Title :
Microwave moisture meter for granular and particulate materials
Author :
Trabelsi, Samir ; Nelson, Stuart O.
Author_Institution :
U. S. Dept. of Agric., Agric. Res. Service, Athens, GA, USA
Abstract :
A low-cost microwave moisture meter operating at a single frequency for instantaneous and nondestructive determination of moisture content of granular and particulate materials was developed, calibrated and tested with different kinds of grain and seed. The meter operates at a single microwave frequency of 5.8 GHz and uses the principle of free-space transmission measurement for the determination of attenuation, phase shift, and dielectric properties of a layer of material. Moisture content is determined independent of bulk density from the dielectric properties with a permittivity-based algorithm.
Keywords :
dielectric properties; granular materials; microwave measurement; permittivity; phase shifters; bulk density; dielectric properties; free-space transmission measurement; frequency 5.8 GHz; granular-particulate materials; microwave moisture meter; nondestructive determination; permittivity-based algorithm; Attenuation measurement; Dielectric materials; Dielectric measurements; Frequency measurement; Materials testing; Microwave frequencies; Microwave measurements; Moisture; Nondestructive testing; Permittivity measurement; density-independent algorithm; grain and seed; low cost; microwave measurements; moisture meter;
Conference_Titel :
Instrumentation and Measurement Technology Conference (I2MTC), 2010 IEEE
Conference_Location :
Austin, TX
Print_ISBN :
978-1-4244-2832-8
Electronic_ISBN :
1091-5281
DOI :
10.1109/IMTC.2010.5488071
