ECVT Industrial
The core electrical capacitance volume tomography platform for continuous process monitoring. Gas, liquid, and solid phase distributions resolved inside operating vessels — in real time, without intrusion or shutdown. Configurable channel counts adapt the same measurement architecture to vessel size and complexity.
A field-deployable ECVT system for continuous process visibility.
ECVT Industrial is the commercial form of the volumetric imaging framework published in IEEE Sensors Journal (2007, vol. 7, no. 4, pp. 525–535) — an electrical capacitance volume tomography instrument configured for continuous deployment in industrial vessels from 1 to 60 inches in diameter, with electrode arrays available in 8, 16, 32, or 64-channel configurations depending on vessel size and resolution requirements.
The instrument mounts externally on the vessel wall. No penetration, no contact with process fluid, no tapping or optical windows. The 3D Neural Network Multi-criterion Optimization Image Reconstruction Technique (3D-NN-MOIRT) reconstructs a full volumetric permittivity distribution at four frames per second — resolving gas, liquid, and solid phase distributions, void fractions, and flow regime transitions as the process runs.
The measurement infrastructure — CMOS T-configuration switching, engineered specifically to strip stray capacitance out at the hardware level, FPGA-based quadrature phase detection, configurable-channel DAS — achieves 0.21–0.42 fF capacitance resolution. Complex vessel geometries including right-angle bends, T-junctions, and non-cylindrical forms are accommodated through sensor configuration adaptation. ECVT Industrial is also the research platform underlying the specialised ECVT Welins instrument, developed for weld and pipeline inspection.
From exterior electrode to volumetric image — without opening the vessel.
Where ECVT Industrial is deployed.
Circulating Fluidised Beds
Real-time solids holdup and choking transition monitoring. The choking transition — a sudden change from dilute solids flow to slugging — was first imaged volumetrically using this sensor architecture in a 0.1 m ID CFB.
Bubble Columns
3D gas and liquid holdups, bubble plume trajectory, and spiral dynamics across the full column volume — including air/hydrocarbon liquid systems where optical measurement is impossible.
Three-Phase Systems
Simultaneous gas, liquid, and solid holdup without intrusive probes — no wall tapping, no optical access. Oil, gas, and solid particle systems; chemical reactor slurries.
Gas-Solid Fluidised Beds
Phase distribution, jet penetration, and bubble dynamics in beds from lab-scale to 60-inch production columns. Horizontal gas jet penetration imaged in a 12-inch bed.
Oil & Gas Separators
Phase interface positions, separation efficiency, and holdup distribution in operating separators — in-service, without process shutdown or intrusive access.
Mineral & Ore Flotation
Real-time solids concentration monitoring through the collection zone of a column flotation cell, tracking recovery as collector and frother dosing changes.
Key performance parameters.
- Vessel diameter: 1–60 inches; custom sensor configurations available
- Electrode channels: 8, 16, 32, or 64-channel array; three-layer cylindrical configuration
- Acquisition rate: 4 frames per second (real-time volumetric)
- Capacitance resolution: 0.21–0.42 fF
- Switching: T-configuration CMOS; FPGA-based quadrature phase detection
- Reconstruction: 3D-NN-MOIRT; 20×20×20 voxel default resolution
- Installation: External clamp-on; no wall penetration; no process shutdown
- Geometry: Cylindrical, right-angle bend, T-junction, and custom configurations
- Output: Volumetric permittivity distribution; phase fraction data; flow regime identification
Process Imaging System
The science behind ECVT Industrial — the measurement physics, 3D-NN-MOIRT reconstruction, and the research record from fluidised beds to bubble columns to geophysical media.
Deploy ECVT Industrial in your process.
Talk to our team about vessel specifications, channel configuration, deployment timeline, and integration with existing process control systems.