Experimental Study on Impedance Spectrum-Based Detection of Water Holdup in Two-Phase Flow under Complex Salinity Conditions

Abstract

In industrial production and water resource management involving fluid flows, two-phase flow measurement in complex environments has always been a research hotspot. In this study, a broadband detection device (40–110 MHz) suitable for two-phase flow in pipes was designed in a laboratory environment, the impedance response of two-phase flow was investigated under different salinity conditions and flow patterns, and a new impedance dispersion model suitable for two-phase flow in pipes was built. The experimental results show that the new model can better describe the rules of impedance dispersion in two-phase flow and is universally applicable, and that the equivalent solution resistance and interfacial polarization frequency have a stable functional relationship with water holdup. Based on the static experimental results, water holdup evaluation models for four flow patterns were established, and the dynamic detection results were predicted. The prediction results show that the new method proposed herein is not affected by changes in salinity and flow pattern when the flow pattern is known, and that its accuracy can meet the production requirements. This study expands the application range of traditional single-frequency conductivity detection techniques and provides a new idea for the development and improvement of systems for online detection of water holdup in two-phase flow.