Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Microwave Technology for Moisture Measurement

  • Published:
Subsurface Sensing Technologies and Applications Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

This paper describes sensors for moisture content measurements by microwave technology, especially from the aspect of subsurface sensing for online usage. There is half a century of history of the measurement and some setups have been used in actual production processes. The history of the research, the methods of the measurement using microwaves and the trend of recent research are reviewed, and three set-ups are described in the detail as examples for actual use for operating in factories.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Kraszewski A., 1980, Microwave aquametry-a review: J. Microw. Power, v. 15, no. 4, p. 209–220.

    Google Scholar 

  2. Kraszewski, A., 1980, Microwave aquametry-a bibliography (1955–1979): J. Microw. Power, v. 15, no. 4, p. 298–310.

    Google Scholar 

  3. Cownie, A., and Palmer, L.S., 1952, The effect of moisture on the electrical properties of soil: Proc. Phys. Soc., v. B65, p. 295.

    Google Scholar 

  4. Windle, F.J., and Shaw, T.M., 1954, Dielectric properties of wool-water system at 3000–9300Mc/s: J. Chem. Phys., v. 22, no. 10, p. 1752–1757.

    Google Scholar 

  5. Nakanishi, A., Hori, T., and Fujiwara, J., 1955, An evaluation of “Moister” as a measuring apparatus of the moisture content of paper, in Japanese: Res. Inst. Techn. Bull., v. 1, p. 9–20.

    Google Scholar 

  6. Yasukawa, A., 1956, Measurement and automatic control of moisture content in rayon pulp: Soc. of Instrum. Technol. Japan J., v. 6, no. 8, p. 386–391.

    Google Scholar 

  7. Gooding, R.G., 1962, Improvements in means for measuring the moisture content of sand and like granular or pulverulent material. British Patent No. 1,000,875/US Patent No. 3,348,140.

  8. Hasted, J.B., and Edmonds, P.H., 1962, Microwave absorption in damp bricks: Bull. RILEM, p.15.

  9. Balobey, F.P., 1964, Optimalisation of microwave method for moisture content measurement in asbestos/cement sheets, in Russian: Oborudovanye Prom. Story. Meter, Instrum. for Build. Mater., v. 1, p. 44–50.

    Google Scholar 

  10. Shah, M.A., Hasterd, J.B., and Moor, L., 1965, Microwave absorption by water in building materials: Aerated concrete: Brit. J. Appl. Phys., v. 16, p. 1747–1754.

    Google Scholar 

  11. Johannson, K., and Lindby, P.O., 1969, Moisture measurement on board using microwaves. International Symposium on Moisture Measurement and Control, Hollingbourne, Kent, England.

  12. Pullman, J.O., 1963, Determination of moisture in tobacco. US Patent No. 3,336,721/British Patent No. 1,028,780.

  13. Greer, E.N., and Butcher, J., 1966, Application of microwave method to the problem of wheat conditioning: Food Trade Rev., v. 12, p. 55–58.

    Google Scholar 

  14. Harpko, A.M., and Polakova, G.F., 1966, Measurement of moisture in grain by microwave method, in Russian: Trans. Conf. on Electronic Technique, Moscow, no. 2.

  15. Steen, W.I., and Watkins, J., 1964, Microwave system makes ideal moisture monitor: Ceramic Ind., v. 83, no. 6, p. 62–63, 66.

    Google Scholar 

  16. Hond, A.J., 1962, Microwave measure water in oil: Control Engng., no. 5, p. 139–141.

    Google Scholar 

  17. Bilbrough, J., 1966, Improvements in or relating to the detection and measurement of water vapour in gases. British Patent No. 1,078,111.

  18. Dean, A.R., and Bridle, P., 1969, Test on the use of a microwave moisture meter: Timber Trade J., v. 27, p. 50–52.

    Google Scholar 

  19. Berliner, M.A., and Polishchuk, S.A., 1978, Instrument for moisture content measurement in slurries, in Russian: Cement, v. 5, p. 14–15.

    Google Scholar 

  20. Hall, D.A., Sproson, J.C., and Gray, W.A., 1970, The rapid determination of moisture in coal using microwaves. Part I: Laboratory investigations: J. Inst. Fuel, v. 43, p. 350–354.

