See discussions, stats, and author profiles for this publication at: https://www.researchgate.

net/publication/305686515

Electrical resistance tomography with voltage excitation

Conference Paper · May 2016

DOI: 10.1109/I2MTC.2016.7520444

CITATIONS READS
7 312

2 authors:

Marco A. Rodriguez-Frias Wuqiang Yang

The University of Manchester The University of Manchester
11 PUBLICATIONS   38 CITATIONS    249 PUBLICATIONS   7,166 CITATIONS   

SEE PROFILE SEE PROFILE

Some of the authors of this publication are also working on these related projects:

Dual modality ECT/ERT multiphase flow meter. View project

All content following this page was uploaded by Marco A. Rodriguez-Frias on 25 October 2018.

The user has requested enhancement of the downloaded file.

 Electrical Resistance Tomography with
Voltage Excitation
Marco A. Rodriguez Frias and Wuqiang Yang, Fellow, IEEE
School of Electrical and Electronic Engineering
University of Manchester, Manchester M13 9PL, UK
marco.rodriguezfrias@manchester.ac.uk
wuqiang.yang@manchester.ac.uk

range of frequency and conductance, the system is capable of

Abstract— Electrical Resistance Tomography (ERT) has been
widely accepted as a useful tool to visualize conductivity
distributions. Traditional ERT systems use a scheme with current
injection and voltage measurement to detect changes in
conductivity in a region of interest. Such current injection is
usually accomplished by the use of small metallic pin electrodes.
As a consequence of the ‘soft-field’ feature of the electric field and
the use of small pin electrodes, there exists an axial dispersion of
the sensing field i.e. fringe effect. In consequence, the
reconstructed images are distorted and hence they can only
provide qualitative information of the conductivity distribution.
An ERT system with voltage excitation and larger electrodes
would reduce the distortion due to the fringe effect. In addition,
the use of a voltage source instead of current reduces the
complexity and cost of the implementation while increases the
range of conductivities the ERT system is capable to image. In this
work, the construction of an ERT system with voltage excitation is
described. In addition, the impact of driven guards in an ERT
sensor is studied.
imaging. Furthermore, it increases the complexity and cost of
the circuitry.
An ERT system with voltage excitation has been proposed
[3] as an alternative to tackle the problems associated with
conventional ERT systems featuring current-excitation. The
use of larger electrodes contributes to considerable reduction of
the fringe effect while the use of a voltage source simplifies the
implementation of such systems. Up to now, all ERT systems
with voltage excitation have been constructed by the use of an
impedance analyser and a multiplexing box. In this paper the
construction of an ERT system with voltage excitation without
the use of an impedance analyser is presented. Sensor
construction and implementation of driven guards are also
discussed. Image reconstruction is performed to assess the
system’s performance.
II. ERT WITH VOLTAGE EXCITATION

Keywords—Electrical resistance tomography (ERT), voltage A. Sensing Strategy

excitation, fringe effect, driven guards.
I. INTRODUCTION
Electrical resistance tomography (ERT) is a well-known
method used to investigate multi-phase phenomena. It is based
on the reconstruction of images resembling the conductivity
distribution inside the sensor. The data used to obtain such
graphic representation is taken from boundary measurements.
Up to date, most ERT systems are designed with a scheme of
current-excitation and voltage-measurement. In this case, a
known AC current is injected through small pin electrodes in
contact with the conductive material and the resultant voltage
changes due to the conductivity change being tested are
measured.
As a result of the use of small electrodes, the sensing field
spreads in the axial direction, i.e. fringe effect, resulting in
distortion in the reconstructed images. Two major
consequences of the fringe effect are the miss-position of the
objects in the reconstructed image and the detection of objects
outside the sensor plane [1] [2]. Due to the significant presence
of fringe effect, data gathered with such a system is limited to a
qualitative study of the conductivity distribution. In addition,
the requirement of a voltage controlled current source limits the
The sensing protocol in ERT with voltage-excitation and
current-measurement is as follows. An AC voltage is
sequentially applied to the conductive media and the resultant
currents are measured. This is achieved by the use of the
electrodes placed in the circumference of the pipe wall.
Figure 1 shows the first step in the sensing sequence for an
8 electrodes sensor. The AC voltage is applied to electrode 1
while electrode 2 is connected referred to virtual ground by a
current-to-voltage converter that is also used to measure the
current between electrodes 1-2. The rest of unused electrodes
are connected to ground. Once the current measurement has
been taken, electrode 2 is connected to ground and electrode 3
is connected to the measuring circuit. This sequence is repeated
until all the possible measurements are gathered. The second
step in the sensing sequence is to apply the AC voltage to
electrode 2, and the resultant currents in the rest of electrodes
are measured. These steps are repeated until all the possible
independent measurements are gathered.
The number of independent measurements available is
given by
( )
= (1)

