A Review on Electrical Capacitance Tomography Sensor Development

Abstract

Electrical Capacitance Tomography (ECT) detects changes in the distribution of transparency in enclosed areas or pipes. Until now, various methods have been used to determine the optimum ECT sensor for a particular application. Some important parameters that affect the sensitivity of the sensor cannot be ignored. Design factors discussed in this paper study the needs in industry by producing the best image, without affecting the operation of the process. From previous studies many parameters influence the quality and effectiveness of an ECT sensor. The parameters that play important roles in ECT sensor design include the thickness and type of material in the pipe wall between the electrodes and the sensing zone, the thickness and material of the pipe wall separating the electrodes and the screen, the size of the electrodes, the guarding used, example radial guards or plane axial guards, and whether end guards are used. Other matters of concern regarding the dimension and the distance between the electrodes with guardians it is important design factor. Electrodes positioned either inside or outside the vessel will affect the cost factor design to the type of system to be used. This overview of the study is a basic guide for the essential requirements for an ECT sensor system design.

Planar Imaging of Stagnant and Hydrodynamic Fluid using Miniaturized ECT Device

“…The fan beam projection technique is used for the electrical configuration switching. The fan beam projection is selected for this experiment, where the transmitters and detectors can be alternately arranged until excitations of all electrodes are complete [6]. Thus, fan beam projection covers wider area of inspection and theoretically will produce better results of image reconstruction.…”

Application of Electrical Capacitance Tomography for Imaging Conductive Materials in Industrial Processes

“…Electrical Capacitance Tomography (ECT) is a wellestablished technique for imaging material distribution inside closed pipes and flasks. It is noninvasive and portable, has high-speed data acquisition and inexpensive construction, and is a safe method compared to other computed tomography technologies such as X-ray [1,2]. Recently, many process applications, especially those which need dynamic monitoring and control, apply the ECT techniques.…”

FPGA Implementation of ECT Digital System for Imaging Conductive Materials

“…The ECT is a non-invasive and non-intrusive modality which measures capacitance data from an array of electrodes evenly mounted around a vessel. Dielectric permittivity properties of materials inside the imaging area change the measured data and enable the ECT to generate tomographic images describing these materials' distribution [2]. Compared with the other electrical tomography techniques such as Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and Computed Tomography (CT), the ECT has a high temporal resolution [3].…”

“…Typically, the ECT system has an array of electrodes mounted around an object to measure the capacitance values across that object to build an image describing its dielectric distribution [2]. The array contains 8-12 electrodes separated by an earthed ring to eliminate any interference between the electrodes.…”