Holographic imaging of natural-fiber-containing materials

• Main Authors: SHEEN DAVID M, MCMAKIN DOUGLAS L, LECHELT WAYNE M, TUCKER BRIAN J, SEVERTSEN RONALD H, HALL THOMAS E, GRIFFIN JEFFREY W, BUNCH KYLE J
• Format: Patent
• Language: English
• Published: 21.12.2010
• Subjects: ANALOGOUS ARRANGEMENTS USING OTHER WAVES; ANTENNAS, i.e. RADIO AERIALS; BASIC ELECTRIC ELEMENTS; DETERMINING DISTANCE OR VELOCITY BY USE OF RADIO WAVES; ELECTRICITY; LOCATING OR PRESENCE-DETECTING BY USE OF THE REFLECTION ORRERADIATION OF RADIO WAVES; MEASURING; PHYSICS; RADIO DIRECTION-FINDING; RADIO NAVIGATION; TESTING

The present invention includes methods and apparatuses for imaging material properties in natural-fiber-containing materials. In particular, the images can provide quantified measures of localized moisture content. Embodiments of the invention utilize an array of antennas and at least one transceiver to collect amplitude and phase data from radiation interacting with the natural-fiber-containing materials. The antennas and the transceivers are configured to transmit and receive electromagnetic radiation at one or more frequencies, which are between 50 MHz and 1 THz. A conveyance system passes the natural-fiber-containing materials through a field of view of the array of antennas. A computing device is configured to apply a synthetic imaging algorithm to construct a three-dimensional image of the natural-fiber-containing materials that provides a quantified measure of localized moisture content. The image and the quantified measure are both based on the amplitude data, the phase data, or both.