A Conductance Ring Coupled Cone Meter for Oil-Water Two-Phase Flow Measurement

Simultaneous measurement on the phase fraction and flow rate of oil-water two-phase flow is of significance in process industries. A compact flow meter conductance ring coupled cone meter (CRCC) is presented to measure these two parameters by combining a long-waist cone meter (LWC) for flow rate measurement and a pair of conductance rings at the annular channel of the LWC for phase fraction measurement. The CRCC utilizes the spatial characteristics of LWC and conductance rings to achieve more reliable estimations on flow rate and phase fraction. The sizes of the LWC (diameter ratio β and waist length L) and conductance rings (separation L_e between electrodes) are jointly optimized considering the overall pressure drop and sensitivity of electrical sensing field. A CRCC of β = 0.65, L=50 mm, and L_e=15 mm is fabricated for static calibration and dynamic oil-water two-phase flow measurement tests. The dynamic experimental results demonstrate that the proposed CRCC is capable of delivering inferences on phase fraction and individual flow rate with an associated average relative error below 5% after easy calibration.