Grain operations: Temperature sensors and cables

Monitoring the temperature, moisture content and carbon dioxide (CO2) levels in stored grain is essential to maintaining quality. Aeration with ambient air is the most common method used to manage grain temperature, moisture content, and CO2 levels.Get more news about temperature sensor cable,you can vist our website!

Still, the complexities of stored grain ecosystems make effective monitoring and optimal management challenging, especially as storage bins increase in size. Temperature and relative humidity sensors installed on cables and placed in the stored grain mass are routinely used to track grain mass temperature and moisture content. Carbon dioxide sensors can be placed in the plenum and headspace below and above the stored grain mass to track the onset of spoilage due to biological activity from molds and insects.

The number and placement of sensors, and the interpretation of sensor readings are key to effectively monitoring conditions in a stored grain mass and managing optimal windows of aeration based on real-time weather data. This first article in this series focuses on temperature sensors and explores the number needed on a cable as well as cable placement to effectively monitor the quality of stored grain.

Temperature sensors used for stored grain monitoring consist of either thermocouples or thermistors. According to manufacturers, type “T” thermocouple (TC) sensors are commonly used to manufacture TC-based temperature cables for stored grain monitoring applications. Type “T” thermocouples consist of one copper wire and one wire made of constantan, an alloy approximately 57% copper and 43% nickel.

The junction of the two wires is the actual temperature sensing point, which is rated up to 600°F (315°C). Depending on duty level (i.e., tensile strength) and customer preference, sensor points are spaced 3, 5, 6, 7 or 8 feet (0.9, 1.5, 1.8, 2.1 or 2.4 meters) apart in wire bundles inside heat-shrunk vinyl or nylon sleeves. These are placed along a load-bearing steel rope and extruded together inside a vinyl or nylon outer jacket.

Together with the lead wire they make up a temperature cable that can be installed once it is cut to the correct length and fitted with hanging hardware. Lead wire carries the thermocouple voltage signals from each cable to a multiplexing junction box that can convert analog into digital signals. Lead wire consists of groups that contain a common constantan wire and typically six copper wires that are dedicated to each individual thermocouple within the cable.

Thermistors are temperature sensors whose electrical resistance changes in response to a change in temperature. According to manufacturers, Negative Temperature Coefficient (NTC) thermistor sensors, which exhibit a decrease in resistance as temperature increases, commonly are used to manufacture thermistor-based temperature cables for stored grain monitoring applications. They are produced using powdered metal oxides that determine their electrical characteristics.

NTC thermistor sensors have a non-linear temperature versus resistance relationship and are capable of measuring temperatures up to 572°F (300°C). They are generally very rugged, extremely stable, and highly accurate devices. Depending on duty level (i.e., tensile strength) and customer preference, sensor points are spaced 4 or 8 feet (1.2 or 2.4 meters) apart on a digital sensing cable placed inside a sturdy outer tube. This allows the temperature-sensing element to be retracted if it needed to be replaced in the future.

The outer tube contains two co-extruded load-bearing steel ropes. The cables must be manufactured to the correct lengths and fitted with hanging hardware. Lead wire carries the thermistor voltage signals to a multiplexing junction box that converts analog into digital signals. From there, signals can be transferred wirelessly to digital monitoring and fan control platforms.

Temperature Sensor Cable Assemblies

Molex’s NTC temperature sensor cable assemblies are available in multiple beta values, resistances, lengths, and temperature ranges. Molex also offers custom options of these assemblies to ensure the specifications can meet exact design requirements. These cables can be mounted in remote areas to detect temperatures for accurate temperature sensing, and they come with Micro-Lock 1.2 mm pitch connectors or with blunt-cut cable leads.Get more news about temperature sensor cable,you can vist our website!

Find all of your temperature monitoring cables and sensors needs in one place, on the PartsSource eCommerce platform. Order equipment from temperature probes, temperature probe sensors, cable temperature sensors, and more.

New to PartsSource? Register today to take advantage of time and cost savings when ordering all your temperature monitoring cables and sensors
Brand new and ready for patient use, one YSI 400 adult general temperature sensor by PacMedCables. This sensor is compatible with temperature monitoring systems featuring a YSI 400 connector on the device or through an adapter cable.
PacMed Cables is arranged to help you find the cables and accessories that you need quickly and easily, while our customer service team is ready to answer whatever questions you may have. Once you've purchased your cables, our inventory and shipping departments process your order quickly and efficiently. This ensures that any in-stock cable order placed and paid before 3:00PM PST is received by the carrier the very same day. Once in the carrier's hands, the fast and free priority shipping brings your order to your door within 4 business days (in the continental US.)