Marco A. Rodriguez Frias would like to thank the Mexican CONACYT

programme for supporting his study in the UK.

where M is the number of independent measurements and N is
the number of electrodes.
Fig. 1 Setup for current measurement between electrodes 1-2
For an 8 electrode sensor as depicted in Figure 2, the
number of independent measurements would be M = 28.
Fig. 2 Measurement sequence for an 8 electrode ERT sensor.
B. Sensor Design
ERT imaging requires the flow of current through the
media under study. Electrodes in an ERT sensor are placed
symmetrically in the inner face of the pipe/vessel wall in direct
contact with the process. Therefore, ERT is an intrusive but
non-invasive imaging technique. When the number of
electrodes is selected, two major aspects have to be taken into
account: spatial resolution and the complexity of the data
acquisition system. A larger number of electrodes generates
more independent measurements and a better spatial resolution
is expected. However, as the perimeter of the pipe or vessel is
fixed, the increase in the number of electrodes represents a
reduction of their radial size. In addition, an increased number
of electrodes require a proportional augmented number of
channels for data acquisition. In addition, the reduction of
electrode surface area results in a proportional reduction of the
current values. Therefore, a more sensitive sensing circuitry is
required.
The electrode length in the axial direction is also an
important parameter. Longer electrodes in the axial direction
generate a more uniform sensing field. This is a desirable effect
because it helps to reduce the fringe effect. However, an
unlimited increase in the length of the electrodes would have
adverse effects. First, the size of the smallest perturbation that
is possible to detect increases proportionally with the length of
the electrodes. Second, the volume being sensed would be
equivalently increased in the axial direction. In consequence,
the measurement would be an averaging of a larger volume. A
common practice is to select the length of the electrodes larger
than the diameter of the pipe or vessel [4].
Another consideration when designing ERT sensors is the
inclusion of guards. There exist two types of guards, grounded
guards and driven guards. Grounded guards are usually built as
metallic rings placed in the outer face of the pipe\vessel at both
ends of the measuring electrodes in the axial direction. The
placement of the grounded rings in the outer face of the pipe
wall eases the construction of the sensor. The grounded guards
are intended to constrain the sensing field into the electrode
plane [5].
Driven guards in ERT are usually built inside the pipe wall
parallel to the measuring set of electrodes in both axial
directions as seen in Figure 3 (right) [6]. The purpose of
construction for the internal driven guards is to generate a more
uniform sensing field, reducing the distortion generated by the
fringe effect. A drawback on this arrangement is that the sensor
construction becomes more complicated due to the placement
of the guards inside of the sensor. In addition, since these guards
are driven at the same voltage or current, depending on the type
of excitation used, as the measuring electrodes, the control
circuitry becomes more complex. Another adverse effect of the
use of internal driven guards is the inter-electrode interference,
i.e. the resultant measurement would not depend only on the
conductivity between the measuring electrodes, but also be
function of the conductivity between the measuring electrodes
and driven guards.
In this work, external driven guards are used to generate a
more uniform sensing field from the exterior of the pipe wall.
Moreover, the construction of a sensor with external driven
guards is easier than with internal driven guards. In addition, as
the electric field is generated from the outside, the pipe wall acts
as an electrical insulator and there is no current flowing due to
the driven guards, limiting the effect of the driven guards just
to generate a more homogenous sensing field without having a
direct influence on the measurement electrodes.
Simplification of a 3D model to 2D is based on the
assumption of a homogeneous distribution of the electric field
in the axial direction [7]. However, for that assumption to be
true, an optimal sensor design is required. As the electric field
is at every point perpendicular to the equipotential lines, it is
desired to have the equipotential lines parallel to the Z-axis in
the sensing area. Figure 4 shows the potential distribution due
to the different sensor architectures: (a) External driven guards,
(b) without guards, (c) grounded ring guards, and (d) internal
driven guards. The area bounded by the two horizontal black
lines is the sensing plane. As can be seen, the potential
distribution in Figures 4 (a) and (b) are parallel in an area
greater than the sensing plane. Figures 4 (b) and (c) show a
deviation of the equipotential lines in both axial ends of the
sensing electrodes. The use of internal or external driven guards
generates a similar potential distribution.
Fig. 3 ERT sensor construction; driven external guards (left), grounded external grounds (centre), internal driven guards (right).
Fig. 4 Potential distribution. (a) External driven guards, (b) without guards, (c)
grounded ring, (d) internal driven guards.
For this study, an 8 electrodes ERT sensor with external
driven guards is selected. The following are the parameters
selected for the sensor. Figure 5 shows ERT sensor construction
with external driven guards.
• Electrode axial length: 6 cm
• Electrode radial length: 2.1 cm
• Inter electrode radial gap: 0.5 cm
• Driven guard axial length: 10 cm
• Driven guard radial length: 2.1 cm
• Container diameter: 7 cm
• Thickness of container’s wall: 0.1 cm
Fig. 5 ERT sensor construction with external driven guards
C. Switching and data acquisition
Data acquisition and switching sequence is performed with
an Agilent 34972. Figure 6 shows the switching stage in an idle
state, and J1 to J2 maintain all the electrodes referred to ground.
When a measuring sequence begins, electrode 1 is set as driving
electrode by changing state of switch J1 to perform
measurement between electrodes 1-2, and switches J2 and J9
toggle state. This sequence continues until all the independent
measurements are taken.
The material’s resistance is determined by measuring the
current flowing through the conductive media with the use of a
current-to-voltage converter as shown in Figure 7. The output
voltage is measured with the internal DMM in the Agilent
34972 and transferred to the computer via Ethernet connection
to perform image reconstruction.
The relationship between the input current and the
output voltage is given by

