Annular-Film Characterization Using a Nonintrusive Ring Conductance Sensor

Abstract

This letter presents a nonintrusive conductance sensor that uses ring-shaped electrodes to measure liquid film thickness in annular flow conditions. The sensor was tested under various experimental scenarios and compared against a wire-mesh sensor, a reference technique known for its high temporal and spatial resolution in flow investigation. The conductance sensor captured dynamic variations in the liquid film and, with a dedicated data-processing algorithm, enabled the extraction of key flow parameters, including disturbance wave frequency, amplitude, and velocity. The compensated calibration showed deviations mostly within ±5%, while comparisons with the wire-mesh sensor showed good agreement for most data points, with maximum deviations close to 20%; comparisons with literature data yielded an MAPE of about 9%.