Ultrasonic Wave Mode-Based Application for Contactless Density Measurement of Highly Aerated Batters

Area of Science:

• Materials Science
• Chemical Engineering
• Acoustics

Background:

• Accurate density measurement is crucial for controlling food processing, particularly for aerated products like batters.
• Traditional methods for density measurement in batters can be invasive or inaccurate, especially during dynamic processes.
• Highly foamed batters present unique challenges for real-time monitoring due to their complex structure and changing properties.

Purpose of the Study:

• To develop and validate a non-contact ultrasonic wave mode-based method for real-time density measurement in highly foamed batters.
• To design an ultrasonic sensor system suitable for batch-wise food processing applications.
• To assess the accuracy and robustness of the developed system for monitoring batter variations.

Main Methods:

• A non-contact ultrasonic sensor system utilizing a 2 MHz piezoelectric ceramic in pulse-echo mode was employed.
• Ultrasonic signals were captured and processed using a feature-driven approach, analyzing multiple wave modes.
• Density measurements were correlated with ultrasonic signal changes during the batter mixing process in a container.

Main Results:

• The ultrasonic system successfully monitored density changes in biscuit batter during mixing, achieving a high coefficient of determination (R² = 0.96).
• The system demonstrated accurate detection of density variations within the range of 500 g/L to 1000 g/L (R² > 0.94).
• The multi-wave mode analysis combined with process parameters resulted in a robust system resilient to multiple interference factors.

Conclusions:

• The developed ultrasonic wave mode-based method provides a reliable and accurate non-contact solution for density measurement in highly foamed batters.
• This technique offers significant advantages for real-time process monitoring and quality control in the food industry.
• The robustness of the system, attributed to the analysis of multiple wave modes and process parameters, enhances its applicability in industrial settings.