Handheld microcontroller- based moisture meter for wood

Date

10-2004

Degree

Bachelor of Science in Applied Physics

College

College of Arts and Sciences (CAS)

Adviser/Committee Chair

Eric T. Miranda

Abstract

A handheld microcontroller-based instrument that measures moisture content of wood was designed. Constructed, and tested. The instrument uses resistance-type measurements to determine moisture content of wood and was calibrated using Yemane (Gmelina arborea Roxb). The system was designed to take one-shot measurements and give the user the opertion to store data in an on-chip nonvolatile memory. The study has four main phases namely software development, hardware design, calibration, and data gathering. The instrument was calibrated against the gravimetric method, the standard method of moisture content determination. A random sample from 180 wood samples were tested and compared with measurements taken using the analog moisture mater of the Forest Products Research and Development Institute and the gravimetric method. The measurements obtained by the device were found to be within +1.8% of the actual moisture content, while those obtained using the analog moisture meter were within +4.0% of the actual value. Thus, the handheld microcontroller-based instrument could be used to obtain on-the-spot and accurate readings of moisture content of wood.

Language

English

Location

UPLB Main Library Special Collections Section (USCS)

Call Number

Thesis

Document Type

Thesis

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