Abstract:
The rapid advancement of near-space hypersonic vehicles, including air-breathing cruise missiles, strategic glide vehicles, hypersonic boost-glide vehicles, and space-to-ground platforms, has created an urgent need for advanced detection technologies and thermal protection solutions. Traditional radars are increasingly ineffective against next-generation stealth-capable hypersonic targets, while conventional infrared detection remains constrained by an incomplete understanding of complex radiation mechanisms. Despite extensive research into thermal emissions from vehicle surfaces and flow fields, a significant knowledge gap remains concerning the critical domain of shock wave-induced short-wave radiation, particularly in extreme flight regimes. Addressing these challenges requires coordinate advances in detection technology and thermal management strategies. This study presents a comprehensive framework for analyzing gas radiation characteristics in near space (altitudes ≥20 km, Mach numbers ≥10), which integrates a multiscale simulation approach combining Direct simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) with quantum-kinetic modeling. Radiation fields are computed using a three-temperature model (translational, vibrational, and electronic) that incorporates line-by-line spectral resolution and line-of-sight integration. A systematic investigation of radiation patterns in representative hypersonic flow fields, reveals that the equilibrium ultraviolet radiation intensity demonstrates exponential temperature dependence, while non-equilibrium states exhibit complex coupling between vibrational/electronic excitation temperatures and translational energy modes. Moreover, ultraviolet emission profiles show a strong correlation with molecular number density, particularly those of nitric oxide (NO) and diatomic oxygen (O
2), which dominate radiative processes in high-enthalpy flows. Counterintuitively, the maximum radiation intensity does not occur near the nose tip, as in the region of peak heating, but at the ventral stagnation point during high-angle-of-attack maneuvers. These results shed light on optimizing detector wavelengths and designing thermal protection systems for next-generation hypersonic vehicles.