Air velocity in industrial ovens affects the coloration, texture, firmness, and baking time of your final product. You can optimize the conditions in your oven by monitoring temperature, heat flux, air velocity, and humidity with the innovative SCORPION® 2 Profiling System and Data Logger manufactured by Reading Thermal.
Reading Thermal, headquartered in Sinking Spring, Pennsylvania, has focused on researching the commercial baking process for more than 25 years. We manufacture and support the state-of-the-art SCORPION® 2 Profiling System and Data Logger that has become a standard in the baking industry.
What is Oven Air Velocity & Why Does It Matter?
Oven air velocity is the measurement of airflow inside the oven. It is important to measure it because, along with other parameters, 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 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.
If you are an R&D/Corporate Engineer who needs to quickly profile an oven to benchmark it for product development, product transfer and oven matching across the company’s baking platforms, consider the SCORPION® 2 R&D Smart Sensor. Instead of requiring several passes through the oven with individual sensors, this multi-element sensor enables you to profile environment temperature, product core temperature, airflow, and energy transfer in a single pass-through process.
Get in touch with Reading Thermal to learn more about the importance of measuring air velocity in industrial ovens and how the SCORPION® 2 Profiling System can help you make adjustments that will achieve superior products. Contact us online or call us at (610) 678-5890 Ext. 2.