On line EM wave sand monitoring sensor for oil industry

Reliable sand monitoring is an important component of offshore sand management. Existing designs of sand monitor are widely used and often provide useful results, but they can require regular calibration and may struggle to provide reliable quantitative measurements. At the University of Liverpool we have been investigating the propagation of EM waves through various mediums within the oil pipe including oil, gas, water and sand in order to quantify the percentage of medium mixtures. This paper will describe the microwave system setup including the transmitted receiving antennae. Experimental results of various mixtures including sand will be presented.