Sensors 2013, 13(3), 3652-3663; doi:10.3390/s130303652
Communication

A Small and Slim Coaxial Probe for Single Rice Grain Moisture Sensing

Kok Yeow You 1,* email, Hou Kit Mun 1 email, Li Ling You 2 email, Jamaliah Salleh 1 email and Zulkifly Abbas 3 email
1 Communication Engineering Department, Faculty of Electrical Engineering, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, Skudai, 81310 Johor, Malaysia 2 School of Allied Health Sciences, SEGi Kota Damansara, 47810 Selangor, Malaysia 3 Department of Physics, Universiti Putra Malaysia, UPM Serdang, 43400 Selangor, Malaysia
* Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Received: 28 December 2012; in revised form: 7 March 2013 / Accepted: 8 March 2013 / Published: 14 March 2013
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Sensor-Based Technologies and Processes in Agriculture and Forestry)
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Abstract: A moisture detection of single rice grains using a slim and small open-ended coaxial probe is presented. The coaxial probe is suitable for the nondestructive measurement of moisture values in the rice grains ranging from from 9.5% to 26%. Empirical polynomial models are developed to predict the gravimetric moisture content of rice based on measured reflection coefficients using a vector network analyzer. The relationship between the reflection coefficient and relative permittivity were also created using a regression method and expressed in a polynomial model, whose model coefficients were obtained by fitting the data from Finite Element-based simulation. Besides, the designed single rice grain sample holder and experimental set-up were shown. The measurement of single rice grains in this study is more precise compared to the measurement in conventional bulk rice grains, as the random air gap present in the bulk rice grains is excluded.
Keywords: small open-ended coaxial probe; single rice grain; measured reflection coefficient; relative permittivity; gravimetric moisture content; transmission line; microwave measurement techniques

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Cite This Article

MDPI and ACS Style

You, K.Y.; Mun, H.K.; You, L.L.; Salleh, J.; Abbas, Z. A Small and Slim Coaxial Probe for Single Rice Grain Moisture Sensing. Sensors 2013, 13, 3652-3663.

AMA Style

You KY, Mun HK, You LL, Salleh J, Abbas Z. A Small and Slim Coaxial Probe for Single Rice Grain Moisture Sensing. Sensors. 2013; 13(3):3652-3663.

Chicago/Turabian Style

You, Kok Y.; Mun, Hou K.; You, Li L.; Salleh, Jamaliah; Abbas, Zulkifly. 2013. "A Small and Slim Coaxial Probe for Single Rice Grain Moisture Sensing." Sensors 13, no. 3: 3652-3663.

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