Microcontroller-based pulse signal controller development for compact high voltage pulse generator: Practical development in food treatment technology

摘要

The momentum of pulsed electric field (PEF) in maintaining food quality has increaseddue to its ability to treat food without the use of thermal elements. Toachieve this, high pulse voltage must be used in conjunction with the pulse signalcontroller. Therefore, this paper presents the development of advanced pulse signalcontrollers using Arduino Uno. It can produce an adjustable pulse width from 63 ns(min) to 4 ms (max) along with an adjustable gap between pulses from 1 μs (min) to10 s (max). A laboratory experiment was performed on a NaCl solution to record itsperformance in producing the desired pulse attribute. The results show that the pulsesignal controller successfully delivers the intended pulse. A clean 4.25 A square pulseelectric current was recorded in the absence of abnormal effects. This proves thatthe proposed method works as expected and also proves the concept presented.