on the electrical capacitance variations of the flowing media
and was validated with reference equipment. Six sensors were deployed across multiple test
stations to analyze the slug flow regime and its evolution along the pipe. The data collected from
these experiments were processed, and flow parameters were compared with a model that
describes the elongated bubble shape found in the slug flow pattern. Results show a good
agreement between the experimental data and the model, validating its capability to track the
fast-changing phases of multiphase flow. The uncertainty analysis revealed a maximum absolute
uncertainty of 1.41% for the gas fraction measurements. Further, the gas flow rate was evaluated
with a good agreement against the reference gas flow meter, ensuring the sensor?s reliability in
dynamic multiphase flow environments. By providing accurate experimental data from
real-world industrial conditions, the developed sensor can significantly enhance the precision of
flow models, thereby improving the understanding of complex flow phenomena.
Forschungs-