Improving grain presentation for predicting flour yield by image analysis

Abstract

The project was carried out as an extension to earlier work sponsored by HGCA and reported as Project Report No 10, in which image analysis showed promise as a means of predicting flour extraction rate. The natural progression of the system's development involves further evaluation by application to a larger number of samples.

A quicker method of presentation was necessary. In the earlier work the presentation of grains to the camera for television imaging involved embedding them in resin and machining of the block to reveal a chosen grain profile. Both the embedding and the machining required considerable skill and time.

The new method permits grains to be examined in both elevations provided by the earlier method and in one additional view. The method is both quicker and more precise than its predecessor.

The new method involves alignment of grains along a knife edge, and their retention on a transparent base by adhesive tape. Profiles of whole grains can be recorded before returning the base to the knife for bisection of grains in the plane of the crease. Half grains are maintained in an upright position by a high quality clear tape and re-presented for imaging of the cut face. As in the previous system the grains are handled in groups of ten.

Other HGCA-funded work on image analysis is described in Project Report No 33 and Research Review No 9.