The Design of a Real⁃Time Monitoring System for Water Content in High⁃Water Crude Oil Based on Conductance Array

doi:10.12422/j.issn.1672-6952.2026.05.011

Abstract

Abstract:

During the middle and late stages of oilfield development in China, crude⁃oil water cut tends to increase, adversely affecting both crude⁃oil production quality and oilfield development efficiency. Accurate measurement of water cut is essential for crude⁃oil processing, transportation, and storage; therefore, real⁃time and precise water⁃cut measurement is of considerable practical importance in oilfield production. To address the challenge of accurately measuring high⁃water⁃cut crude oil in real time, an optimized five⁃electrode measurement configuration was developed for an annular⁃array conductance sensor based on the conductance method. First, the sensor dimensions and structural parameters were optimized through sensitivity analysis using MAXWELL simulation software. Next, a signal excitation circuit and a signal processing circuit were designed to ensure measurement stability and data accuracy. Finally, experiments were conducted to measure the water cut of high⁃water⁃cut crude oil. The results show that the proposed method provides high measurement accuracy, requires simple peripheral circuitry, and exhibits strong resistance to electromagnetic interference. In addition, the system measurements closely follow the actual variation in water cut, with relatively small overall errors and good stability and repeatability.

Key words: Crude oil water content, Electric conductivity method, Signal processing, Two?phase flow

摘要：

在我国油田开发的中后期，原油含水率呈现持续上升的趋势，严重影响了原油开采的质量和油田开发效率。准确测量原油含水率对原油的加工、运输和储存至关重要。因此，原油含水率的实时精准测量在油田开采过程中具有重要的应用价值。为了应对实时精准测量高含水原油含水率的挑战，在电导法测量原油含水率的基础上，针对环形阵列电导传感器，设计了一种由五个电极组成的优化测量方式。首先，运用MAXWELL软件，通过灵敏度分析对传感器的尺寸与参数进行优化；其次，为了确保测量过程的稳定性和数据的准确性，设计了信号激励电路和信号处理电路；最后，开展了高含水原油含水率的测量实验。结果表明，该方法测量精度高、外围电路简单、抗电磁干扰能力强，系统测量结果与含水率实际变化趋势基本一致，整体测量误差较小，具有较好的稳定性与重复性。

关键词: 原油含水率, 电导法, 信号处理, 两相流

CLC Number:

TE863

Yinqiu ZHANG, Xiaolei WANG, Zhe KAN. The Design of a Real⁃Time Monitoring System for Water Content in High⁃Water Crude Oil Based on Conductance Array[J]. Journal of Liaoning Petrochemical University, 2026, 46(5): 76-85.

张银秋, 王晓蕾, 阚哲. 基于电导阵列式的高含水原油含水率实时监测系统设计[J]. 辽宁石油化工大学学报, 2026, 46(5): 76-85.

Figures/Tables 17

Fig.1 Schematic diagram of the crude oil water cut measurement principle

Fig.2 Schematic diagram of a conductive longitudinal crude oil water cut measurement sensor

Fig.3 Mesh generation result of the 3D longitudinal multipole array model

Fig.4 Spatial internal field strength distribution

Fig.5 Schematic diagram of the sensor structure

Fig.6 Axial sensitivity distribution

Fig.7 Radial sensitivity distribution

Table 1 Combined sensitivity of the sensor at different electrode thickness

序号	电极厚度/mm	电极高度/mm	综合灵敏度
1	1.00	10.00	1.672
2	1.40	10.00	1.192
3	1.80	10.00	0.927
4	2.20	10.00	0.759
5	2.60	10.00	0.641
6	3.00	1.00	5.082
7	3.00	3.00	1.768
8	3.00	5.00	1.085
9	3.00	7.00	0.787
10	3.00	10.00	0.556

Fig.8 Sensor structural design diagram

Fig.9 Drawing of the overall assembly of the system

Fig.10 Schematic diagram of the excitation signal source circuit

Fig.11 Schematic diagram of the signal processing circuit

Fig.12 Experimental diagram of crude oil water cut measurement

Fig.13 Relationship curve between voltage and conductivity

Table 2 Dynamic water cut measurement results and corresponding errors

真实含水率/%	动态含水率测量平均值/%	绝对误差/%	相对误差/%
50.0	55.6	5.6	11.20
60.0	64.8	4.8	8.00
70.0	73.2	3.2	4.57
80.0	77.4	2.6	3.25
90.0	91.3	1.3	1.44

Fig.14 Repeatability test results for crude oil water cut measurement

Fig.15 Dynamic response curve of the crude oil water cut measurement system

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