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The integrated infrared suppressor can reduce the infrared radiation signal of a helicopter and is compatible with radar-acoustic stealth. However, the issues that are caused by the integrated infrared suppressor, such as temperature increases on the rear fuselage surface and a lack of shielding at the exhaust port, need to be addressed, in order to further improve the infrared stealth capability of the helicopter. Aiming at this, the effects of the ambient temperature, fuselage surface emissivity, mixing duct shielding, and exhaust port shielding on the infrared radiation characteristics of the helicopter are studied with numerical simulation. The results show that the infrared radiation intensity of the helicopter, in 3–5 μm band and 8–14 μm band, decreases by about 20% and 10%, respectively, for every 6 K reduction in the ambient temperature. As the emissivity of the rear fuselage surface reduces from 0.8 to 0.5, the helicopter's infrared radiation intensity, in a 3–5 μm band and a 8–14 μm band, decreases by about 6% and by about 4% and 1.3%, respectively, after the mixing duct is equipped with a shielding sheath. Installing deflectors at the exhaust port of the fuselage can prevent the detection rays from detecting the high-temperature components inside the fuselage, and when the emissivity of the deflectors is reduced from 0.8 to less than 0.5, or the deflectors are cooled by more than 80 K, they begin to play a role in suppressing the infrared radiation at the bottom of the helicopter. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A numerical investigation is performed in the current study to illustrate the influences of exhaust angle of the integrated infrared suppressor on plume flow and helicopter infrared radiation, under the hover and cruise statuses. Three exhaust models are concerned, including the exhaust direction at 60°, 45°, and 18° angles to the horizontal plane. The results show that the heating effect of the exhaust plume on the fuselage is modified with the decrease of the exhaust angle. However, the decrease in exhaust angle will reduce the pumping coefficient of the mixing duct to some extent, resulting in an increase of exhaust temperature. For the model with an exhaust angle of 18°, three sets of comparative tests were designed. The results show that when there is no airflow outlet at the bottom of the fuselage, the surface temperature of the fuselage will increase significantly, and the position of the airflow outlet at the bottom of the fuselage also has a certain influence on the temperature field of the fuselage. On the horizontal detection plane, the infrared radiation intensity of the model with an exhaust angle of 60° and 45° is significantly lower than that with an exhaust angle of 18°. In the vertical detection plane, especially in the direction below the fuselage, the infrared radiation intensity of the model with an exhaust angle of 18° is the smallest. When compared to the hover status, the cruise status reduces the infrared radiation intensity somewhat. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]