Design of micro‐ and macro‐scale polymeric metamaterial solutions for passive and active thermal camouflaging applications

Abstract

Abstract This work utilizes predictive modeling techniques to guide and inform metamaterial design for heat management solutions and thermal radiation control. Specifically, micro‐ and macro‐scale polyethylene‐based solutions are proposed for passive and active thermal camouflage. A micro‐scale post design is proposed for highly‐tunable infrared emissivity based on varying unit cell geometrical configurations. Actively modulating these micro‐features through lateral straining of up to 3% allows for redshifting the emissivity spectrum by up to 0.5 µm. Macro‐scale lenticular lens designs allow for a more passive form of camouflage due to its emissive stability for a range of configurations (e.g., single and sandwiched structures, increasing lens radii and height). Overall, the proposed metamaterial designs allow the tailoring of optical properties to improve thermal radiating performance.

Keywords

• infrared emissivity
• infrared technology
• multifunctional metamaterials
• multiphysics modeling
• thermal camouflage