ELSEVIER

Analysis of thin film thickness determination in

two-phase flow using a multifiber optical sensor
S. C. M. Yu, C. P. Tso and R. Liew

Thermal and Fluids Engineering Division, School of Mechanical and Production Engineering,
Nanyang Technological University, Singapore

Simulation studies had been conducted utilizing the principle of virtual image and vector analysis to
demonstrate the possibility of using a multifiber optic sensor to determine the thickness and orientation (i.e.,
the liquid surface inclination angles) of a clear liquid film in a gas-liquid two-phase flow situation. The sensor
system consists of a central light emitting fiber which is surrounded symmetrically by sh light receiving fibers.
By analyzing the different patterns of light intensity reflected back at the gas-liquid interface and collected by
the six receiving fibers, the thin film thickness and its orientation with respect to the measuring point can be
determined. The present study suggests that the sensor is capable of measuring liquid thin film thicknesses,
including orientation relative to the measuring point, within the range of 0.54-4 mm. The limitation is mainly
imposed by the numerical aperture of the optic fiber used.

Keywords: two-phase flow, multifiber optic sensor

1. Introduction hence the present analysis is undertaken to take into

account such a general consideration.
The determination of the thickness of the liquid film in a
The following section describes briefly the fiber optic
two-phase flow system is of vital importance in many
sensor system, followed by the analysis for obtaining the
situations. Various techniques have been reported in the
three-dimensional simulation results. The computed results
literature,lm4 including the well-developed techniques
will be presented and compared with existing experimental
based on utilizing the difference in the values of the
data in Section 4.
electric conductivity or dielectric constants between the
state of the liquid and the gas to measure the thickness of
the thin film. Techniques applicable to dielectric fluids as
well as being nonintrusive thus have obvious advantages,
and these have also been reported.‘*2*5-7 2. The optic fiber sensor system
A nonintrusive fiber optic sensor system was studied by
A schematic diagram of the measurement system is shown
Ohba et al.* who showed that the change in the intensity
in Figure 2(a), details of which can be found in Ohba et
of a reflected laser beam is capable of measuring local film
al’. The sensor should be mounted flush with the wall
thickness in gas-liquid annular two-phase flows. When two
surface on which a liquid film exists. The sensor head
sensors are placed along the flow at a known short dis-
consists of seven optical fibers tightly joined to each other
tance apart, the interfacial wave velocity may also be
in parallel with the central fiber as the light emitting
determined by the time-of-flight method as an additional
source. The surrounding six receiving fibers, arranged
measured parameter. The measurements obtained earlier
symmetrically, may be divided into two groups consisting
by Ohba were based on the consideration of a simplified
of three fibers each and locating on both sides of the
two-dimensional situation where the wave form of the
x-axis, as shown in Figure 3. The light received by the
gas-liquid interface varied in one direction only, as shown
three fibers forming one group is collected into the signal
in Figure 1. In reality, the situation is complicated by the
processing system which consists of photodiodes and volt-
fact that the wave form may exist at any orientation, and
meters. Graded-index multimode fibers with 80 pm in
core diameter and 125 km in cladding diameter have been
used. The experimental measurements obtained by Ohba
Address reprint requests to Dr. Yu at the School of Mechanical and
were based on a plane mirror surface instead of an actual
Production Engineering, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore liquid film as the reflecting surface (Figure 2[b]). The use
639798. of a plane mirror can provide higher reflected light inten-
sity even with a lower power light source (a 5 mW laser
Received 30 August 1994; accepted 2 November 1995. was used in the experiment), although in an actual flow

Appl. Math. Modelling 1996, Vol. 20, July

0 1996 by Elsevier Science Inc. 0307-904X/96/$15.00
655 Avenue of the Americas, New York, NY 10010 SSDI 0307-904X(95)00173-5
 Analysis of thin film thickness determination: S. C. M. Yu et al.

