Evaluation of AN EXPERIMENTAL MASS-FLOW Sensor of COTTON Lint at the GIN

As part of a system to optimize the cotton ginning process, a custom built mass-flow sensor was evaluated at USDA-ARS Cotton Ginning Research Unit at Stoneville, Mississippi.  The mass-flow sensor was fabricated based on the principle of the senor patented by Thomasson and Sui (2004).  The optical and electronic components of the sensor were housed in a single aluminum unit with mounting-magnet which made it easy to install and maintain.  To evaluate measurement of cotton lint mass-flow and the effect of cotton variety on the sensor, a test of the sensor with two cotton varieties was conducted using a micro-gin to compare lint mass-flow with sensor output.  Results showed that the sensor output was very strongly correlated with the lint-mass which passed through the sensor (r² = 0.98), and the effect of cotton variety on the output of sensor was not significant (F (1, 75) = 0.00, p = 0.9868).  This demonstrated that the mass-flow sensor can accurately measure the lint-flow in the gin and provide valuable information to the ginner.