Abstract

FRAGOSO-MANDUJANO, A. et al. Feasibility of pulsed phase thermography for moisture estimation. J. appl. res. technol [online]. 2022, vol.20, n.1, pp.48-57.  Epub May 30, 2022. ISSN 2448-6736.  https://doi.org/10.22201/icat.24486736e.2022.20.1.1227.

The dehydration of farm products provides farmers an opportunity to preserve their products longer and simultaneously earn more profit from them. Nevertheless, traditionally, the dehydrated products' quality has been determined using invasive methods, for example, through manual measurements with a Vernier caliper and a micrometer. However, manual measurements have their most significant weakness in monitoring continuous production lines and, that is why an efficient methodology is often required for estimating the moisture in dehydrated products. This study aimed to explore the feasibility of pulsed thermography for estimating the moisture content of farm products in the drying process. In this paper, a methodology to estimate dehydration in real-time was developed, and the design and construction of a real-time pulsed thermographic imaging system were described. Moreover, to demonstrate the operation principle, Neem (Azadirachta indica) leaves were used in a dehydration process. The specimen was submitted to a heat pulse, and an infrared camera observed its reaction through time; then, a characteristic curve was generated from the sequence of captured images. That curve relates the moisture content with the response to the heat pulse. The results demonstrated the efficiency of the pulsed thermography in differentiating the percentage of dehydration in Neem leaves.

Keywords : Pulsed thermography; Drying; Moisture estimation; Thermal image processing.

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