Low-cost portable dielectric spectrometer based on mini-vector network analyzer and open-ended coaxial probe technology
Keywords:
coaxial probe, mini vector network analyzer, low-cost, portable, dielectric spectrometerAbstract
As a simple, fast, and non-destructive measuring technology, dielectric spectroscopy is usually used to analyze the dielectric properties of agricultural products and food, and then to predict the main components of materials. However, the large and expensive vector network analyzers (VNA) with expensive analysis software applied in measuring dielectric properties make research limited to the laboratory. To acquire dielectric spectra in situ, a model for solving relative complex permittivity was derived, and its performance was validated. Then, a low-cost portable dielectric spectrometer with a mini VNA, a Raspberry Pi, and a coaxial probe as core parts was developed over the frequency range of 100-3000 MHz. The stability and accuracy of the developed spectrometer were tested using milk and juice. The results indicated that the relative errors of the model were within ±5% for dielectric constant (ε′) and loss factor (ε′′). The coefficients of variation of measured ε′ and ε′′ by the developed spectrometer at 100-3000 MHz were less than 1% and 2%, respectively. Compared with the dielectric properties obtained by using a commercial dielectric measurement system, the relative errors of measured ε′ and ε′′ were within ±3.4% and ±6.0%, respectively. This study makes fast, non-destructive, and on-site food quality detection using dielectric spectra possible. Keywords: coaxial probe, mini vector network analyzer, low-cost, portable, dielectric spectrometer DOI: 10.25165/j.ijabe.20241703.7170 Citation: Zhu Z Z, Zhu X H, Guo W C. Low-cost portable dielectric spectrometer based on mini-vector network analyzer and open-ended coaxial probe technology. Int J Agric & Biol Eng, 2024; 17(3): 166-172.References
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[19] Zhu X H, Guo W C, Jia Y, Kang F. Dielectric properties of raw milk as functions of protein content and temperature. Food and Bioprocess Technology, 2015; 8(3): 670–680.
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[22] Wang Y Z, Guo W C, Zhu X H, Liu Q. Effect of homogenisation on detection of milk protein content based on NIR diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. International Journal of Food Science and Technology, 2019; 54(2): 387–395.
[2] Nelson S O, Bartley P G. Measuring frequency- and temperature-dependent dielectric properties of food materials. Transactions of the ASAE, 2000; 43(6): 1733–1736.
[3] Nelson S O, Trabelsi S. Factors influencing the dielectric properties of agricultural and food products. Journal of Microwave Power and Electromagnetic Energy, 2012; 46(2): 93–107.
[4] Zhu X H, Guo W C, Liang Z B. Determination of the fat content in cow’s milk based on dielectric properties. Food and Bioprocess Technology, 2015; 8(7): 1485–1494.
[5] Fang D, Yang K, Guo W C, Li Y, Zhu X H. Dielectric relaxation parameters help to analyze protein content in cow's milk and improve prediction accuracy. Journal of Food Composition and Analysis, 2023; 123: 105648.
[6] Fang D, Yang K, Zhu J, An C, Guo W C, Zhu X H. Hydration dominates dielectric spectroscopy-based high accuracy quantification of lactose content in cow's milk. Journal of the Science of Food and Agriculture, 2023; 103(12): 5873–5882.
[7] Lau S K, Dag D, Ozturk S, Kong F, Subbiah J, A comparison between the open-ended coaxial probe method and the parallel plate method for measuring the dielectric properties of low-moisture foods. LWT - Food Science and Technology, 2020; 130: 109719.
[8] Dilman I, Akinci M N, Yilmaz T, Çayören M, Akduman I. A method to measure complex dielectric permittivity with open-ended coaxial probes. IEEE Transactions on Instrumentation and Measurement, 2022; 71: 1–7.
[9] Yamaguchi T, Yamamoto N, Naito D, Takahashi T, Sakanaka S. Resonant cavity method based on RF measurement and simulation for measuring complex permittivity or permeability of RF absorbing materials. Nuclear Instruments and Methods in Physics Research Section A: Accelerators, Spectrometers, Detectors and Associated Equipment, 2024; 169449.
[10] Peng F, Niu Y, Gao K, Gai X, Dai L, Geng L. Comparison of different microwave methods for unburned carbon content in fly ash determination. Measurement, 2019; 139: 346–354.
[11] Erdoğan M, Ünal E, Özkan Alkurt F, Abdulkarim Y I, Deng L, Karaaslan M. Determination of frying sunflower oil usage time for local potato samples by using microwave transmission line based sensors. Measurement, 2020; 163: 108040.
[12] Zhu X H, Guo W C, Wu X L. Frequency- and temperature-dependent dielectric properties of fruit juices associated with pasteurization by dielectric heating. Journal of Food Engineering, 2012; 109(2): 258–266.
[13] Staebell K F, Misra D. An experimental technique for in vivo permittivity measurement of materials at microwave frequencies. IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques, 1990; 38(3): 337–339.
[14] Misra D K. A quasi-static analysis of open-ended coaxial lines (short paper). IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques, 1987; 35(10): 925–928.
[15] You K Y, Abbas Z, Dimon M N. Chapter 6 analytical modeling of open-ended coaxial probe- A review. In: Khamis N H, Syed Yusof S K, Abdul Latiff N M, Din J (Eds.). Species Topics in Propagation and Communication Engineering. UTM Publisher, 2008; pp.74–104.
[16] Nyshadham A, Sibbald C L, Stuchly S S. Permittivity measurements using open-ended sensors and reference liquid calibration - an uncertainty analysis. IEEE Transactions on Microwave Theory and Techniques, 1992; 40(2): 305–314.
[17] Shan C F, Wang G B, Wang H H, Xie Y J, Wang H Z, Wang S L, et al. Effects of droplet size and spray volume parameters on droplet deposition of wheat herbicide application by using UAV. International Journal of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, 2021; 14(1): 74–81.
[18] Cleveland W S. Robust locally weighted regression and smoothing scatterplots. Journal of the American Statistical Association, 1979; 74(368): 829–836.
[19] Zhu X H, Guo W C, Jia Y, Kang F. Dielectric properties of raw milk as functions of protein content and temperature. Food and Bioprocess Technology, 2015; 8(3): 670–680.
[20] Guo W C, Zhu X H, Nelson S O, Yue R, Liu H, Liu Y. Maturity effects on dielectric properties of apples from 10 to 4500 MHz. LWT - Food Science and Technology, 2011; 44(1): 224–230.
[21] Calay R K, Newborough M, Probert D, Calay P S. Predictive equations for the dielectric properties of foods. International Journal of Food Science and Technology, 1994; 29(6): 699–713.
[22] Wang Y Z, Guo W C, Zhu X H, Liu Q. Effect of homogenisation on detection of milk protein content based on NIR diffuse reflectance spectroscopy. International Journal of Food Science and Technology, 2019; 54(2): 387–395.
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Published
2024-07-11
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Zhu, Z., Zhu, X., & Guo, W. (2024). Low-cost portable dielectric spectrometer based on mini-vector network analyzer and open-ended coaxial probe technology. International Journal of Agricultural and Biological Engineering, 17(3), 166–172. Retrieved from https://ijabe.migration.pkpps03.publicknowledgeproject.org/index.php/ijabe/article/view/7170
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Information Technology, Sensors and Control Systems
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