Dynamic Camouflage Characteristics of a Thermal Infrared Film Inspired by Honeycomb Structure

Thermal infrared camouflage technology has attracted increasing attention with the progress of infrared surveillance technologies. Inspired by honeycombs, a thermal infrared camouflage film with honeycomb sandwich structure based on fluid and temperature control is proposed to cloak objects and display false targets in the thermal infrared spectrum. The structure and manufacturing method of the film are introduced, and the fluid and temperature control system is established and tested to explore the thermal infrared characteristics of the film composed of different thermal units. The camouflage performance of the film is intuitively displayed through the temperature frequency histograms of the infrared images photographed by an infrared camera. The temperature control accuracy of the thermal infrared camouflage system and the dynamic camouflage response of the film are evaluated by the temperature distribution map of each pixel in infrared images and the salient degree values. Furthermore, the influential factors on the camouflage responding time are investigated, including the heating and cooling time of the liquid, the flow rate of pumps inside the driving module, and the energy loss along the liquid lines. An application of displaying false target is also introduced and tested. The results show that the camouflage film has a well camouflage effect and a wide adjustment temperature range, showing promise for a broad range of potential applications, such as counter-surveillance, thermal control and heat shielding.