Can the DT1000 distance sensor be used to measure the level of liquid aluminum?

The challenge with optical distance measurement on liquid aluminum is the optical properties of the metal. Liquid aluminum forms a thin oxide layer after a short time when it comes into contact with the ambient air. This ensures a diffuse reflection of the light beam emitted by an optical distance sensor and therefore a relatively simple measurement. However, if the oxide layer is partially interrupted, for example when the aluminum flows through a launder or similar, its surface almost resembles a mirror. This results in a specular reflection on the aluminum surface, which makes measurement with an optical distance sensor much more difficult.

Thanks to its high measurement dynamics and multi-echo capability, the DT1000 distance sensor can deal with these surface properties and solve the measurement task. More details can be found in the following video.