A hierarchical simulation framework incorporating full-link physical response for short-range infrared detection

Missile-borne short-range infrared detection (SIRD) technology is commonly used in military ground target detection. In complex battlefield environments, achieving precise strike on ground target is a challenging task. However, real battlefield data is limited, and equivalent experiments are costly. Currently, there is a lack of comprehensive physical modeling and numerical simulation methods for SIRD. To this end, this study proposes a SIRD simulation framework incorporating full-link physical response, which is integrated through the radiative transfer layer, the sensor response layer, and the model-driven layer. In the radiative transfer layer, a coupled dynamic detection model is established to describe the external optical channel response of the SIRD system by combining the infrared radiation model and the geometric measurement model. In the sensor response layer, considering photoelectric conversion and signal processing, the internal signal response model of the SIRD system is established by a hybrid mode of parametric modeling and analog circuit analysis. In the model-driven layer, a co-simulation application based on a three-dimensional virtual environment is proposed to drive the full-link physical model, and a parallel ray tracing method is employed for real-time synchronous simulation. The proposed simulation framework can provide pixel-level signal output and is verified by the measured data. The evaluation results of the root mean square error (RMSE) and the Pearson correlation coefficient (PCC) show that the simulated data and the measured data achieve good consistency, and the evaluation results of the waveform eigenvalues indicate that the simulated signals exhibit low errors compared to the measured signals. The proposed simulation framework has the potential to acquire large sample datasets of SIRD under various complex battlefield environments and can provide an effective data source for SIRD application research.