Qualitative visualization and quantitative analysis of milk flow using electrical resistance tomography

Product quality enhancement, reduction in waste and energy consumption and cost minimization are the results of having good automatic process control in all processes including the milk powder production process. Having an accurate, multi-dimensional and continuous knowledge of the process which is the fundamental requirement of automatic process control can be provided by the application of process tomography. Electrical Resistance Tomography (ERT), a novel, simple, and robust method of process imaging when conducted on two adjacent planes on a pipeline, provides the ability to extract multi-dimensional qualitative and quantitative flow information. The application of an ERT system to flow monitoring and control in the dairy industry has not been researched comprehensively before. Yet it is extremely desirable and beneficial to be able to remotely inspect the internal volume of pipes without invading the process, which is the aim of this research.