Cross-correlation velocity measurement of horizontal oil–water two-phase flow by using parallel–wire capacitance probe

•We numerically study the sensitivity field of a novel parallel–wire capacitance probe.•We measure cross-correlation velocities of six flow patterns in horizontal oil–water two-phase flow.•We study the effects of phase distribution on the capacitance probe response.•We predict the homogeneous velocity of oil–water two-phase flows upon kinematic wave model.

Horizontal oil–water two-phase flow widely exists in petroleum industry. The flow measurement in oil well, which is one of key production logging technologies, is becoming more and more important for horizontal well production management. The complicated flow structures happened in horizontal oil–water two-phase flow bring a great challenge to flow measurement. We employ a parallel–wire capacitance probe (PWCP) to compose the cross-correlation velocity measurement. Firstly, we investigate the distribution of sensitivity field of PWCP by using finite element method (FEM). Then, we carry out the flow loop test to figure out the cross-correlation velocity from the voltage fluctuation signals measured from upstream and downstream probes. The results indicate that the cross-correlation characteristic of PWCPs depends on the oil–water flow structures. Finally, we use the kinematic wave model to predict the homogeneous velocity for six different horizontal oil–water two-phase flow patterns.