Design of Crude Palm Oil Monitoring System using Electrical Capacitance Tomography: A Conceptual Framework

In Crude Palm Oil (CPO) milling operations, the oil flow that has gone through separation process must be tested for its purity as wastes (e.g. palm oil mill effluent, water, sludge) tend to get carried along the process pipeline. At present, this procedure usually takes up to 5 days as samples of the flow needed to be verified biologically for its composition. Electrical Capacitance Tomography (ECT) systems that are able to provide the cross-sectional images of a closed content has proven the possibility of monitoring the composition of CPO flow in online manner. ECT systems are also able to provide other crucial flow information such as its velocity and flow regime that could help in controlling the processes. In this paper, a brief literature review of existing ECT systems are presented, then a conceptual design for developing an ECT system for visualizing and measuring CPO flow are presented along with the decision process of choosing suitable technique and hardware types for the new ECT system for CPO monitoring. A preliminary simulation study of the capability of the designed system to reconstruct images of water-oil flow phantoms is also presented. The simulation results show that the designed system is capable of reconstructing phantom images with error lower than 30 %

Modelling Electrical Resistance Tomography Using COMSOL and Matlab for Crack Detection Analysis

Electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) is designed for prediction on electrode polarization, potential drop near current supply and electrode that proximate to phantom, electrode size, width, and length. ERT is felicitous to be utilized for an experiment on material that is conductive like concrete. The objective of this study is to model ERT sensor in two-dimension by utilizing COMSOL Multiphysics software. The study uses opposite method of electrode excitation for the analyses of the output voltage in the presence of air holes detection. The result of the electric field from the COMSOL is used further in the Matlab to reconstruct the image in the form of 64x64 pixels using Linear Back Projection (LBP) algorithm. ERT model is tested with the presence of one air hole or more. The same goes to the output voltage whenever the air holes are incremented. In conclusion, the opposite electrodes activation is suitable method to be considered because it produces the linear relation between the output voltage and the air holes

Sensitivity Mapping for Electrical Tomography Using Finite Element Method

This paper presents the construction of sensitivity map (SM) using finite element method for electrical tomography systems that has the soft-field characteristic such as electrical capacitance tomography (ECT). The SM is generated based on a sixteen-channel ECT system on a 110 mm diameter pipe circumference by using COMSOL Multiphysic. Sensitivity mapping is the pivotal element for tomography imaging in solving the forward problem. The obtained sensitivity map for 120 projections forming a sensitivity matrices are presented in this paper

Non-Destructive Oil Palm Fresh Fruit Bunch (FFB) Grading Technique Using Optical Sensor

This research discover the uniqueness of physical and optical characteristics of the oil palm Fresh Fruit Bunches (FFB). The goal is to determine the level of ripeness of the oil palm FFB by creating a non-destructive and real-time oil palm FFB grading systems. This grading system are a solution to automate the current grading process in order to provide more accurate and reliable results. Apart from that, the costs, labor and time consume will also be reduced. In Malaysia, the grading of oil palm FFB are still performed manually by observing the surface color as the main quality attribute. This project explore the chlorophyll content in oil palm and use its characteristic as a level selector to classify the degree of oil palm FFB ripeness. In this case, the level of ripeness are divided into three categories which is unripe, ripe and over-ripe. There are several phases involve in the non-destructive oil palm FFB grading system using optical sensor. First phase is the determination of reflectance data for all three classes of the oil palm FFB. This will be determine by using a light sources with 670 nm wavelength. The light sources will emitted a projection of light that will illuminate the skin of the oil palm FFB. The reflected light will be received by the optical sensor and the reflectance value are obtain. Last phase is the analysis of the data obtained by using statistical analysis. The expected outcome of this project is to study and understand the process of using LED and optical sensor as the data collecting method to determine the level of ripeness of the oil palm FFB

Investigation of capabilities of electromagnetic tomography for pipeline imaging

In industrial process, pipeline leakage often only noticeable pipe condition is critical henceforth causing damages to its internal content. Therefore, pipeline inspection and monitoring work is highly demanding to take early precautions. Electromagnetic Tomography (EMT) is capable to produce images of the internal structure of an object by using external sensors without disrupting it. The coil sensors are placed around the object where the source coil transmits an oscillating magnetic field while the rest acts as receiver and measure the received signals. The measured signal provides the magnetic field distribution of the pipe, and will differ according to the materials’ passive electrical properties. In this paper, we investigate the capability of using EMT to identify metallic pipe openings by conducting a finite element analysis simulation study. The design and parameters of the EMT system, as well as the results of using the EMT model to detect various degree of metallic pipe openings is presented. The results confirm that the EMT imaging as a promising tool for inspection of metallic pipelines where the magnetic field of the investigated region differs according to the pipe opening and material of the pipeline

Velocity measurement simulative study of twin plane ECT using advanced cross correlation technique

Flow velocity is a critical information to have in order to ensure an optimum flow condition in a process plant. The combination of Electrical Capacitance Tomography and cross correlation technique has been successfully used to measure the velocity of multiphase flows. The peak of the cross correlated signals corresponds to the time taken by particles to move along the flow, thus its velocity can be derived. This paper investigates the capability of implementing an improved method of determining flow velocity by using a combined function of the cross correlation (CCF) and average squared differential (ASDF) functions in order to improve the accuracy of the velocity measurement. A velocity measurement simulation of a liquid/gas flow using MATLAB is employed and a comparison between the use of CCF and the combination of CCF/ASDF is made. The correlogram of the combined CCF/ASDF method has a sharper peak compared to the correlogram of the conventional CCF method, indicating that the peak of the function can be determined more accurately as the sharper peak can decrease the measurement uncertainty

