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Planting seeds |
May 04, 2007 |
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Posted by Joe Lewis at May 4, 2007 11:15 AM |
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Seed undergoes treatment for disease and to keep insects from eating them before they germinate. This treatment process is important to producing high yields and seed manufacturers have spent much energy into research and in production using various seed treating systems to produce the best possible product for their customers.In the treatment process a variety of bins must be monitored for the level of the seed. This is a great example of an application perfect for guided wave radar technology. The seed has a dielectric of >2.0 and the bins are relatively short in range so mounting details aren't as stringent as for much longer range applications. Guided wave radar is not affected by dust, temperature or other factors and it works reliably and accurately measures levels of a wide variety of products.
Guided wave radar uses TDR (time domain reflectometry) to measure levels. TDR has been used since the early 1990's for level measurement and was pioneered in the geological area in the earlier 1900's. TDR generates radar pulses about 1 nanosecond in width and these pulses are guided to the material surface by the probe or wave-guide. This is why guided wave radar can be so much more reliable and effective than open-are radar, laser or ultrasonic technologies. The pulses reflect off the material surface and the time-of-flight is directly related to the distance, and inversely the level of material.
Guided wave radar measures the level of seed, feed, cement powder, flour, carbon black, coffee and a wide range of other materials. Have any questions, post a comment or visit the Level Measurement blog for more data.
Joe Lewis