Table 1. Physical parameters for computation

Power of the emitted light source: He- 5 mW
Ne laser
Core diameter of the fiber optic used 80 pm
Cladding diameter of the fiber optic used 125 pm
Divergent angle of the laser beam (0) 5.28”
Numerical aperture of the fiber optic 0.25
(NA)

3. Three-dimensional analysis
In the following discussion, the parameters listed in Table
FlaER OPnc SENSOR “BAD
I below will be used for computation:
The thickness of the protection cable surrounding each
Figure 1. Two-dimensional gas-liquid interface wave form
fiber is assumed small enough to be ignored in the present
previously considered.
analysis.

situation only a certain portion of the emitted light flux

3.1 Light distribution jkom the emitting fiber
would be reflected back from the gas-liquid interface to
the receiving fibers. The tilting angle of the mirror is
controlled by a goniometer with forward and backward
movements being controlled by a traverse stage. Measure-
ments were only conducted with the mirror tilted about the
x-axis with varying distance (L) from the emitting fiber tip
to the mirror surface. In addition, light distribution across
the beam at various locations from the light emitting fiber
tip without the mirror were also conducted.
To obtain an expression for the intensity of the reflected
light from the gas-liquid interface to be received by the six
surrounding fibers, the light distribution from the emitting
fiber at various locations are to be determined first. Based
on the previous experimental investigation, the normalized
light intensity along the radial direction follows a Gaussian
distribution and is independent of the distance (2) from the
emitting point, i.e., the extreme points of the light intensity

Transmit. Wall

(4 ~- Transmit.
Fiber

Figure 2. Schematic diagram of the fiber optic sensor set-up.*

(a) W 221.
Emitting fiber

Figure 3. Arrangement of the sensor head and allocation of subpoints on a receiving fiber.

Appl. Math. Modelling, 1996, Vol. 20, July 641

Analysis of thin film thickness determination: S. C. M. Yu et al.

would be decreased by em4 times from the beam axis

along the radial distance (R). Thus, the light intensity
distribution can be expressed as - Distribution

1
4r2 * 102mm
Z(r, z) =Z,, exp --
R2
[
where Z(r, z) is the light intensity at any (r, z) position,
I,, is the light intensity at the center beam axis at any z
position, r is the radial distance from the central beam
axis, and R is the radial distance at which the light
intensity is eP4 times less than the value of I,, at any z
position.
Assuming negligible losses along z (clear liquid assump- Gaussian
- Distribution
tion), the total light flux over the beam sectional area from
r = 0 to r = R should be constant at any z location. Thus, -- 0.5mm

the total energy (E,) may be expressed by -- l.Onlm

-” 1.5mm

E, = r, z)27rr dr -- 2.omm
/ 0RZ( (2)

Substituting equation (1) into (2) and integrating, I,, may

be written as

WI Figure 5. Normalised light flux distribution at different z loca-

4r = rR2(1 -e-“)
(3) tions.

The light flux (Z,> emitting at an angle $ from the virtual

origin of the fiber at any (I, z> position is equal to (Figure
4) or
z(r, z)
ZR(r, z)=---- (4)
cos cc, (7)
To obtain ZR(r, z) in terms of 8, E,, r, and z, a relation-
ship between 8 and I+!Iis needed. If the beam radius R Substituting equations (7) and (3) into (4), the following
increases linearly with z, i.e., expression can be derived:

(5)
ZR( r, z) =
then the following relationship holds
e (8)
tan +I= itan

Rearranging equation
i
-2

(6),
1 (6)
Equation (8) describes the light flux intensity distribution
along the radial direction at distance z from the emitting
fiber tip and distance r from the center of the fiber axis.
sin’ $I With the calculated light intensity values evaluated at a
-=
cos2 * particular z value and at a different r position, a light flux
distribution curve can be obtained. To facilitate compari-
son with measurements obtained by Ohba, ZR and r are to
be normalized by Z(max) and R, respectively, such that

Z, r
Z* CP *=_
(9)
Z(max) r R
where Z(max) is the highest ZR value at a given z location,
and R is the largest r value at a given z location.
Figure S(u) shows the normalized light distribution at
various locations from the emitting fiber tip using a laser
light source of 5 mW. The computed results agree well
with the experimental data of Ohba Figure 5(b) shows the
fiber
computed light distribution at distances closer to the emit-
Figure 4. Relationship between R, z, $, and 0. ting fiber tip. When they are normalized with respect to

542 Appl. Math. Modelling, 1996, Vol. 20, July

 Analysis of thin film thickness determination: S. C. M. Yu et al.

