Measurements of void fraction by an improved multi-channel conductance void meter

Abstract An improved multi-channel conductance void meter (CVM) was developed to measure a void fraction. Its measuring principle is based upon the differences in electrical conductance of a two-phase mixture due to the variation of void fraction around a sensor. The sensor is designed to be flush-mounted to the inner wall of the test section to avoid flow disturbances. The signal processor with three channels is specially designed so as to minimize inherent bias error due to the phase difference between channels. It is emphasized that the guard electrodes are electrically shielded in order not to affect the measurement of two-phase mixture conductance, but to ensure that the electrical fields are evenly distributed in the measuring volume. Void fraction is measured for bubbly and slug flow regimes in a vertical air–water flow and statistical signal processing techniques are applied to show that CVM has good dynamic resolution which is required to investigate the structural developments of bubbly flow and the propagation of void waves in a flow channel.

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