A Coaxial Line Fixture Based on a Hybrid PSO-NLR Model for in Situ Dielectric Permittivity Determination of Carasau Bread Dough

Food quality is crucial in today's processing industry. The organoleptic properties of most food materials are known to depend on their water content. The monitoring of food quality and moisture content calls for engineering solutions. To this aim, given their nondestructive nature and cost-effective features, microwave sensors are a valuable tool. However, for some peculiar food processing industries, suitable engineered microwave devices must be designed. Therein, we will focus on the case of the Carasau bread industry. Carasau bread is a typical food product from Sardinia (IT). In this work, we will present the design, realization, and characterization of a coaxial fixture, working between 0.5 and 3 GHz, for the determination of the complex dielectric permittivity of Carasau bread dough. Through a nonlinear regression model based on a particle swarm optimization routine, the scattering parameters are used to retrieve the electromagnetic properties of bread doughs. By making a comparison with the complex dielectric permittivity measured with an open-ended coaxial probe, an average error of 3% for the real part and 6% for the imaginary part has been found. The proposed device is driven by a Raspberry Pi that controls the acquisition of a pocket-vector network analyzer (VNA), thus representing a cost-effective electronic system for industrial applications.