I \ lX
0 D
P Receiving fibers

Emittingfiber
Figure 6. Light path viewed on the z-x plane.
Figure 6. Virtual image of the fiber optic sensor head in a
two-dimensional situation.

and y’, arising at a point along the z axis, is to represent

Z(max) and R, all the curves collapse onto a single
which corresponds to the Gaussian distribution.
3.2 Application of the principle of virtual image
For our analysis, the film surface is still modeled as a
planar surface but with provisions for a three-dimensional
orientation. The virtual image of the fiber optic sensor
head created by the reflection on the mirror surface will be
used to act as the new emitting light source. All the
subsequent calculations will be based on the position of
this virtual image. Once the position of the virtual image is
located, light flux emitted from the virtual image to any
location on the surface, i.e., the x-y plane, can then be
determined (Figure 6). From the total value of the light
intensity emitted from the position of the virtual image
received by the six receiving fibers on the x-y plane, the
thickness of the liquid film (L) can be obtained.
Figure 7 shows the origin of the coordinate system at
the center of the light emitting fiber in a 3-D situation,
with the y and the z axes taken as along and perpendicular
to the wall surface, respectively. Another pair of axes, x’
: B=lnl
the liquid film surface.
line In the present analysis, this mirror surface will be repre-
sented by two vectors, b’ and a’, sustaining angles cpr and
(p2 to the x’ and y’ axes, respectively. Thus, by defining
the values of the two vectors, one can simulate the tilting
of the surface at any orientation.
It must be noted that any of the inclination angle (~0)
should be small enough to satisfy the relation
(2 cp+ 8/2) < arcsin NA (10)
where NA is the numerical aperture of the fiber optic
cable, such that any reflected light received by the six
fibers would not be neglected within this range. From
optics, a change in the angle of the mirror plane (~0) from
the x’-y’ surface, will result in a 2~ deviation of any
reflected image from the z axis. This is true for both the
two- and three-dimensional situations. Hence, in order to
find the directional vector of the virtual image of the
transmitting fiber, n, another pair of vectors, a and b are
defined and are at an angle of 2 (pz and 2 cpr relative to the
y’ and x’ axes, respectively (Figure 8). In the vectorial
notation,
n = a’ X b’ (11)
and the unit vector of A is
n
(12)
The angle C#Jbetween the vectors li and z axis can be
obtained by the dot product of the two vectors, i.e.,
n.z
(b=cos-’
( 1 -
In I Iz I
(13)
The distance O’D, the distance between the virtual image
and the x-y plane, can be easily obtained by the relation

00’
O’D zz -

cos dl
(14)
Figure 7. Theoretical model in the three-dimensional situa- where the distance 0’0 represents the average thickness
tion. of the film.

Appl. Math. Modelling, 1996, Vol. 20, July 543

Analysis of thin film thickness determination: S. C. M. Yu et al.

The vector of the virtual transmitting fiber center with Pall@ of the light emitting
/fiber wtual Image
respect to O(CD or v in Figure 9) is
v = (a)(00 + O’D)( - 1) (15)
where the factor (-- 1) implies that the vector is now
pointing downward with respect to C and CO’ = 00’
because they are of the same optical path.

3.3 Light intensity summations

To compute the light intensity reflected by the mirror that
would be received by the six receiving fibers, the position
of each receiving fiber relative to the origin on the x-y
plane must be determined. In the present analysis, the
/
receiving fiber tip area (including the cladding) will be Cone of light flux ....... ..... _._..
divided into 4,096 square meshes, each having a 2 pm X 2
pm section with the mesh located at the position 1 \ ith receivingfiber
x(i, j), y(i, j), z(i, j>. Each mesh area is multiplied by
Figure 9. Three-dimensional illustration of the light path
the light intensity received at the center of the mesh
reaching the receiving fibers from the virtual image.
(Figure 3[bl), and the summation of all the light received
by the meshes at one fiber tip would be the total light
intensity received by that particular fiber. The summation
of all the six receiving fibers will be the total light included as the light sensitive area but with more meshes
intensity received. concentrated at the core region.
The position vector of D from origin of the x-y plane The vector h, between the subpoints S and D is
is (Figure 9)
DS=h=s-g (19)
g = OO(fi)( O’D)( - 1) (16)
and the vector CS,
The position vector of the center for the ith receiving fiber
on the x-y plane may be defined by (Figure 3(a]) CS=v+h (20)