    Google Scholar 

  21. Kraszewski, A., 1971, Continuous measurement of water content in margarine by microwave method. Proceedings IMEKO Symposium on Moisture Measurement, Esztergom, Hungary, p. 405–415.

  22. Okabe, T., Huang, M.T., and Okamura, S., 1973, A new method for measurement of grain moisture content by the use of microwaves: J. Agr. Eng. Res., v. 8, p. 59–66.

    Google Scholar 

  23. Kent, M., 1978, The use of strip-line configuration in microwave moisture measurements: J. Microw. Power, v. 8, no. 2, p. 189–194.

    Google Scholar 

  24. Miyai, Y., 1978, A new microwave moisture meter for grains: J. Micro. Power, v. 13, no. 2, p. 163–166.

    Google Scholar 

  25. Kraszewski, A., and Kulinski, S., 1976, An improved microwave method of moisture content measurement and control: IEEE Trans. Ind. Electron. Contr. Instrum., v. IECI-23, no. 4, p. 364–370.

    Google Scholar 

  26. Meyer, W., and Schilz, W., 1980, A microwave method for density independent determination of moisture content of solids: J. Phys. D: Appl. Phys., v. 13, p. 1823–1830.

    Google Scholar 

  27. Meyer, W., and Schilz, W., 1981, Feasibility study of density-independent moisture measurement with microwaves: IEEE Trans. Microw. Theory Techn., MTT-29, no. 7, p. 732–739.

    Google Scholar 

  28. Grant, J.P., Clarke, R.N., Symm, G.T., and Spyrou, N.M., 1986, A critical study of the open-ended coaxial line sensor for medical and industrial dielectric measurements: Digest IEE Colloq. Indu. Appl. of Microw., p. 73.

  29. Du, S., 1986, A new method for measuring dielectric constant using the resonant frequency of a patch antenna: IEEE Trans. Microw. Theory Techn., MTT-34, no. 9, p. 923–931.

    Google Scholar 

  30. Topp, G.C., Davis, J.L., and Annan, A.P., 1982, Electromagnetic determination of soil water content using TDR:1. Application to wetting fronts and steep gradients: Soil Sci. Soc. Am. J., v. 46, p. 672–678.

    Google Scholar 

  31. Topp, G.C., Davis J.L., Bailey, W.G., and, Zebchuk, W.D., 1984, The measurement of soil water content using a portable TDR hand probe: Canadian J. Soil Sci., v. 64, p. 313–321.

    Google Scholar 

  32. Fischer, M., Nyfors, E., and Vainikainen, P., 1996, On the permittivity of wood and the on-line measurement of veneer sheets, in Kraszewski, A., ed., Microwave Aquametry: IEEE Press, New York, p. 347–354.

    Google Scholar 

  33. Volgyi, F., and Zombori, B., 1996, A new application of wlan-concept: Complex permittivity monitoring of large-sized composite boards. IEEE MTT Symposium Workshop on Electromagnetic wave interaction with water and moist substance, WMFB, p. 119–122.

  34. Volgyi, F., 1999, Quality forecast of particleboards using a microwave monitoring system. The Third Workshop on Electromagnetic wave interaction with water and moist substances, Athens, Georgia, p. 102–106.

  35. Okamura, S., and Tomita, F., 1998, Microwave system for moisture content measurement of green tea leaves in drying process. Proceedings of the Third International Symp. on Humidity and Moisture at NPL International, London, v. 2, p. 204–210.

    Google Scholar 

  36. Ma, Z., and Okamura, S., 1996, Density dependence of permittivity of green tea at 9.4 GHz and moisture content determination: J. Microw. Power Electromagn. Energy, v. 33, no. 3, p. 178–183.

    Google Scholar 

  37. Nyfors, E.G., and Vainikainen, P., 1989, Industrial microwave sensors: Artech House, England, p. 66–68.

    Google Scholar 

  38. Nyfors, E., and Vainikainen, P., 1989, Industrial microwave sensors: Artech House, England, p. 29–30.

    Google Scholar 

  39. Zehnder, C.B., 1967, Application of the combination microwave-gamma ray gauge to wood chip weight and moisture measurement: Pulp and Paper Magaz. of Canada, no. 10, p. 678–688.

