Performance and Application Studies of an Electrical Resistance Tomography System

K Primrose and C Qiu

Industrial Tomography Systems Ltd,

The Fairbairn Building, 72 Sackville Street, Manchester, M60 1QD.

Contact points: Tel: +44 (-0)161 200 4562, Fax: +44 (-0)161 200 3052,

Email: kprimrose@itoms.com

Abstract - Electrical resistance tomography has been developed to the stage where commercial instruments are now available. There are a number of approaches to transferring this technology from the institutions where it has been developed to interested users. This paper examines the approach of offering a consultancy service. This typically includes the mounting of pilot plant experiments, aimed at the evaluation of the use of process tomography to gain a deeper insight into a process of interest. Applications include a range of processes in which complex flows and inter-actions take place which are ill understood. The major interest has been to enhance knowledge of the internal behaviour of the process with a view to optimising design. The paper reviews the development of electrical resistance instruments, the technology transfer process, the detailed facilities of the instrument used, and the capabilities of the software employed. It will also illustrate its use through a illustrative case study in which a detailed insight of a process has been achieved.

Keywords: Electrical resistance tomography, instrumentation, reconstruction software, interpretation software