ON-LINE AND INSITU MOISTURE MEASUREMENT IN GRAINS USING MICROWAVES

IN PHASE I WE SEEK TO DEMONSTRATE THE FEASIBILITY OF USING INNOVATIVE TWO-PARAMETER MICROWAVE TECHNIQUES AND SENSORS TOMEASURE THE BULK MOISTURE CONTENT OF REPRESENTATIVE AGRICULTURAL GRAINS: WHEAT, OATS, CORN, RICE, AND BEANS. TWO TYPES OF MICROWAVE MEASUREMENT CONCEPTS ARE TO BE INVESTIGATED: (A) A TRANSMISSION SYSTEM WHICH OPERATES AT A FEW GHZ, IN WHICH THE AMPLITUDE AND PHASE OF THE MICROWAVE SIGNAL TRANSMITTED THROUGH A LAYER OF GRAIN ARE MEASURED. IN THIS SYSTEM, THE BULK MOISTURE AND DRY BASIS WEIGHT (MASS/AREA) ARE DETERMINED SIMULTANEOUSLY AND INDEPENDENTLY OF THE LAYER THICKNESS: (B) A PROPRITARY RESONATOR WHICH OPERATES AT ABOUT 1 GHZ, AND WHICH CAN BE CONFORMALLY MOUNTED IN A FLOW CHUTE OR INCORPORATED INTO A PORTABLE PROBE FOR INSERTION INTO TRANSPORT OR STORAGE BINS. HERE, THE TWO MEASURED PARAMETERS ARE THE RESONANT FREQUENCY AND THE 3 DB SPECTRAL WIDTH. BOTH TECHNIQUES PERMIT DETERMING MOISTURE, INDEPENDENT OF THE DRY AND WET DENSITIES. LINEAR CALIBRATION MODELS THAT RELATE THE MEASURED PARAMETERS TO MOISTURE WILL BE DEVELOPED, AND LIMITATIONSL TO SENSITIVITY AND RESOLUTION WILL BE IDENTIFIED. BOTH TECHNIQUES ARE EXPECTED TO PERFORM OVER A WIDE DYNAMIC RANGE OF MOISTURE (0 TO 35%) AND SEED SIZE (POWDER CONSISTENCY TO LARGE KERNELS). THE FOOD INDUSTRY HAS A NEED TO RAPIDLY AND ACCURATELY MEASURE MOISTURE CONTENT OF GRAINS AND OTHER FOOD PRODUCTS DURING RECEIVING, DRYING, STORAGE, PROCESSING, AND SHIPPING.ECONOMICAL BENEFITS ARE TO BE GAINED FROM QUALITY CONTROL, INVENTORY CONTROL, AND CONSERVATION OF RESOURCES E.G., ENERGY). COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS EXIST FOR ON-LINE AND INSITU MOISTURE MEASUREMENT IN GRAINS FLOWING IN A CHUTEOR ON A CONVEYOR BELT, OR CONTAINED IN STORAGE OR TRANSPORT BINS. COMMERCIAL APPLICATIONS EXTEND TO OTHER FOOD PRODUCTSAND BYPRODUCTS, AND TO OTHER DIVERSE INDUSTRIES (E.G., FREEZE DRIED FOODS, CEREALS, SUGAR BEET PULP, PHARMACEUTICAL DRUGS, DETERGENTS, PAINTS, SHEET ROCK, CEMENT, ETC.)