x,=(d) sin{[(i- 1.0)/3.0]7r} The radial distance, SR (or r), between any subpoint on
the receiving fiber tip and the center axis of the beam can
yi= (d) cos{[(i- 1.0)/3.0]7r} (17) be determined by the relations (see p. 48 of Ref. 9)
zi = 0.0 IVXCSI
I= Iv1
(21)
where i is the number of the receiving fibers (total number
is six), and d is the distance between the centers of the and the distance, CR (or z) along the center beam axis
two adjacent receiving fibers. from the origin of the beam to the subpoint S is
For any individual subpoint on each receiving fiber tip,
the position S with
pressed as
respect to the origin 0 can be ex- 4s.; (22)

x(i, j) With the values of r and z relative to the virtual origin

obtained from equation (21) and (22), the value of the light
= xi f { (the number of the point from the x-axis) intensity can be determined from equation (8).
x(6)]
Xy(i, j)
4. Computed results and discussion
= yi f ((the number of the point from the y-axis)

X(S)] 4.1 Two-dimensional simulation results

X2( i, j) =O.O 18
The three-dimensional simulation theory based on the prin-
where i, j are the positions for any subpoint on the fiber ciple of virtual image described in Section 3 requires
tip and 6 is the distance between two subpoint centers. verification from experimental data so that the correctness
Positive or negative sign in the above equation depends on of the approach may be assessed. Since there is no mea-
at which section the point lies on the receiving fiber. For surement available for comparison in the three-dimen-
example, in the first quadrant of Figure 3(b), both x and sional situation, the verification can only be done by
y will have a positive sign, and in the second quadrant, x generating the three-dimensional simulation program using
will have a plus sign and y a minus. Because of a the two-dimensional parameters, i.e., with the mirror sur-
relatively coarse mesh used, the entire fiber tip area is also face tilted about the x’ axis and comparing with the

544 Appl. Math. Modelling, 1996, Vol. 20, July

 Analysis of thin film thickness determination: S. C. M. Yu et al.

measurements obtained previously by Ohba et al. (as briefly

described in Section 2). The results for the two-dimen-
sional simulation are shown in Figure 10 in the form of
the variation of Z * (normalized light intensity) with L (the
distance between the tip of the emitting fiber and the
mirror surface). The graphs contain four plots with cp
(tilting angle of the mirror) at -3”, - l”, O”, and l”,
respectively. The upper graph shows the light received by
the group of fibers 2, 1, and 6, while the lower graph
shows the light received by the group of fibers 3, 4, and 5,
where Figure 3(b) is referred for the receiving fiber ar- (16

rangement.
Between L = O-4.0 mm, the individual curve shows a
0 12 3 4 6 6 7 6 8 10
clear distinction between different tilted angles cp, beyond L (mm)
which the difference between individual cases becomes
3
insignificant. The more tilted the mirror surface, the lower
of the peak value of L. The position of the peaks seems to 25 L&a-ale
vary more pronouncedly for greater tilts; at - 1” < 40< 1” Feus-mamrrmmu

the peaks seems to occur at around 2-3 mm thicknesses.

