Infrared radiation (IR) characteristics are important parameters for detecting, identifying, and striking military targets in the context of systematic countermeasures. Accurate calculation of IR characteristics for aircraft is significant for the simulation of war situations and the designation of combat strategy. In this work, integrated IR characteristics of aircraft skin and exhaust plume and their interaction are investigated by considering the reflection based on a bi-directional reflectance distribution function and various influence factors such as solar irradiation, ground reflection, aerodynamic heating, and projection radiation from the background. Combined with infrared emission and reflection characteristics of the skin, omnidirectional IR intensity distributions of 3-5 μm and 8-14 μm at different Mach numbers are obtained. The exhaust plume IR characteristic for different waves and wavebands are also investigated by considering the presence or absence of base and the difference in nozzle inlet temperature. On this basis, integrated IR characteristics between the skin and exhaust plume are investigated. Results show that aircraft IR characteristics of 3-5 μm are concentrated in the exhaust plume and high-temperature skin near the exhaust plume, while the signals of 8-14 μm are concentrated in the skin. The research results are expected to supply guidance for better detection and identification of typical flight targets.
Keywords: Mach number; aerodynamic heating; aircraft skin; detection; exhaust plume; infrared radiation.