Non-invasive moisture content measurement system based on the ESP8266 microcontroller

Abstract

Moisture content in the process of drying is often unknown when carrying out the drying process, especially the fluidized dryer. A lot of experimental designs are needed when observing the drying phenomenon more deeply.  It is because to stop and repeat drying process from the beginning again when the sample is taken to test its moisture content needed more experiments. Therefore, this paper presents development of a non-intrusive moisture measurement system prepared for fluidization type dryers. The method used in to conduct this research consists of (i) structural design analysis and (ii) functional (mechanical and electrical systems) and (iii) simple testing of the water content measurement system of constructed material. Test parameters observed include errors in measuring and fluctuating sensor signals against vibration applied to the weighing system. The results showed that non-intrusive moisture content measurement system for fluidized dryers based on the ESP8266 microcontroller had been successfully developed and worked normally. The measurement system has been calibrated with a coefficient of determination (R²) close to one. Measurement error resulting from the effect of vibration on this system shows a very satisfactory value of 6.89%.