Abstract: This paper discusses the application of the method of finite element in capacitance tomography, and describes an emulation software package for capacitance tomographic image reconstruction which is based on 12-electrode capacitance transducers. It is developed on SGI graphic workstation using visualized programming language PV WAVE. With the help of it, we can study in depth the variations of capacitance sensitivity distributions and fluid model parameters. Hence, it provides powerful methods for improving image reconstruction algorithm and the design of optimal capacitance transducer geometrical parameters. Finally, by using the emulation results, the properties of capacitance tomography are discussed.

Key words: capacitance tomography, FE, sensitivity distribution, PV-WAVEP