Electrical capacitance tomography: a review on portable ECT system and hardware design

There are demands from the industry to have a modern application of Electrical Capacitance Tomography (ECT) system which is mobile and agile. One of the factors why such system is needed in the industry is because of the requirement to install the measurement sensors in a hostile and harsh environment which demands a special kind of ECT system. This paper will discuss the features of mobile or portable ECT which is more practical to be implemented in the harsh environment. Besides, the implementation of cloud computing and wireless technology in the portable ECT systems is also discussed. This review outlines some key features of portable or in another word mobile ECT as a complete system. Design/methodology/approach - There are demands from the industry to have a modern application of ECT system which is mobile and agile. One of the factors why such system is needed in the industry is due to the requirement to install the measurement sensors in hostile and harsh environment which demands a special kind of ECT systems. This paper will discuss the features of mobile or portable ECT which is more practical to be implemented in the harsh environment. Besides, the implementation of cloud computing and wireless technology in the portable ECT systems is also being discussed. This review outlines some key features of portable or in another word mobile ECT as a complete system. Findings - This review outlines some key features of portable or in another word mobile ECT as a complete system. A lot of improvement can be done to realize a reliable and stable ECT system. It is seems that in the near future, machine to machine communication will become the main stream. Originality/value - This paper fulfils an identified need to study improvement that can be done to develop a portable ECT system which is reliable and stable. Besides, the implementation of cloud computing and wireless technology in the portable ECT systems is also discussed

Electrical Capacitance Tomography: A Review On Portable ECT System And Hardware Design

Purpose – There are demands from the industry to have a modern application of Electrical Capacitance Tomography (ECT) system which is mobile and agile. One of the factors why such system is needed in the industry is because of the requirement to install the measurement sensors in a hostile and harsh environment which demands a special kind of ECT system. This paper will discuss the features of mobile or portable ECT which is more practical to be implemented in the harsh environment. Besides, the implementation of cloud computing and wireless technology in the portable ECT systems is also discussed. This review outlines some key features of portable or in another word mobile ECT as a complete system. Design/methodology/approach – There are demands from the industry to have a modern application of ECT system which is mobile and agile. One of the factors why such system is needed in the industry is due to the requirement to install the measurement sensors in hostile and harsh environment which demands a special kind of ECT systems. This paper will discuss the features of mobile or portable ECT which is more practical to be implemented in the harsh environment. Besides, the implementation of cloud computing and wireless technology in the portable ECT systems is also being discussed. This review outlines some key features of portable or in another word mobile ECT as a complete system. Findings – This review outlines some key features of portable or in another word mobile ECT as a complete system. A lot of improvement can be done to realize a reliable and stable ECT system. It is seems that in the near future, machine to machine communication will become the main stream. Originality/value – This paper fulfils an identified need to study improvement that can be done to develop a portable ECT system which is reliable and stable. Besides, the implementation of cloud computing and wireless technology in the portable ECT systems is also discussed

Electrical capacitance tomography: a review on portable ECT system and hardware design

Purpose – There are demands from the industry to have a modern application of Electrical Capacitance Tomography (ECT) system which is mobile and agile. One of the factors why such system is needed in the industry is because of the requirement to install the measurement sensors in a hostile and harsh environment which demands a special kind of ECT system. This paper will discuss the features of mobile or portable ECT which is more practical to be implemented in the harsh environment. Besides, the implementation of cloud computing and wireless technology in the portable ECT systems is also discussed. This review outlines some key features of portable or in another word mobile ECT as a complete system. Design/methodology/approach – There are demands from the industry to have a modern application of ECT system which is mobile and agile. One of the factors why such system is needed in the industry is due to the requirement to install the measurement sensors in hostile and harsh environment which demands a special kind of ECT systems. This paper will discuss the features of mobile or portable ECT which is more practical to be implemented in the harsh environment. Besides, the implementation of cloud computing and wireless technology in the portable ECT systems is also being discussed. This review outlines some key features of portable or in another word mobile ECT as a complete system. Findings – This review outlines some key features of portable or in another word mobile ECT as a complete system. A lot of improvement can be done to realize a reliable and stable ECT system. It is seems that in the near future, machine to machine communication will become the main stream. Originality/value – This paper fulfils an identified need to study improvement that can be done to develop a portable ECT system which is reliable and stable. Besides, the implementation of cloud computing and wireless technology in the portable ECT systems is also discussed

Modelling electrical resistance tomography using COMSOL and Matlab for crack detection analysis

Electrical resistivity tomography (ERT) is designed for predictionon electrode polarization, potential drop near current supply and electrode that proximate to phantom, electrode size, width, and length. ERT is felicitous to be utilized for an experiment on material that is conductive like concrete. The objective of this study is to model ERT sensor in two-dimension by utilizing COMSOL Multiphysics software. The study uses opposite method of electrode excitation for the analyses of the output voltage in the presence of air holes detection. The result of the electric field from the COMSOL is used further in the Matlab to reconstruct the image in the form of 64x64 pixels using Linear Back Projection (LBP) algorithm. ERT model is tested with the presence of one air hole or more. The same goes to the output voltage whenever the air holes are incremented. In conclusion, the opposite electrodes activation is suitable method to be considered because it produces the linear relation between the output voltage and the air hole