Design and geometry optimization of a conductivity probe with a vertical multiple electrode array for measuring volume fraction and axial velocity of two-phase flow

This paper presents the design and geometry optimization of a conductivity probe with a vertical multiple electrode array (VMEA), which can be used to measure the volume fraction and axial velocity of two-phase flow. The designed VMEA electrodes are axially flush mounted on the inside wall of an insulating duct. On the basis of a finite element analysis method, some new sensor optimization concepts of the electric field such as uniform degree, spatial sensitivity and effective information content are proposed. The designed VMEA measurement system has been tested through the multiphase flow loop and shows that the optimized VMEA can be used to measure cross-correlation velocity and predict volume fraction in vertical upward gas–water two-phase flow with satisfactory accuracy. The proposed optimization method of VMEA can also be useful in investigating other types of conductivity probes.