Are you interested in heat flux monitoring for your industrial bakery oven? Optimizing heat application will enable you to produce the same product on two different lines and help you avoid making baked goods of poor quality (color, texture, flavor). Reading Thermal offers a state-of-the-art solution.
Reading Thermal, a Reading Bakery Systems brand, manufactures and supports the SCORPION® 2 Data Logger, which monitors actual in-process conditions and gets the critical information you need to correct problems and maintain optimum process control.
What Our Profiling System Can Measure
Connecting smart sensors and sensor arrays to the SCORPION® 2 Data Logger and passing them through the oven with the product enables the measurement system to capture the four main baking parameters:
Heat Flux
Oven heat flux is the amount of energy transferred per unit area per unit time from or to a surface. It is the best indicator of oven performance during baking in terms of the product. Many bakers use oven heat flux profiles when trying to produce the same product on two different lines or when transferring product from one line to another. The two lines will produce the same product when the heat flux profiles match. The SCORPION® 2 Heat Flux Sensor is designed to measure convective and radiant heat fluxes at the product level and display the results in Btu/hr·ft2 or W/m2.
Humidity
Products passing through a thermal process interact with the moisture in the environment. The moisture often comes from the product itself and represents a delicate balance that affects finished product quality in many ways; e.g., the moisture remaining in a pretzel after baking can impact its shelf life; reducing evaporation can keep the surface of your cookies moist, allowing them to stretch without cracking. Bakeries worldwide rely on the SCORPION® 2 Humidity Sensor, which measures the absolute moisture content of the thermal environment in both heating and cooling processes.
Temperature
Oven temperature affects oven-spring, drying/dehydration, and color formation during baking. Insufficient or excessive temperature can also lead to undesirable changes in texture and taste. The Scorpion® 2 Temperature Sensor Array is designed to measure temperature at the product level, in fixed positions across the conveyor, and delivers a precise picture of temperatures from side-to-side and end-to-end.
Air Velocity
The airflow comes from the moving conveyor, the exhaust system, and natural combustion air currents in a radiant oven. In a convection oven, the airflow comes primarily from the air distribution plenums. Measuring the oven air velocity with the SCORPION® 2 Air Velocity Sensor is critical because airflow influences the final product’s coloration, texture, firmness, and baking time. The profiles will help you spot airflow differences between baking zones and unwanted air currents at the entrance or exit of the oven that results in inconsistent baking.
Explore what is happening inside your commercial bakery ovens. With our innovative sensors and sensor arrays, heat flux monitoring can help you improve your products and processes. Contact us online, or call our headquarters in Sinking Spring, Pennsylvania, at (610) 678-5890 Ext. 2 to learn more.