Modeling and optimal design of sensor for capacitively coupled electrical resistance tomography system

This work focuses on the modeling and the optimal design of a new kind of ERT sensor, capacitively coupled ERT (CCERT). A 2D mathematical model of CCERT is developed and the simulation program is designed by Finite Element Method (FEM). Then, the influence of three main parameters (the permittivity of the pipe wall, the thickness of the pipe wall and the sensor electrode angle) on the measurement performance of CCERT sensor is studied by simulation. By the simulation results, the optimization criteria of CCERT sensor are the higher permittivity of the pipe wall, smaller thickness of the pipe wall and larger sensor electrode angles. Finally, an optimized CCERT sensor prototype is developed and its sensitivity field is obtained by FEM. Meanwhile, practical image reconstruction experiments are also carried out to verify the effectiveness of the simulation results and the optimization criteria. The experiment results show that the developed model and the simulation results are effective and the sensitivity field of the CCERT sensor is practical. The experiment results also indicate that the developed prototype of the CCERT system is successful and the quality of the reconstructed images is satisfactory. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.