    Google Scholar 

  40. King, R.J., King, K.V., and Woo, K., 1998, Microwave moisture measurement of grains: IEEE Trans on I&M, v. 41, no. 1, p. 111–115.

    Google Scholar 

  41. Cottard, G., Berthaud, P., and Bolomey, J.C., 1996, Microwave linear sensors for online moisture detection and measurement. IEEE MTT Symposium Workshop on Electromagnetic wave interaction with water and moist substance, WMFB, p. 127–128.

  42. Lasri, T., Dujardin, B., and Leroy, Y., 1996, Present possibilities for moisture measurement by Microwaves, in Kraszewski, A., ed., Microwave Aquametry: IEEE Press, New York, p. 403–412.

    Google Scholar 

  43. Kalinski, J., 1996, On-line moisture content monitoring in sheet materials by microwave methods and instrumentation, in Kraszewski, A., ed., Microwave Aquametry: IEEE Press, New York, p. 355–361.

    Google Scholar 

  44. King, R.J., 1996, On-line industrial applications of microwave moisture sensors. IEEE MTT SymposiumWorkshop on Electromagnetic wave interaction with water and moist substance, WMFB, p. 75–78.

  45. Trabelsi, S., Kraszewski, A.W., and Nelson, S.O., 1998, A microwave method for online determination of bulk density and moisture content of particle materials: IEEE Trans. on I&M, v. 47, no. 1, p. 127–132.

    Google Scholar 

  46. Bartley, P.G., Nelson, S.O., McClendon, R.W., and Trabelsi, S., 1998, Determining moisture content of wheat with an artificial neural network from microwave transmission measurements: IEEE Trans. on I&M, v. 47, no. 1, p. 123–126.

    Google Scholar 

  47. Zhang, Y., and Okamura, S., 1999, New moisture measurement method for timber using two microwave phase shifts. The Third Workshop on Electromagnetic wave interaction with water and moist substances, Athens, Georgia, p. 47–51.

  48. Lasri, T., Glay, D., and Leroy, Y., 1999, Free space moisture measurement of cellular concrete. The Third Workshop on Electromagnetic wave interaction with water and moist substances, Athens, Georgia, p. 184–186.

  49. Volgyi, F., 1999, Microwave measurement for specifying the fresh of eggs. The Third Workshop on Electromagnetic wave interaction with water and moist substances, Athens, Georgia, p. 52–56.

  50. Aggarwal, S.K., and Johnston, R.H., 1996, Determination of water content in oil pipelines using high frequencies in Kraszewski, A., ed., Microwave Aquametry: IEEE Press, New York, p. 373–386.

    Google Scholar 

  51. Khalid, K., and Abbas, Z., 1992, A microstrip sensor for determination of harvesting time for oil palm fruits: J. Microw. Power, v. 27, no. 1, p. 3–10.

    Google Scholar 

  52. Clarke, R.N., Gregory, A.P., Hodgetts, T.E., and Symm, G.T., 1996, Improvements in coaxial sensor dielectric measurement: Relevance to aqueous dielectrics and biological tissue, in Microwave Aquametry, Kraszewski, A., ed., IEEE Press, New York, p. 194–198.

    Google Scholar 

  53. Nelson, S.O., and Bartley, P.G., 1998, Open-ended coaxial-line permittivity measurements on pulverized materials: IEEE Trans on I&M, v. 47, no. 1, p. 133–137.

    Google Scholar 

  54. Kraszewski, A.W., and Nelson, S.O., 1996, Moisture content determination in single kernels and seeds with microwave resonant sensors, in Kraszewski, A., ed., Microwave Aquametry: IEEE Press, New York, p. 177–203.

    Google Scholar 

  55. Venkatesh, M.S., and Raghavan, G.S.V., 1999, Dielectric properties measurement using a cavity perturbation technique. The Third Workshop on Electromagnetic wave interaction with water and moist substances, Athens, Georgia, p. 184–186.

  56. King, R.J., Basuel, J.C., Werner, M.J., and King, K.V., 1996, Material characterization using microwave open reflection resonator sensors, in Kraszewski, A., ed., Microwave Aquametry: IEEE Press, New York, p. 153–175.

