Monitoring the presence of water and water–sand droplets in a horizontal pipe with Acoustic Emission technology

Abstract Monitoring of multiphase flow is a process that has been established over several decades. This paper demonstrates the use of Acoustic Emission (AE) technology to detect and monitor moving water and water–sand droplets in a horizontal pipe. The experimental investigation considered two types of droplets, water and water–sand with average droplet volumes ranging from 1 ml to 5 ml. The experimental findings show good correlation between AE energy, droplet volume and the superficial gas velocity (VSG).