Influence of aero-optical transmission on infrared imaging optical system in the supersonic flight

Aero-optical transmission effect is becoming a crucial issue in the supersonic flight. In our study, the joint influences of the non-uniform aerodynamic flow field and the aerodynamically heated optical window on imaging quality of an airborne infrared optical system are investigated in depth. Both the laminar and turbulent viscous models are used in the simulation of aerodynamic flow because of their distinct influences on aero-optical transmission. On the basis of the computed density field, the ray tracing method is applied to calculate the point spread functions of the aerodynamic flow field and the aerodynamically heated window. The imaging quality is evaluated by using the point spread functions and modulation transfer functions. Experimental results show that the optical transmission through the aerodynamically heated window has a much severer influence on the imaging quality than that through the aerodynamic flow field.