<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><p> In air/oil lubrication systems, the flow parameters, e.g., flow pattern, liquid film thickness, and air/oil flow rate, are of great importance to the transportation efficiency. In most cases, the on-going two-phase flow is annular flow with the oil moving along the tube wall and the air travelling at high speed in the center. This usually results in the formation of a thin oil film, the thickness of which is a key parameter determining the efficiency of the lubrication system. As the oil film thickness of the on-going air/oil flow varies dynamically, there is actually no applicable method for a non-intrusive test. In this paper, the use of electrical capacitance tomography (ECT) to investigate the air/oil flow has been studied. Capacitance measurements are made from an externally mounted electrode array in a non-invasive and non-intrusive manner. Both average and distributed oil film thicknesses can be calculated from the reconstructed ECT images. Simulation and experimental results show that the ECT technique can provide satisfactory results of online oil film thickness estimation</p></abstract>

In air/oil lubrication systems, the flow parameters, e.g., flow pattern, liquid film thickness, and air/oil flow rate, are of great importance to the transportation efficiency. In most cases, the on-going two-phase flow is annular flow with the oil moving along the tube wall and the air travelling at high speed in the center. This usually results in the formation of a thin oil film, the thickness of which is a key parameter determining the efficiency of the lubrication system. As the oil film thickness of the on-going air/oil flow varies dynamically, there is actually no applicable method for a non-intrusive test. In this paper, the use of electrical capacitance tomography (ECT) to investigate the air/oil flow has been studied. Capacitance measurements are made from an externally mounted electrode array in a non-invasive and non-intrusive manner. Both average and distributed oil film thicknesses can be calculated from the reconstructed ECT images. Simulation and experimental results show that the ECT technique can provide satisfactory results of online oil film thickness estimation

Liquid Film Thickness Estimation using Electrical Capacitance Tomography

Tianjin Key Laboratory of Process Measurement and Control, School of Electrical Engineering & Automation, Tianjin University, Tianjin 300072, China

Measurement Science Review

{"article-title":"Liquid Film Thickness Estimation using Electrical Capacitance Tomography"}

In air/oil lubrication systems, the flow parameters, e.g., flow pattern, liquid film thickness, and air/oil flow rate, are of great importance to the...

Liquid Film Thickness Estimation using Electrical Capacitance Tomography

Published Online: Mar 06, 2014

Page range: 8 - 15

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/msr-2014-0002

Keywords
Electrical capacitance tomography, liquid film thickness, two phase flow

This content is open access.

Liquid Film Thickness Estimation using Electrical Capacitance Tomography

Published Online: Mar 06, 2014

Page range: 8 - 15

DOI: https://doi.org/10.2478/msr-2014-0002

KeywordsElectrical capacitance tomography, liquid film thickness, two phase flow

This content is open access.

Keywords
Electrical capacitance tomography, liquid film thickness, two phase flow