Multiphase flows are complex phenomena that are difficult to measure practically or to model theoretically. Aimflow (Advanced Imaging and Measurement for Flow) is a standalone tool for generating flow velocity maps.
Aimflow uses the principle of cross correlation, where data is taken from 2 sensor planes with a known separation. The time taken for different flow features to move from the first to second plane is determined by correlating the measurements between the planes, and once determined is then used to calculate the components velocity at that point.
It should be noted that the velocity map generated by the software is based on contrasting conductivity or permittivity. This means that:
- – there must be two contrasting phases flowing between the sensors.
- – the data capture speed must significantly exceed the speed in which flow features move from plane 1 to plane 2.
- – the data produced represents the movement of features, such as turbulent bubbles or groups of particles. In many cases a slip model should be used to determine the mass flow of the actual materials.
Once data has been loaded and analysed, Aimflow is able to provide:
- – correlation error function, to enable users to estimate confidence levels of the analysis.
- – concentration maps of each measurement plane.
- – 316 x-y-z plot of velocity as a function of position through the pipe cross-section.
- – Velocity profile through tangential to direction of flow Aimflow can read both ECT and ERT data sets.
