Title :
Capacitance Sensor for Nondestructive Measurement of Moisture Content in Nuts and Grain
Author :
Kandala, Chari V. ; Butts, Christ L. ; Nelson, Stuart O.
Author_Institution :
ARS, USDA, Dawson, GA
Abstract :
This paper presents a portable electrical instrument that measures the complex impedance of a parallel-plate capacitor with a sample of peanut kernels between its plates. The measured values were used in an empirical equation to estimate the moisture content (mc) of the sample. The estimated values were in good agreement with the mc values obtained by standard air-oven method. This method can be used to estimate them in other types of nuts and grain by calibrating the instrument using samples of these materials with known mc values. This instrument would be useful in the grain industry for quick and nondestructive mc measurement
Keywords :
agricultural products; capacitive sensors; moisture measurement; nondestructive testing; capacitance sensor; instrument calibration; moisture content measurement; nondestructive measurement; parallel-plate capacitor; peanut kernels; portable electrical instrument; standard air-oven method; Capacitance measurement; Capacitive sensors; Moisture measurement;
Conference_Titel :
Instrumentation and Measurement Technology Conference, 2005. IMTC 2005. Proceedings of the IEEE
Conference_Location :
Ottawa, Ont.
Print_ISBN :
0-7803-8879-8
DOI :
10.1109/IMTC.2005.1604191
