Measuring moisture content in small dielectric objects of arbitrary shape

Resonant cavity techniques are widely used in measuring the microwave properties of materials by measuring the shift in the resonant frequency and the change in the Q factor of the cavity when the object is inserted into the cavity. This technique has proven to be an interesting alternative to existing methods for kernel moisture determination in soybeans and corn, because it offers nondestructive and relatively fast measurements. The purpose of this paper is to present principles and results of research on the effect of kernels of various shapes and dimensions and different moisture contents on the parameters of a resonant cavity operating at a microwave frequency and to evaluate the feasibility for moisture content determination in individual seeds, nuts and kernels by this technique