The Effect of Inter Digital Capacitors Sensor (IDCS) Configuration on Permittivity Measurement of Crude Oil

Research has been conducted on the effect of the configuration of Inter-digital sensor capacitors (IDCs) on the measurement of permittivity of crude oil. This research aims to obtain more effective IDCS configuration compared to the old model configuration and dielectric constants of several crude oil samples from PT. Pertamina Cepu. This study has already researched four types of crude oil samples which were obtained from four wells with different depths. Besides, the research refers to the capacitance principle, microstrip sensor, and wave properties. To conduct the research, capacitor sensors were arranged in parallel on thin plates that have a 1 μm thickness, namely IDCs. This sensor is used to determine the characteristics of crude oil in the form of permittivity. The data was measured by IDCs then compared with VNA data (Vector Network Analyzer) as a calibrator. VNA uses the principle of transmission and wave reflection. IDCs have several components, namely the width of the electrode and the number of electrodes. To obtain an accurate dielectric constant sensor, researchers made a variation on the width between two adjacent electrodes and the number of electrodes. Based on the research that has been done, it is found that with the increasing distance between the two adjacent electrodes, it results in a decrease in the capacitance value and the dielectric constant of crude oil. Whereas along with the increase in the number of electrodes, the crude oil capacitance also increases; yet it is not directly proportional compared to the dielectric constant of each crude oil. Hence, the permittivity of crude oil taken from a depth of less than 1500 ft (A) is 4.27, permittivity of crude oil taken from a depth of 1500-2000 ft (B) is 3.38 and permittivity of crude oil taken from a depth of more than 2000 ft (C) is 5.24.