Abstract

A temperature insensitive fiber optic Fabry-Perot interferometer based mold gap measurement system that can be employed in foundry and continuous casting facilities for both non-ferrous and ferrous production applications. For steel continuous casting, the sensor is also capable of detecting crystallite formation in the mold flux layer within the mold gap by detecting reflections from both the flux layer and the steel shell to facilitate direct mold lubrication monitoring for continuous casting. These interferometers can also be easily multiplexed to perform interface shape measurements or monitor gap variations at various positions within a complex mold design. The ability to measure the cast shape exiting a continuous casting mold during operation will provide a new tool to monitor and improve product quality during operation and enhance the safety of the process through the detection of conditions that lead to slab cracking and breakouts.

Department(s)

Electrical and Computer Engineering

Second Department

Materials Science and Engineering

Comments

Docket Number: 22MST001-UTL

Filing Date: 04/30/2024

Issue Date: 02/03/2026, FY26

References Cited

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Foreign Patent Documents:

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Prior Publication Data:

US 2025/0003735 A1 January 2, 2025

Patent Application Number

18/706,149

Patent Number

US 12,540,814 B2

Document Type

Patent

Document Version

Citation

File Type

text

Language(s)

English

Rights

© 2026 The Curators of the University of Missouri, All rights reserved

Additional Rights Information

Assignee: The Curators of the University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri (US)

Publication Date

3 February, 2026

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