Casting Powder Thickness Field-Measurement with Ultra Wideband Radar System

This paper describes a prototype sensor for the measurement of the casting powder thickness in a continuous cast system. The sensor is realized with an conventional vector network analyzer connected to a broadband horn antenna via a coaxial cable. The radiated power is diverted to the mold by a parabolic reflector. The system operates as a frequency-stepped continuous-wave radar, delivering the complex reflection coefficient at the calibration plane. The frequency is swept from 10 GHz to 40 GHz within 500 ms. The data transfer, evaluation and visualization is done in real-time.