An oven air velocity study will help you spot differences in airflow 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 are causing inconsistent baking.
Reading Thermal, a product brand of Reading Bakery Systems, is headquartered in Sinking Spring, Pennsylvania. Connecting our different smart sensors and sensor arrays to the SCORPION® 2 Profiling System and passing them through the oven with your product enables the system to capture the four main baking parameters: temperature (including the temperature of both the air and the oven belt surface), heat flux (energy transfer), humidity, and airflow (velocity).
Oven Air Velocity & Why It Matters
The cooking performance of your industrial oven depends on the airflow within the oven. Measuring the air flow, or air velocity, is crucial because, along with other parameters like temperature and humidity, the air velocity 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 particularly critical because it directly controls the amount of heat delivered to the product.
How to Measure Oven Air Velocity
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 of our innovative solutions 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.
Reading Thermal Profiling Service
Are you experiencing inconsistent product quality, moisture retention, uneven baking, or low production capacity? Reading Thermal also provides the SCORPION® Profiling Service to assist customers with problem-solving at their own locations.
Learn more about why an oven air velocity study is important for commercial baking from the experts at Reading Thermal and explore the advantages of using our Scorpion® 2 Profiling System. Call us at (610) 678-5890 Ext. 2, or contact us online for more details about our innovative products.