This is due mainly to a larger area in the receiving fiber
tips being exposed to the reflected light flux. Although the
trend of the calculated curves agrees well with the mea-
sured curves as a whole, the former is higher than the
latter. This may be due to the effect of attenuation of the
light flux as it permeates through the air and is reflected
back to the receiving fibers. This effect may be more
pronounced in a real liquid film. There is also asymmetry
in the distribution of the measured reflected light received
between the two groups of fiber, where data in (a) and (b)
are compared in Figure IO. Although the actual light
intensity distribution across the beam is symmetrical, as
assumed in Section 3.1, there may be some deviations
from the Gaussian distribution in the experiment. Accord-
ing to Ohba et al.” the grinding process for individual
fiber tips may also be an important factor with respect to
distortions in the light flux distribution.
It is also important to point out that in the present
analysis the entire tip area of each receiving fiber is being
considered as light sensitive including the cladding mate-
rial. However, if the cladding material surrounding each
receiving fiber is excluded, it was found from the analysis
that within the range of the thicknesses from O-O.54 mm,
no light intensity can be received at 0” cp tilt and very
weak light intensity for other tilts. Thus, to obtain more
detailed light intensity distribution within this range, thin-
ning of the light insensitive region (cladding) at the tip
area or using fibers with greater divergent angle may be
necessary.
4.2 Three-dimensional simulation results
For the three-dimensional simulation results, seven differ-
ent L values (from 0.5-6 mm) and at seven different
tilting angles cp ( - 3”, - 2”, - l”, O”, l”, 2”, 3”) relative to
the x’ and y’ axes are obtained and shown in Figures
ll(a-g). In general, the ZR value (actual light intensity
received by the fibers) increases with increasing L. This is
because the light flux is emitted from the fiber in a conical
shape and more light flux can be received at a higher L
value. Figures 12(a) and 12(b) are referred to for illustra-
2
,* 1.5
1
05
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 6 6 16 L (mm)
Figure 10. Comparisons between the calculated and mea-
sured flux distribution in a two-dimensional situation.
tion. However, when L increases beyond about 4 mm,
similar to that observed in the two-dimensional situation,
the overall light distribution has no significant difference
from one case to other. Comparing Figures 11(e) and
11 (g), only a distinct peak existed at the center where the
inclination angle of the mirror is zero in both directions.
At the comer of highest inclination angle (i.e., at -3”
and - 3” or 3” and 3”), the ZR value with respect to the
center decreases with increasing L. This may again be
explained by the fact that as L increases, the light flux
cone on reflection will have a larger spread, resulting in a
greater amount of light not intercepted by the receiving
fibers, hence the intensity decreases (Figure 12[c] and
12[d]). Thus, the results suggest that large orientation for
the liquid film at or above 4 mm may be difficult to
identify with the present system, although again it may be
possible to increase the range of measurement (i.e., for a
higher thickness including orientation) by choosing fibers
of larger divergent angle (or higher numerical aperture).
However, the assumption on the wave form of the present
simulation imposes another restriction to chose fibers of
larger divergent angle. Within the region on the xl-y’ plane
in which the cone of light hit from the emitting fiber, the
wave form of the liquid film should be small enough that
its orientation can be approximated by specifying the
inclination angles relative to the x’ and y’ axes. This may
only be possible if the divergent angle, 8, of the fibers

Appl. Math. Modelling, 1996, Vol. 20, July 545

 Analysis of thin film thickness determination: S. C. M. Yu et al.

used is small even in the situation of a highly unsmooth It is also important to note that the light distribution at
wave form. The best compromise must require actual all eight L values are not identical when either one of the
testings on the sensor system. inclination angles of the mirror along the x’ and y’ axes is

(a) I.= 0.5 mm

(g) L =6.Omm

(d) L =2.Omm
Figure 11. Actual light intensity ( IR) patterns received by the sensor head at different L values.

546 Appl. Math. Modelling, 1996, Vol. 20, July

 Analysis of thin film thickness determination: S. C, M. Yu et al.

(a) Minor snface

receiving fibers Ltitig ~

E!mitting fiber

I
(4

Recei&gfibers (
Emitting fiber

Figure 12. Cone of light flux reflected by the mirror at different tilting angles.

