Study on rapid calculation and imaging simulation of aircraft infrared radiation characteristics

Abstract The infrared radiation characteristics of aircraft are a key focus in attack-defense confrontation and early warning detection. A rapid simulation method for calculating the infrared characteristics of targets is proposed by combining the discrete transfer method. By constructing the aerodynamic shape of a Su-27-like aircraft, the flow field parameters and skin temperature under cruise conditions were calculated. The proposed method was used to generate infrared images and calculate infrared radiation intensity at various detection angles, and perform speed tests. The results indicate that this method has high accuracy; the generated infrared image is clear, accurate, and can be used to identify the characteristic attributes of the target. In the pitch detection plane, the total infrared radiation intensity of the aircraft exhibits a “8” distribution, with the fuselage contributing the most (approximately 50%). In the yaw plane, the vertical stabilizer’s infrared radiation intensity shows a lobed distribution, with peaks at 60° and 120°. The method can achieve a calculation speed of four times per second for a single detection angle, meeting real-time processing requirements and providing valuable data for infrared target recognition algorithms.