Mississippi State University

Jerome E Cooper

Philip H Steele

William Lionheart

A Moisture and Density Detector (MDD) provides a method and apparatus to determine the moisture content and/or density, as well as presence and location of anomalies, and/or wood type of any dielectric material for various purposes. This device is very useful in detecting the moisture content of wood and wood-based materials, such as that of lumber in a dry kiln prior to, during and/or following drying. The MDD passes a radio frequency signal and/or any other signal between opposed or adjacent capacitance electrodes and measures the signal strength and phase shift of the signal. The addition of phase shift and multiple frequencies improves the accuracy of the results.

Moisture and density detector (MDD)

A Moisture and Density Detector (MDD) that provides a method and apparatus to determine the moisture content and/or density of any dielectric material for various purposes. This device is very useful in detecting the moisture content (MC) of wood and wood-based materials, such as that of lumber in a dry kiln prior to, during and/or following drying. The MDD passes a radio frequency signal between opposed or adjacent capacitance electrodes and measures the signal strength and phase shift of the signal. The addition of phase shift and multiple frequencies improves the accuracy of the results.

A method and apparatus for detecting areas of differential density in logs, cants, timbers, poles or trees comprises applying a signal to one or more pairs of electrodes and measuring the magnitude and phase shift of the voltage, current or impedance at an output electrode. Electrodes may be arranged in a circumferential or opposed configuration depending on scanned product shape, and may be stationary or move freely but are preferably in direct contact with wood surface. Wire brush electrodes are used in some embodiments. Measurements are taken in both directions between an electrode pair. Multiple frequencies may be employed. Different electrode sizes may be used for different measurements.

Growing community of inventors

Starkville, MS, United States of America

Jerome E Cooper