Development of an optical wire-mesh tomograph for the study of multi-phase flows.

We introduce a novel optical wire-mesh tomograph for the investigation of multiphase flows. The sensor consists of an optical fibre matrix that covers the cross-section of a vessel or pipeline with fibres arranged in two distinct axial planes. Optical measurement is performed at the cross-points of the fibres where the cladding material is partially removed to enable light crossing from a fibre of the emitter plane to fibres of the receiver plane. A rapid optoelectronic processing unit enables the acquisition of cross-sectional images with frame rates above 10 kHz. We demonstrate the operation of the sensor for an oil-gas two-phase flow.