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Electrical Properties of Agricultural Products

This document discusses the electrical properties of agricultural products and their application to moisture measurement. Specifically, it summarizes three techniques for single-kernel moisture measurement: 1) crushing-roller electrodes, which measure electrical conductivity but are destructive; 2) RF impedance measurements, which measure complex impedance parameters to determine moisture content nondestructively; and 3) perturbation of a microwave resonant cavity, which measures changes in resonant frequency and Q factor to determine kernel moisture content nondestructively.

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Garfields
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70 views1 page

Electrical Properties of Agricultural Products

This document discusses the electrical properties of agricultural products and their application to moisture measurement. Specifically, it summarizes three techniques for single-kernel moisture measurement: 1) crushing-roller electrodes, which measure electrical conductivity but are destructive; 2) RF impedance measurements, which measure complex impedance parameters to determine moisture content nondestructively; and 3) perturbation of a microwave resonant cavity, which measures changes in resonant frequency and Q factor to determine kernel moisture content nondestructively.

Uploaded by

Garfields
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Electrical Properties of Agricultural Products

Among the electrical properties of agricultural products, their dielectric properties, their
capacitance and their electrical conductivity play important roles during various technological
processes. The moisture content of bulk materials is widely measured by instruments utilizing
the electrical conductivity or the capacitance of grains. Frequently, when classifying small
seeds, use is made of the electrical properties by virtue of which electrostatic charge is held.
The holding of surface charge by seeds is determined mainly by their conductivity.
Moisture Measurement
a) Single-kernel moisture measurement Because of the high correlation between dielectric
properties of grain and its moisture content, dielectric properties offer a potential means for
sensing the moisture content of individual grain kernels. This technique would have important
applications in detecting kernels of high moisture in grain lots that have been blended from
grain lots of different moisture levels to achieve the maximum permissible average moisture
content. Pockets of high moisture grain in such blended lots often contribute to spoilage of the
grain in shipment.
a.1 crushing-roller electrodes- The dc conductance of kernels as they pass between crushing-
roller electrodes 1981 The crushing-roller technique has been further developed for
commercial use than the rf impedance and microwave resonator techniques, but the latter two
methods have the advantage of being nondestructive.
a.2 rf impedance measurements - The rf impedance measurements for single-kernel moisture
determination involved measurements of the complex impedance, lzl exp(iO), of the small
parallel-plate capacitor with the kernel between the plates at two frequencies, 1 and 4.5 MHz.
The system was calibrated by measurements on kernels from several corn lots of different
moisture levels, and the predicted kernel moisture content was then calculated from a linear
equation consisting of combinations of capacitance, phase angle and dissipation factor [101], all
of which are dependent on the dielectric properties of the kernel between the plates of the
capacitor. Reliability of the measurements was not influenced by variation in kernel size or
shape.
a.3 perturbation of a microwave resonant cavity – The microwave resonant cavity
measurements for single kernel moisture determination involve measurement of the resonant
frequency and cavity Q or transmission coefficient with and without the kernel in the center of
the cavity.

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