Fig. 6 Switching stage.
Fig.7 Current-to-voltage converter.
=−
where = . Once is known, the inter electrode
resistance can be easily calculated by applying Ohm’s law.
D. Operating frequency
As ERT systems are intended to image only conductivity
distribution, the frequency of the excitation signal should be
low to avoid the capacitive effect of the media. As can be seen
from equation (3), the capacitive impedance is inversely
proportional to the excitation frequency. Therefore, a low
frequency is preferable to measure the resistive properties of the
materials. However, the excitation frequency cannot be
decreased unlimitedly, as can be seen form equation (5), the
inductive impedance is directly proportional to the excitation
frequency, consequently, if a very low excitation frequency is
selected the inductive effects of the media affect the
measurement. The monitoring of the voltage-current phase for
adjacent and opposite electrode pairs allowed to determine to
optimal operating frequency to have an in-phase current and
voltage, which is set at 10 kHz.
= (3)
= (4)
= (5)
Figure 8 shows experimental measurements for opposite and
adjacent electrode pairs. The sensor is filled with water at
0.01 (top) to 5 (bottom).
Fig. 8 Current-Voltage phase measurements for opposite and adjacent
electrodes with the sensor filled with water with a conductivity of 0.01 S/m
(top) to 5 S/m (bottom)
E. Forward problem
As the frequency of the AC current is kept low i.e. 10 kHz,
and the sensor size is several orders of magnitude smaller than
the wavelength, it is possible to neglect magnetic fields
associated to wave propagation [8]. Therefore, the quasi-static
Maxwell’s equation can be used and the sensing field generated
by the current flowing inside the area being imaged obeys the
Poisson’s equation.
(2)
∙[ ]=0 (6)
where is the conductivity at coordinates (x, y) and potential
at coordinates (x, y). The forward problem is solved to
determine the boundary current values from a known
conductivity distribution. The linearized and discrete form of
the forward problem can be described by
= (7)
where is a vector containing the current values, S is the
sensitivity map and G is the vector containing the conductivity
values for each pixel in the image.
Sensitivity maps contain information regarding the
sensor’s response to individual stimulus. Although the
sensitivity maps in ERT can be measured directly form the
sensor using a material with different conductivity from the
background and gathering the response from every electrode
pair. A more practical and fast way to obtain the sensitivity
maps is to calculate them by [9]
, ( , )= − ( , )
∙ (8)
where , is the sensibility at ( , ), is the potential value at
( , ) due to the i electrode set to a voltage, and is the
potential value at ( , ) due to the j electrode set to a voltage.
F. Image Reconstruction
The conductivity distribution is calculated from the
boundary measurements i.e. solving the inverse problem. In this
work, the linear back projection algorithm (LBP) is used to
obtain the approximation of the conductivity distribution. LBP conductive rod with a highly conductive background is
is described by [10] decreased, it is possible to see in figure 9 (bottom) that the
system is able to successfully detect the presence of non-
Ĝ= (9) conductive material placed in the less sensitive central area of
where Ĝ is the image representing the conductivity distribution, the sensor with a highly conductive background.
is the transpose of the sensitivity maps and is the
normalized current vector.
LBP is a single step image reconstruction algorithm. It is
fast and simple to implement. However, the image quality is
poor. This makes it difficult to distinguish shape and position.
Landweber iteration is an iterative image reconstruction
algorithm. In this study, it is used to obtain images showing
objects with sharper boundaries. This allows obtaining more
accurate estimation of the conductivity distribution. The first
conductivity vector is obtained by the application of LBP.
Afterwards, the forward problem is solved on each iteration to
obtain the current due to the actual conductivity vector. Finally,
the conductivity vector is updated by the image obtained from
LBP based on the difference between the vector containing the
measured currents and the current vector from the solution of
the forward problem [11]
Fig. 9 Axially homogeneous central core flow, water as background with
Ĝ=
(10) conductivity of 0.01 (top), 5 (bottom).
Ĝ =Ĝ + ( − Ĝ )
where Ĝ is the approximation of the conductivity vector, S is the
sensitivity map, is the vector containing the normalized
current measurements, and is a constant called relaxation
factor that helps to control the convergence rate.

