It may be time to explore what is happening inside your commercial bakery oven. Heat flux profiling with the SCORPION® 2 Heat Flux Sensor and our other innovative sensors and sensor arrays can help you improve your products and processes.
Located in Sinking Spring, Pennsylvania, Reading Thermal has focused on measuring and understanding the commercial baking process for over 25 years. We manufacture the SCORPION® 2 Profiling System and Data Logger, which is a standard in the baking industry and offers you an easy way to monitor actual oven in-process conditions.
What is Oven Heat Flux?
Oven heat flux refers to the amount of energy transferred per unit area per unit time from or to a surface. It is the best non-intrusive indicator of the performance of ovens during baking in terms of the product.
Heat transfer follows three different modes of heat transfer during baking – radiation, convection and conduction – and heat flux involves all three components. Every product will have its own unique mix of these components and its own heat flux profile. There is no single optimal heat flux profile for all products.
Why Is Heat Flux Profiling Important?
The characteristics of specific products are defined by the amount and type of heat applied to the product during the baking process. The differences explain why one oven bakes differently than another. And analyzing and controlling these differences are critical to understanding how the finished characteristics of a product will be affected.
Heat flux profiles are often used when trying to produce the same product on two different lines, or when trying to transfer product from one line to another. When the heat flux component profiles are matched, the two lines will produce the same product.
The SCORPION® 2 Heat Flux Sensor is designed to measure convective and radiant heat fluxes at product level, and display the results in Btu/hr·ft2 or W/m2. Convective and radiant heat is absorbed by the band, which serves as the conduction mechanism to the product. The sensor travels through the process with the product, and the oven under full load, producing a precise profile of heat flux components the product experienced.
A heat flux sensor is an excellent investment. It will provide a better way to measure energy transfer in your oven and help you avoid producing baked goods of poor quality.
Get in touch with Reading Thermal to learn more about the SCORPION® 2 Heat Flux Sensor and our other innovative oven profiling products. Contact us online, or call our headquarters in Sinking Spring, Pennsylvania at (610) 678-5890 Ext. 2.