The most common errors of capacitance grain moisture sensors: effect of volume change during harvest

Abstract

The objective of this study was to investigate the inaccuracy of a capacitance moisture sensor mounted on a combine harvester based on the datasets of six consecutive years. Variation of sensed volume is a major cause of measurement error for a capacitive sensor. The percentage of the sensed volume occupied by grain changes continuously by filling and emptying of the grain bin, which causes a large fluctuation in sensor output during on-the-go moisture sensing. At the beginning of the bin filling process when the grain bin is empty, under-measures were recorded and when it is approximately 60 % full, large over-measures are observed compared to the actual moisture values. This effect mainly influences the precision of the recorded site-specific moisture values and causes inaccurate yield maps. To assess the effect of varying sensed volume content during harvest operation, a bin level transmitter sensor was mounted on the top of the grain bin to continuously measure the height of the grain. A clear correlation between the actual amount of material (available space) in the grain bin to the bias from the standard moisture was demonstrated. The coefficient of determination was R2 = 0.86 for corn (Zea mays L.) and R2 = 0.87 for winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.). By using equations generated from the datasets of consecutive years (2008, 2009 and 2010), an effective post-correction method for the recorded data is proposed.