Temperature Sensor Cable

We provide sensor solutions for any type of industry: farmers, flour mills, feed mills, oil mills, grain hotels, grain harbor terminals, long term grain storage silos. The Temperature Sensor Cables are the foundation of our monitoring systems. Its purpose is to support the detection of any unwanted biologic activity originating from insects, fungus etc. in the stored grain.Get more news about temperature sensor cable,you can vist our website!

The iGRAIN Temperature Sensor Cable has become the grain industry bench-mark for rugged, durable and precise grain monitoring, we use advanced digital grain temperature monitoring. The precise digital sensors are utilized for the highest performance and have no drift over time. The cables are easy to install and to service.

Several different suspension systems are available to match any type of grain silo, and whether you want suspension from rafters or roof mount plates. The grain monitoring sensors are equally easy to install in steel silos and in concrete cells.

For steel silos, we recommend mounting the Temperature Sensor Cables on the top of the roof, and we have developed different solutions for that, our so-called roof mount plates. We also have systems for suspension inside the silos, where the Temperature Sensor Cables are hanging from rafters or special suspension systems.
Our Temperature cables are what you need to have precise and regular updates on how the temperature is evolving inside your silo or bulk storage facility. Thanks to years of in-house experience and development we can offer you a solid solution to monitor the temperature of your grain. The cables are designed to be used in the toughest environments and can be customized in length to fit in every different silo or storage facility.

There are many ways to attach the cables to your silo and we are, as always, very happy to support you in the process. However, the solution we recommend is the Roof Suspension and you can find more information about it here

OPTICAL MEMS SWITCHES

Sercalo’s optical MEMS switches are proposed in single mode, multimode or PM fibers, at wavelengths from 600 μm up to 1600 μm, latching or non-latching. Sercalo offers fiber optic switches with ports count configurations of up to 16 inputs and 16 outputs, based on the highly reliable and proven Sercalo MEMS switches.Get more news about mems optical switch,you can vist our website!
Their extremely high reliability matches with demanding applications in Telecom, Datacom, Sensor Networks, Instruments, Test and Measurement.
These MEMS single mode switches are designed to be easily integrated into optical systems. The highly reliable MEMS technology is characterized by a long lifetime, high reliability, and high durability (max 3 x 109 cycles), making these suitable for use as OEM components. The switch is packaged to allow easy mounting onto PCB boards.

With the increasing prevalence of the Internet and modern communications around the world, fiber optics, which signifying a significant information revolution in the telecommunication industry—are racing to keep up. Meanwhile, software developers and users are constantly employing applications that take up more and more bandwidth in order to enhance the speed of information delivery, which, without doubt, placing heavy burdens on fiber networks. So carriers are looking for innovative ways to push more data through existing fiber. To this end, there come various vital advancements in network communication that efficiently extending the capacity of current fiber optic systems, and optical switch captures an essential position among them.

The backbone of telecommunications and networking today is the “all-optical network”, which means every communication would remain an optical transmission from start to finish. However, a certain amount of networking equipment today is still based on electronic signals, that is to say, the optical signals have to be converted to electrical ones, then to be amplified, regenerated or switched, and reconverted to optical signals. This process is referred to as an “optical-to-electronic-to-optical” (OEO) conversion. Which is considered to be a significant bottleneck in transmission. Therefore, huge amount of information traveling around an optical network needs to be switched through various points known as nodes.

Optical switching functions by replacing existing electronic network switched with optical ones, making no need for OEO conversions. It contributes to lower cost and physically smaller switches as well. However, optical switching technology currently is still immature, thus several ideas have been proposed as to how to implement light switching between optical fibers, among which the most common technique is that of the tiny movable mirrors known as micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS).
While the widely use of micro-electro-mechanical systems (EMES) in some other industries is nothing new, its adoption for telecom applications is relatively recent.

Conventional MEMS works by reflecting the beam of light from the surface of a tiny mirror. MEMS systems have moving parts, and the speed at which the mirror moves is limited. By applying more current, the mirror can move faster, but there’s a limit to how much current can be sent into the array of mirrors. If this weren’t bad enough, it seems that the speed and angular displacement terms in the calculation of the required current have integer powers of around 4 or 5, and so the bottom line is that we have to put a lot of current into the array for a small improvement in speed. By changing the mirror design so that the angle through which light is bent is smaller, it’s possible to achieve faster switching speeds. This technique is known as “fast MEMS.”