Resolution enhancement of electrical resistance tomography by iterative back projection method.
An iterative back projection method (i-BP) has been developed to improve the resolution of reconstructed images produced by electrical resistance tomography (ERT). This solution is based on an iterative calculation of the electrical fields and it is possible to reconstruct clearer images than those reconstructed by the conventional back projection method without divergence. However, it does take several minutes to finish the iteration process, and therefore this solution can be applied to flow fields that require high spatial resolution rather than short processing times, such as the accumulation of noble metals in glass melters. Numerical simulations and experiments using a simple model are performed in this study. The numerical simulations show that clear images are reconstructed both near the wall and at the center by i-BP. The conductivity correlation coefficient between the genuine distribution and the reconstructed image is improved from 0.4 to 0.9. The validity of the i-BP method is also confirmed by the experimental results. As a result, it is confirmed that ERT and i-BP are capable of reconstructing acceptable images and have potential for use in the visualization of the accumulation of noble metals in a glass melter.
IHI Corporation, 1 Shin-nakahara-cho, Isogo-ku, Yokohama, 235-8501 Japan.
Noriaki
N
Ichijo
IHI Corporation, 1 Shin-nakahara-cho, Isogo-ku, Yokohama, 235-8501 Japan.
Shinsuke
S
Matsuno
IHI Corporation, 1 Shin-nakahara-cho, Isogo-ku, Yokohama, 235-8501 Japan.
Taiji
T
Sakai
IHI Corporation, 1 Shin-nakahara-cho, Isogo-ku, Yokohama, 235-8501 Japan.
Yoshikatsu
Y
Tochigi
Division of Materials Science and Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Yokohama National University, 79-5 Tokiwadai, Hodogaya-ku, Yokohama, 240-8501 Japan.
Meguru
M
Kaminoyama
Division of Materials Science and Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Yokohama National University, 79-5 Tokiwadai, Hodogaya-ku, Yokohama, 240-8501 Japan.
Kazuhiko
K
Nishi
Division of Materials Science and Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Yokohama National University, 79-5 Tokiwadai, Hodogaya-ku, Yokohama, 240-8501 Japan.
Ryuta
R
Misumi
Division of Materials Science and Chemical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Yokohama National University, 79-5 Tokiwadai, Hodogaya-ku, Yokohama, 240-8501 Japan.
So
S
Nishiyama
Back projection; Electrical resistance tomography; Glass melter; Image reconstruction; Iterative algorithm