The algorithm of moisture measurement applying volumetric method

To develop and promote the volumetric method of moisture measurement for botanical materials, a computer algorithm was completed to get faster results. This algorithm consists of a program written in C. Users may key in the data required and obtain the final result, ratio of moisture content of a sample, shown directly on the screen. The volume of air bulbs in plant tissue due to photosynthesis was calculated. The ratio of air bulb to sample in volume, K, is a critical factor to estimate sample moisture content precisely. To headed cabbage, K is about 1.26% on average. Experimental results showed that the average moisture content of headed cabbages are 93.22% and 93.15% by volumetric method and oven method, respectively. The accuracy of volumetric method was therefore demonstrated. Meanwhile, volumetric method spent 30 minutes to complete one measurement, but the method took more than 24 hours.