Improving the performance of an RF resonant cavity water-cut meter using an impedance matching network

In multiphase flow measurement, one of the most challenging issues is to define an adequate technology for a specific scenario, taking into account the measurement accuracy, implementation feasibility and costs. The electromagnetic technology based on resonant cavities is often employed in water-cut meters to measure two-phase flows such as water/oil and water/gas mixtures. The main disadvantage of this technology is the electromagnetic signal attenuation that occurs as the water content decreases. This undesirable behavior is amplified due to the impedance mismatch between the sensor ports and the transmitter/receiver modules. This paper presents a study to implement an impedance matching network in order to improve the instrument performance. Impedance matching networks were built, taking into account the matching for a 100%, 50% and, also, for the worst case of 0% of water fraction where there is a significant signal attenuation. The implemented networks improved the signal amplitude ratio between the first resonant mode and the other modes, increasing the identification accuracy of the first resonance peak.