Study on Shrinkage Characteristic of Potato Slices Based on Computer Vision

Abstract

Shrinkage during drying plays an important role in determining the quality of the dried product. The aim of this study is to use image processing technique for measuring the variation of potato shape parameters during drying process. A standardized image acquisition system consisting of a digital camera, illumination, computer hardware and software was developed to capture and process images. During drying process, parameters related to shape (surface area of slice) decreased with drying time. The percentage of area reduction, which is obtained by detecting potato slices area before and after drying, can be used to realize the shrinkage characteristic of potato slices. Results showed that factors such as slice thickness and infrared radiation power (P<0.01) had significant effect on shrinkage characteristic of potato slices and also absolute pressure (P<0.05) had significant effect on the shrinkage percentage. The values of maximum and minimum of shrinkage percentage were achieved at power level of 100 at slice thickness of 1 mm and 200 W and at slice thickness of 3 mm, respectively.