Inexpensive microwave moisture sensor for granular materials

Author

Trabelsi, Samir ; Nelson, Stuart O.

Author_Institution

U.S. Dept. of Agric., Athens

fYear

2007

fDate

9-15 June 2007

Firstpage

297

Lastpage

300

Abstract

A low-cost microwave moisture sensor for real-time, nondestructive determination of moisture content in granular and particulate materials has been assembled and tested. Measurement results on wheat and corn are promising and indicate that moisture content can be predicted from complex permittivity measurement with a single calibration equation. The low price and simplicity of use of the proposed sensor will open a new opportunity for widespread integration of microwave sensing technology in numerous industries including food and agriculture, pharmaceutical, mining, and construction. The sensor can also be used to determine bulk density from the same set of measurements of the relative complex permittivity (Trabelsi, 1997).

Keywords

agricultural products; granular materials; humidity sensors; microwave detectors; moisture measurement; nondestructive testing; permittivity measurement; corn; granular materials; microwave moisture sensor; microwave sensing technology; moisture content; nondestructive determination; particulate materials; relative complex permittivity measurement; single calibration equation; wheat; Assembly; Calibration; Equations; Food technology; Materials testing; Microwave sensors; Microwave technology; Moisture measurement; Nondestructive testing; Permittivity measurement;

fLanguage

English

Publisher

ieee

Conference_Titel

Antennas and Propagation Society International Symposium, 2007 IEEE

Conference_Location

Honolulu, HI

Print_ISBN

978-1-4244-0877-1

Electronic_ISBN

978-1-4244-0878-8

Type

conf

DOI

10.1109/APS.2007.4395489

Filename

4395489