Do you understand the impact of air flow on your baking process? When you need to measure air flow in your industrial bakery ovens, Reading Thermal can help. Our innovative SCORPION® 2 Air Velocity Sensor, along with our other state-of-the-art sensors and sensor arrays, can help you optimize your products and reduce waste
Reading Thermal, headquartered in Sinking Spring, Pennsylvania, has focused on measuring and understanding the commercial baking process for over 25 years. We manufacture and support the SCORPION® 2 Data Logger which has become a standard in the baking industry and provides an easy way to validate your kill step for food safety.
By connecting our different smart sensors and sensor arrays to the SCORPION® 2 Data Logger and passing them through the oven with the product, the measurement system can capture the four main baking parameters: temperature of the environment (including the temperature of both the air and the oven belt surface), heat flux (energy transfer), humidity and air flow (velocity).
Why Air Flow Matters?
The cooking performance of your commercial oven depends on the airflow inside the oven. Measuring the air flow or air velocity is important because, along with other parameters like temperature and humidity, the air flow influences the coloration, texture, firmness, and baking time of the final product.
In a radiant oven, the airflow comes from the moving conveyor, the exhaust system, and natural combustion air currents. In a convection oven, the airflow comes primarily from the air distribution plenums. In this case, airflow is crucial because it directly controls the amount of heat delivered to the product.
How to Measure Oven Air Flow
Oven air velocity can be measured and recorded with the SCORPION® 2 Air Velocity Sensor. The sensor array delivers a precise picture of airflow patterns inside the oven from side to side and end to end. The sensors collect data, at product level, as the array travels through the oven. The number of sensors varies with the width of the conveyor.
Air Velocity Profiles will help you spot airflow differences between baking zones, concentrated air velocities on isolated parts of the conveyor, and unwanted air currents at the entrance or exit of the oven that result in inconsistent baking.
Another innovative option is the SCORPION® 2 Temp+Airflow Sensor Array, which is designed to simultaneously profile temperature and airflow across the width of large tray and grid conveyor ovens exceeding 2m (6.5′). The sensor array contains nine Temp+Airflow sensors spaced evenly across the length of an aluminum bar. The sensor array comes in three sizes to match the most popular bread oven conveyor widths.
The impact of air flow on the baking process in your industrial bakery oven can have a major impact on the quality and consistency of your products. Reading Thermal can help you bake your products to perfection. Contact us online, or call us at (610) 678-5890 Ext. 2 to learn more about our innovative products.