Unifying Parameters for a VHF Unified Grain Moisture Algorithm

Abstract

The Unified Grain Moisture Algorithm is capable of improved accuracy and allows thecombination of many grain types into a single unified calibration. The purposes of this researchwere to further refine the unifying parameters for grain types that had already been calibrated, andestablish processes for determining unifying parameters from the chemical and physical properties ofgrains. The data used in this research were obtained as part of the USDA-Grain Inspection, Packersand Stockyards Administrations Annual Moisture Calibration Study. More than 5000 grain sampleswere tested with a Hewlett-Packard 4291A Material/Impedance Analyzer. Temperature tests weredone with a VHF prototype system at Corvinus University of Budapest. Typical chemical and physicalparameters for each of the major grain types were obtained from the literature. The data wereanalyzed by multivariate chemometric methods. One of the most important unifying parameters(Slope) and the temperature correction coefficient were successfully modeled. The Offset andTranslation unifying parameters were not modeled successfully, but these parameters can beestimated relatively easily through limited grain tests. These results confirmed the feasibility ofsimplifying the calibration process by predicting critical parameters from grain chemical and physicalparameters.