Design of a Hybrid Structure for Controlling Infrared Characteristic Based on Photonic Crystals with Active Thermal Management

Abstract

Control technology for infrared characteristic has been a hot topic for decades. Herein, a hybrid structure for controlling infrared characteristic combining a wavelength‐selective emitter, microchannel heat exchanger, and thermal barrier coatings (TBC) is proposed to tune the surface infrared signature. First, the optimization algorithm is used to optimize the design to realize the spectral selective emission of the surface. The optimized 1D photonic crystal (PC) has high emittance in the 5–8 μm nonatmospheric window (ε 5−8 = 0.723) for radiative cooling and low emittance in the 3–5 and 8–14 μm atmospheric window (ε 3−5 = 0.480 and ε 8−14 = 0.067) for infrared camouflage. Further control of surface temperature is achieved by combining the nanofluid‐cooled microchannel heat exchanger and TBCs. When the Reynolds number is 1000 and the wall heating temperature is 1473.15 K, the IR signal intensity can be reduced by 35.3 dB. This scheme may provide a new idea for infrared characteristic signal control.