Multi-phase flow decomposition using electrical capacitance volume tomography sensors

1. A system for generating a three-dimensional tomograph of a vessel interior or other object and for multi-phase flow decomposition, the system comprising:

a three-dimensional capacitance sensor device comprising a plurality of electrodes for placement around the vessel or the object, wherein the three-dimensional capacitance sensor device is adapted to provide electric field distribution and sensor sensitivity in three geometric dimensions;

data acquisition electronics in communication with the three-dimensional capacitance sensor device for receiving input data from the three-dimensional capacitance sensor device;

a processing system in communication with the data acquisition electronics, the processing system programmed with instructions for executing on the processing system to: 1) determine a plurality of frequency markers for the multi-phase flow; 2) measure capacitance at all of the plurality of frequency markers; 3) reconstruct a three-dimensional volume-image from the input data collected by the data acquisition electronics.

2. The system for generating a three-dimensional tomograph of a vessel interior or other object and for multi-phase flow decomposition according to claim 1 , wherein the plurality of frequency markers are points in the frequency domain where a substantial change in the effective dielectric constant follows or precedes them.

3. The system for generating a three-dimensional tomograph of a vessel interior or other object and for multi-phase flow decomposition according to claim 1 , wherein the plurality of frequency markers are determined by applying Maxwell-Wagner-Silars formulas.

4. The system for generating a three-dimensional tomograph of a vessel interior or other object and for multi-phase flow decomposition according to claim 1 , wherein the processing system is programmed with instructions for executing on the processing system to reconstruct volume images of each phase alone.

5. The system for generating a three-dimensional tomograph of a vessel interior or other object and for multi-phase flow decomposition according to claim 4 , wherein a difference between two capacitance measurements at two successive frequency markers is related directly to a phase that caused a drop in effective dielectric constant between the two successive frequency markers.

6. The system for generating a three-dimensional tomograph of a vessel interior or other object and for multi-phase flow decomposition according to claim 5 , wherein a reconstructed image based on the capacitance difference is directly related to that phase.

7. The system for generating a three-dimensional tomograph of a vessel interior or other object and for multi-phase flow decomposition according to claim 1 , wherein the processing system is programmed with instructions for executing on the processing system to reconstruct images of the effective dielectric constant at each frequency.

8. The system for generating a three-dimensional tomograph of a vessel interior or other object and for multi-phase flow decomposition according to claim 1 , wherein the processing system is programmed with instructions for executing on the processing system to reconstruct a plurality of images, each with a single phase volume fraction image.

9. The system for generating a three-dimensional tomograph of a vessel interior or other object and for multi-phase flow decomposition according to claim 1 , wherein the processing system is programmed with instructions for executing on the processing system to obtain volume fractions of each phase for each voxel.

10. The system for generating a three-dimensional tomograph of a vessel interior or other object and for multi-phase flow decomposition according to claim 9 , wherein the processing system is programmed with instructions for executing on the processing system to combine pixels for a single phase volume fraction to formulate an image for the phase.

11. A system for generating a three-dimensional tomograph of a vessel interior or other object and for multi-phase flow decomposition, the system comprising:

a three-dimensional capacitance sensor device comprising a plurality of electrodes for placement around the vessel or the object, wherein the three-dimensional capacitance sensor device is adapted to provide electric field distribution and sensor sensitivity in three geometric dimensions;

data acquisition electronics in communication with the three-dimensional capacitance sensor device for receiving input data from the three-dimensional capacitance sensor device;

a processing system in communication with the data acquisition electronics, the processing system programmed with instructions for executing on the processing system to: 1) determine a plurality of frequency markers for the multi-phase flow; 2) measure capacitance at all of the plurality of frequency markers; 3) reconstruct volume images of each phase individually.

12. The system for generating a three-dimensional tomograph of a vessel interior or other object and for multi-phase flow decomposition according to claim 11 , wherein a difference between two capacitance measurements at two successive frequency markers is related directly to a phase that caused a drop in effective dielectric constant between the two successive frequency markers.

13. The system for generating a three-dimensional tomograph of a vessel interior or other object and for multi-phase flow decomposition according to claim 12 , wherein a reconstructed image based on the capacitance difference is directly related to that phase.

14. The system for generating a three-dimensional tomograph of a vessel interior or other object and for multi-phase flow decomposition according to claim 11 , wherein the processing system is programmed with instructions for executing on the processing system to reconstruct images of the effective dielectric constant at each frequency.

15. The system for generating a three-dimensional tomograph of a vessel interior or other object and for multi-phase flow decomposition according to claim 11 , wherein the processing system is programmed with instructions for executing on the processing system to reconstruct a plurality of images, each with a single phase volume fraction image.

16. The system for generating a three-dimensional tomograph of a vessel interior or other object and for multi-phase flow decomposition according to claim 11 , wherein the processing system is programmed with instructions for executing on the processing system to obtain volume fractions of each phase for each voxel.

17. The system for generating a three-dimensional tomograph of a vessel interior or other object and for multi-phase flow decomposition according to claim 16 , wherein the processing system is programmed with instructions for executing on the processing system to combine pixels for a single phase volume fraction to formulate an image for the phase.

18. A system for generating a three-dimensional tomograph of a vessel interior or other object and for multi-phase flow decomposition, the system comprising:

a three-dimensional capacitance sensor device comprising a plurality of electrodes for placement around the vessel or the object, wherein the three-dimensional capacitance sensor device is adapted to provide electric field distribution and sensor sensitivity in three geometric dimensions;

data acquisition electronics in communication with the three-dimensional capacitance sensor device for receiving input data from the three-dimensional capacitance sensor device;

a processing system in communication with the data acquisition electronics, the processing system programmed with instructions for executing on the processing system to: 1) determine a plurality of frequency markers for the multi-phase flow; 2) measure capacitance at all of the plurality of frequency markers; 3) obtain permittivity distributions at each of the frequency markers using volume tomography image reconstruction; 4) determine volume fraction of each phase at each pixel location; 5) produce images of volume fraction for each phase.

19. The system for generating a three-dimensional tomograph of a vessel interior or other object and for multi-phase flow decomposition according to claim 11 , wherein the processing system is programmed with instructions for executing on the processing system to obtain volume fractions of each phase for each voxel.

20. The system for generating a three-dimensional tomograph of a vessel interior or other object and for multi-phase flow decomposition according to claim 18 , wherein the processing system is programmed with instructions for executing on the processing system to combine pixels for a single phase volume fraction to formulate an image for the phase.