|
|
IARD article at the 2nd International IR
Target, Background Modeling&Simulation
Workshop, FGAN−FOM, Ettlingen, |
|
CUBI: Comparison of thermal radiation modeling with a
natural desert experiment. |
|
abstract Accurate
modeling of thermal radiation from complex objects placed in a natural
environment requires both, validated software codes and precisely measured
values of the physical parameters describing the object and its environment.
Due to complexity of applications, these requirements are often not met. This
leads to significant problems in the validation process. As a fundamental
contribution to IR object code validation, CUBI was developed as a physical
object which is complex enough to allow studying the complexity of the
physical processes involved in the heat transfer equations but is simple
enough, at the same time, to permit transparent testing of relevant physical
and mathematical models. In our case, CUBI was studied under desert
conditions representing an extreme region of the full environmental parameter
space. The
experimental set-up included thermocouples for measuring surface temperatures
of CUBI and the bordering soil, thermal IR cameras (MWIR and LWIR) for
collecting spatially resolved thermal signature data of these surfaces, and
an AME environmental parameter measuring station, specifically designed for
IR signature measuring purposes. CUBI
was modeled with RadThermIR, and the environmental data collected over a full
diurnal cycle was used as an input to the code. Comparison of the
experimental and numerical results shows satisfactory compliance but yet
reveals some remaining problems that should be addressed. |