zero. This is due to the arrangement for the six receiving different orientations. The assumption of a planar geome-
fibers (Figure 3). When the mirror is tilted about the X’ try to replace a wavy reflection surface is probably justifi-
axis, light will be received by two groups of fiber consist- able for such small beams of light. There is also no
ing of fibers 2, 1, and 6 and fibers 3, 4, and 5. When the difficulty in calculating the thickness and orientation of a
mirror is tilted about the y’ axis, the groups of fibers that time-varying liquid film and consequently the possibility
receive the light will be fibers 1 (half), 2, 3, and 4 (half) of estimating the mean values over a particular time
and fibers 1 (half), 6, 5, and 4 (half). This arrangement interval. For better accuracy, the analysis may also be
may contribute to the difference in the magnitude of the modified to include the attenuation effect of the liquid
light intensity received by the two groups of fibers. phase on the light beam, though the actual attenuation
effect as well as the light reflectivity at the surface must be
determined empirically. Finally, the present simulation
results would provide useful information for further devel-
5. Concluding remarks opment for the fiber optic sensor.
Three-dimensional simulation studies have been conducted
for the fiber optic sensor system in the present studies. The
approach was based on the principle of virtual image with
the aid of vector analysis. The result of the analysis was Acknowledgments
further verified by computing results with two-dimensional
The authors would like thank Prof. K. Ohba in providing
parameters, i.e., considering only the inclination angle some information regarding the fiber optic sensor devel-
either at the x’ or y’ axis. Good agreement with reported
oped by his team at Kansai University, Japan, which
measurements has been obtained, implying that the theory
makes the present simulation studies possible.
developed for the simulation may be appropriate. From the
results, it has been shown that no distinguished patterns for
the light distribution would be observed if the liquid film
thickness is more than 4 mm, and this is largely limited by Nomenclature
the numerical aperture of the fibers used. Nonetheless, the
present simulation should be a more realistic and accurate Z(r, z) light intensity at any point (r, iz)
representation of the liquid film in practical situations I CZ light intensity at the center beam axis at any z
since the surface of the liquid film can exist in many position

Appl. Math. Modelling, 1996, Vol. 20, July 547

Analysis of thin film thickness determination: S. C. M. Yu et al.

the radial distance from the central beam axis 3. Collier, J. G. and Hewitt, G. F. Film thickness measurements. Report
1 largest r at a given 2 location AERE-R4684, UKAEA, Harwell, UK, 1964

*
I(max)
angle from the virtual origin
highest 1, value at a given z location
4. Leskovar, B., Sun, R. K., Colbe, W. F., and Turko, B. Measurement
of the thickness of liquid films by means of a capacitance method.
Special report on EPRI Research Project RP 1379-1, USA, 1979
NA numerical aperture of the fiber optic cable 5. Hewitt, G. F., Lovegrove, P. C., and Nicholls, B. Film thickness
n vector of the virtual image measurement using a fluorescence technique I: Description of the
method. Report AERE-R4478, UKAEA, Harwell, UK, 1964
V vector of the virtual-transmitting fibre centre with 6. Solesio, J. N., Flamand, J. C., and Delhaye, J. M. Liquid film
respect to the origin thickness measurement by means of an X-ray absorption technique.
a unit vector of the virtual image Topics in Two-Phase Transfer and Flow, ed. S. G. Bankoff, ASME,
number of receiving fibers New York, 1978, pp. 193-198
7. Oldengarm, J., Van Krieken, A. H., and van Der Klooster, H. W.
t? distance between the centers of the two adjacent
Velocity profile measurement in a liquid film using the laser-Doppler
fibers technique, Int. J. Multiphase Flow 1975, 4, 141-155
8. Ohba, K., Takada, H., Kawakami, N. and Nagae, K. Twin fiber optic
liquid film sensor for simultaneous measurement of local film thick-
ness and velocity in two-phase annular flow. Proc. 6th Int. Symp.,
Appl. of Laser Techniques to Fluid Mechanics, Lisbon, Portugal,
References 1992, 39.1.1-39.1.6
9. Davis, H. F. and Snider, A. D. Introduction to Vector Analysis, 5th
1. Hewitt, G. F. Measurement of Two Pase Flow Parameters. Aca- edition, Allyn and Bacon, Boston, MA, 1987
demic Press, London, 1978 10. Ohba, K., Takada, H., and Kawakami, N. Twin-fiber optic liquid
2. Hetsroni, G. Handbook of Multiphase Systems. McGraw-Hill, New film sensor for simultaneous measurement of local film thickness and
York, 1982 interfacial wave velocity. J. Multiphase Flow, 1985, 3(l), 50-66

548 Appl. Math. Modelling, 1996, Vol. 20, July