    Google Scholar 

  57. Kupfer, K., 1998, Dielectric moisture measurements: Application in civil engineering. Proceedings of the Third International Symposium on Humidity & Moisture at NPL International London, v. 2, p. 242–249.

    Google Scholar 

  58. Kupfer, K., 1999, Method and devices for density-independent moisture measurement. The Third Workshop on Electromagnetic wave interaction with water and moist substances, Athens, Georgia, p. 11–19.

  59. Tsentsiper, B., 1999, Application of open coaxial resonator for microwave moisture meter. The Third Workshop on Electromagnetic wave interaction with water and moist substances, Athens, Georgia, p. 156–161.

  60. Daschner, F., Knochel, R., and Kent, M., 1999, Resonant-based microwave moisture meter with optimized digital signal processing. The Third Workshop on Electromagnetic wave interaction with water and moist substances, Athens, Georgia, p. 173–177.

  61. Gentili, G.R., Avitabile, G.F., and Manes, G.F., 1996, An integrated microwave moisture sensors, in Kraszewski, A., ed., Microwave Aquametry: IEEE Press, New York, p. 215–221.

    Google Scholar 

  62. Sarabandi, K., and Li, E.S., 1997, Microstrip ring resonator for soil moisture measurements: IEEE Trans. on Geosci. and Remote Sensing, v. 35, no. 5, p. 1223–1231.

    Google Scholar 

  63. Landgraf, J., and Goller, A., 1999, Moisture measurement in organic material with immersion microwave probes. The Third Workshop on Electromagnetic wave interaction with water and moist substances, Athens, Georgia, p. 58–61.

  64. Goller, A., Handro, A., and Landgraf, J., 1999, A new microwave method for moisture measurement in building materials. The Third Workshop on Electromagnetic wave interaction with water and moist substances, Athens, Georgia, p. 84–88.

  65. Okamura, S., and Masuda, T., 1996, A new moisture content measurement method by a dielectric ring resonator, in Kraszewski, A., ed., Microwave Aquametry: IEEE Press, New York, p. 205–214.

    Google Scholar 

  66. Kendra, J.R., Ulaby, F.T., and Sarabandi, K., 1996, Snow probe for in situ determination of wetness and density, in Kraszewski, A., ed., Microwave Aquametry: IEEE Press, New York, p. 329–346.

    Google Scholar 

  67. Topp, G.C., 1996, Time-domain reflectometry technique for soil water content measurements. IEEE MTT Symposium Workshop on Electromagnetic wave interaction with water and moist substance, WMFB, p. 53–57.

  68. Menke, F., and Knochel, R., 1996, Portable moisture measurement system. IEEE MTT Symposium Workshop on Electromagnetic wave interaction with water and moist substance, WMFB, p. 87–90.

  69. Stacheder, M., Blume, P., Fundinger, R., and Koehler, K., 1999, Grain moisture measurements with time domain reflectometry. The Third Workshop on Electromagnetic wave interaction with water and moist substances, Athens, Georgia, p. 133–137.

  70. Vaz, C.M.P., Herrmann, P.S.P., and Hopmans, J.W., 1999, Development of time domain reflectometry probe for combined use with a cone penetrometer. The Third Workshop on Electromagnetic wave interaction with water and moist substances, Athens, Georgia, p. 161–165.

  71. Nyul, L., and Volgyi, F., 1998, Contactless testing of particleboards. Asia Pacific Microw. Conf. (APMC'98), Yokohama, Japan, p. 213–216.

  72. Vainikainen, P.V., Nyfors, E.B., and Fischer, M.T., 1987, Radiowave sensor for measuring properties of dielectric sheets: Application to veneer moisture content and mass per unit area measurement: IEEE Trans. on I&M, v. 36, no. 4, p. 1036–1039.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Shizuoka University, Hamamatsu, 4328561, Japan

    SeichiI Okamura

Authors
  1. SeichiI Okamura
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Okamura, S. Microwave Technology for Moisture Measurement. Subsurface Sensing Technologies and Applications 1, 205–227 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1010120826266

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1023/A:1010120826266

Search

Navigation