III. EXPERIMENT AND RESULTS

In order to assess the system’s ability to image complex
conductivity distributions a set of images are reconstructed
from measurements taken from the system developed built.
Image reconstruction is performed with LBP and Landweber
algorithms. The first tested distribution is a central core flow.
This is accomplished by placing a non-conductive plastic rod in
the centre of the sensor. The length of the plastic rod is 21 cm
and it is placed touching the bottom of the sensor, generating in
this way an axially uniform distribution. The rod’s material is
Perspex. Its diameter is 3 cm. Figure 9 shows the images
reconstructed with LBP and Landweber algorithms. The
conductivity of water used in this set of measurements is 0.01
and 5 . Water’s conductivity is increased by adding table salt,
allowing mimicking sea water.
The second tested distribution is stratified flow with half of
the sensor filled by water and half filled by air in the axial
direction. Figure 10 shows the images reconstructed with LBP
and Landweber algorithms. The conductivity of the water used
in this set of measurements is the same as in the previous test.
Figures 9 and 10 show the feasibility to image complex
conductivity distributions with the use of a simple ERT system
with voltage excitation without an impedance analyser. The
system is able to image a non-conductive material in both,
central core and stratified distributions over a conductive
background with a wide range of conductivity from 0.01 to
5 . Although the quality of the images obtained for the non-
Fig. 10 Axially homogeneous stratified flow, water as background with
conductivity of 0.01 (top), 5 (bottom).
A second experiment is designed to assess the performance
of the proposed external driven guards. A plastic rod is placed
at different distance of the axial centre of the sensing plane,
emulating a non-homogeneous central core flow. The rod is
placed at the centre of the sensor in the radial direction. Figure
11 shows a representation of the experimental setup with the
plastic rod in different axial positions. (a) 4 cm over the axial
centre, (b) on the axial centre, 0 cm (c) - 4 cm under the axial
centre.
It can be seen that although both ERT sensors are built with
the same electrode length, the sensing area is constrained more
effectively by the use of external driven guards. This effect is
clearer when the conductivity of the water is 5 , Figure 12
(bottom). Moreover, the reconstructed images represent more
accurately the conductivity distribution even when the rod is not
submerged totally until the container’s bottom, i.e it is possible
to obtain a better approximation of an axially non-
homogeneous conductivity distribution with a sensor having
external driven guards. In addition, it is possible to notice that
the use of external driven guards allows to reduce the effect of
materials outside the sensing area in the axial direction. This
effect is noticeable in Figure 12 (bottom) when the rod is placed
4cm over the centre of the electrodes.
Fig. 11 Non-axially homogeneous central core distribution at three
different axial positions: (a) 4 cm over the axial centre, (b) 0 cm, on the axial
centre (c) - 4 cm under the axial centre.
IV. CONCLUSIONS
In this work, the construction of an ERT system with voltage
excitation without the use of an impedance analyser is
presented. Successful image reconstruction of central core and
stratified distributions from measurements taken with the
designed system are presented. In addition, the construction and
advantages of a sensor with external driven guards are
discussed.
The design and implementation of an ERT system with
voltage-excitation is presented. Voltage excitation allows to
increase the range of conductivity, the system can image. In this
study central core and stratified flows are successfully imaged
with water as background with conductivity within a range of
0.01 to 5 . Furthermore, the use of a voltage source
simplifies the construction of the ERT system.
Although a sensor built with small pin electrodes, as used
in conventional ERT with current excitation presents a reduced
sensing volume in the axial direction. The distortion due to the
non-homogeneous sensing field in the axial boundaries of the
sensing plane reduces the ability to estimate position and shape
of objects in the conductivity distribution. The sensing volume
can be increased in the axial direction by using larger electrodes
in ERT with voltage excitation. But a more homogeneous
sensing field is generated. Therefore, the fringe effect is
reduced and the 3D model can be effectively simplified to 2D.
Moreover, it can be seen that the use of driven guards is
advantageous over the use of a grounded ring.
Internal and external driven guards have a similar
performance in terms of generating an electric field
perpendicular to the Z-axis. Nonetheless, a sensor with external
driven guards is easier to make than with internal driven guards.
Furthermore, being in the outer face of the pipe wall, external
driven guards have an advantage of being non-intrusive and
non-invasive.
View publication stats
Fig. 12 Non-axially homogeneous central core flow, comparison external
driven guards and grounded ring. Water as background with conductivity of
0.01 (top), 5 (bottom).
REFERENCES
[1] J. Sun, W. Yang, “Evaluation of fringe effect of electrical resistance
tomography sensor,” Measurement: Journal of the International
Measurement Confederation, Volume 53, pp. 145–160. July 2014
[2] J. S. Lioumbas, A. Chatzidafni, T. H. Karapantsios, “Spatial
considerations on electrical resistance tomography measurements,”
Volume 25, 055303 (12 p) March 2014
[3] J. Sun, W. Yang, “A dual-modality electrical tomography sensor for
measurement of gas–oil–water stratified flows,” Measurement, Volume
66, pp. 150–160. April 2015
[4] W. Yang, “Design of electrical capacitance tomography sensors,”
Measurement Science and Technology, Volume 21, 042001
(13p),February 2010
[5] J. Sun, W. Yang, “Fringe effect of electrical capacitance and resistance
tomography sensors,” Measurement Science and Technology, Volume
24, 074002 (15p), June 2013
[6] Y. Ma, L. Xu, C. Jiang, “Experimental Study of the Guard Electrodes in
an ERT System,” 1st World Congress on Industrial Process Tomography,
Buxton, Greater Manchester, pp. 335–338, April 1999
[7] Y. Hua, S. Fuqun, X. Hui, W. Shi, “Three-dimensional analysis of
electrical capacitance tomography sensing fields,” Measurement Science
and Technology, Volume 10, pp. 717-725, 1999
[8] Y. Li, M. Soleimani, “Imaging conductive materials with high frequency
electrical capacitance tomography,” Measurement, Volume 46(9), pp.
3355–3361, 2013
[9] L. Zhang, “Image reconstruction algorithm for electrical impedance
tomography using updated sensitivity matrix,” International Conference
of Soft Computing and Pattern Recognition, pp. 248–252. October 2011
[10] J. C. Gamio, C. Ortiz-Aleman, R. Martin, “Electrical capacitance
tomography two-phase oil-gas pipe flow imaging by the linear back-
projection algorithm,” Geofisica Internacional, Volume 44(3), pp. 265–
273, 2005
[11] W. Yang, D. M. Spink, T. A. York, H. McCann, “An image-
reconstruction algorithm based on Landweber’s iteration method for
electrical-capacitance tomography,” Measurement Science and
Technology, Volume 10(11), pp. 1065–1069, 1999