Hide from Thermal Imager: New Materials for Soldier Equipment

A fighter with equipment made from TVC material. Photo by Polaris Solutions

Progress in the field of surveillance equipment does not stand still and imposes new requirements for camouflage. Particularly difficult in this context is the protection of personnel from optical systems operating in the infrared range. Currently, there is an active search for technologies and materials abroad for solving such problems, and in addition, full-fledged products have already been created that are ready for practical use.

Physics of the phenomenon

The human body is constantly generating heat. At rest, the body of an average adult produces approx. 100 W, and under load this figure can increase significantly. Body heat is transferred to clothing and surrounding objects. As a result, they all stand out in the infrared range and can be detected with a thermal imager.

Depending on various factors, the entire silhouette, open areas of the body, or even exhaled warm air can "glow" in the infrared range. In addition, heated objects of the environment can reveal the fighter, weapon and items of equipment, etc.

Shooter in position. Photo by Polaris Solutions

The main way to protect a person from a thermal imager is to shield the generated heat. You need some kind of uniform or various accessories that can trap IR radiation and prevent it from getting into the lens of surveillance equipment. At the same time, it is necessary to ensure light weight, flexibility and ease of handling with such a screen.

Alternative technologies are also being considered. So, one of the modern projects provides for the reduction of heat generation. As a result, the masked object ceases to stand out against the background of the terrain and there is no need for screening or heat removal.

New technologies for protection against thermal imaging surveillance are at various stages. Some of them are already used in the production of commercial products, while others have not yet gone beyond the laboratory. At the same time, it can be expected that the latter will also reach practical application in the future, and scientific organizations will be engaged in the next projects of this kind.

TVC series

The greatest commercial success in the fight against thermal imagers has been achieved by the Israeli company Polaris Solutions. Several years ago, she introduced her TVC (Thermal Visual Concealment) technology, on the basis of which a lot of different concealment means of various kinds were then developed.

A firing position disguised as a natural object. Photo by Polaris Solutions

TVC is a visible and infrared camouflage material. The exact composition and architecture of such a material was not disclosed, but it is reported that it uses polymers, microfibers and metal particles. According to various sources, TVC is a multilayer structure, each layer of which is designed to solve its own problem. So, the outer one carries optical camouflage, while the inner ones are responsible for keeping warm. As you can tell, TVC is an exclusively passive system and only works by shielding radiation.

There are three material options: TVC50, TVC100 and TVC150. They differ from each other in density, which affects the weight of the finished product. So, the least dense material TVC50 weighs 490 g per square meter, and for TVC1 this parameter reaches 150 g. Probably, materials of different densities also differ in performance.

TVC material is available in the form of sheets of the required sizes. Also in the Polaris Solutions catalog there are a lot of products made of such material. Awnings, items of uniforms, etc. are offered. Sheet TVC can be equipped with special frames, with the help of which artificial landscape elements are created - stones, bumps, etc. Depending on their needs, the customer can choose the color.

Some of the samples from Polaris Solutions have already been put into practice. The first customer for these products was the Israel Defense Forces. Its units are already using various means of combined camouflage. So, about a year ago, it was announced about the imminent start of purchases of the Kit 300 product. It is a TVC sheet with dimensions of approx. 2x2 m weighing only 500 g, having all the necessary camouflage functions. It is proposed to be used as a wearable cape, awning, etc.

Product Kit 30 as a cape. Photo by AOI

Double action

An alternative disguise was presented early last year by the University of California at San Diego and the National University of Singapore. Their original technology offers to shield the protected object and at the same time actively simulate the surrounding background, providing additional masking.

The project of the two universities also provides for the creation of multilayer sheet material, from which elements of uniforms, covers, etc. can be made. In the composition of such a material, various metals and polymers are used. One of the main tasks of the project was the search for optimal materials and their combinations that give the best characteristics.

The outer layer of the experimental material is a heating element in a polymer sheath. The operation of the element is controlled by a microcircuit with an external temperature sensor; power is supplied from a wearable battery. The inner layer is made of a special polymer sandwiched between two flexible plates. This polymer is similar in structure to wax and is able to change its state depending on external temperatures. It performs the function of thermal insulation.

An experimental sample of the new material showed its performance in a wide range of positive temperatures, and also demonstrated high performance. It took about a minute for the outer layer to heat up from +10°C to +38°C. At temperatures below +30°C, the polymer in the inner layer hardened and provided reliable heat shielding from the inside. When heated above +30°C from the external environment or the outer layer, this polymer absorbs energy, melts and does not allow the user to overheat.

Work of experimental material. The square in the center is the prototype. In the first frame, the moment of the start of work, in the second, the sample has leveled the temperature. Still from video from the University of California and the National University of Singapore

The first results of the US-Singapore project were revealed almost two years ago, and since then no new data has been received. Perhaps the two universities are continuing their research and improving the unusual material. In addition, they could move on to the stage of creating a full-fledged camouflage clothing with acceptable indicators of weight, convenience and duration of work.

Future technologies

Thus, in parallel with the development of observation means, camouflage is also being improved. Thermal imagers capable of dealing with camouflage in the visible range are receiving a worthy response in the form of new materials. At the same time, new camouflage tools of different classes are being developed with various advantages. Screens of a passive type are already being produced, and an active system with adaptation to external conditions has been brought to testing.

It is clear that such technologies will continue to evolve. There will be new materials and principles of work with higher rates. In addition, other countries will be interested in this area, which will lead to the emergence of a mass of new developments of various kinds. Then the finished samples will be supplied to the armies. How they can influence the battlefield is unclear. But it is obvious that the emergence and widespread dissemination of fundamentally new means of camouflage remains only a matter of time.

Comments

[impostor]

The main way to protect a person from a thermal imager is to shield the generated heat.

Why is that? In principle, it is possible to illuminate an enemy image intensifier with a thermal curtain.

[lucul]

"Why? You can illuminate the enemy image intensifier tube with a thermal curtain."

If the thermal imager is connected to a neural network, it will help you filter scales up to tenths, or even hundredths of a degree.
That is, you stupidly set the temperature range of 33-37⁰С and everything, everything above or below this temperature, the filter simply will not show)))

[impostor]

Take the curtain to the trash heap? And the heat traps are there too?

[lucul]

"Shall the curtain be taken down to the trash heap?"


The curtain was developed when there was a simple infrared seeker in the rocket.
And now neural networks improve even the old cartoons in such a way that a person would not be able to cope with it.

[28st region]

What a childhood.

[karish]

Quote: lucul

"Why? You can illuminate the enemy image intensifier tube with a thermal curtain."

If the imager is connected to a neural network,
)

First question . have you ever worked with a thermal imager.
The second question - where did you see the neural network that controls thermal imagers and which company produces it?

it will help you filter scales to tenths, or even hundredths of a degree.
That is, you stupidly set the temperature range of 33-37⁰С and everything, everything above or below this temperature, the filter simply will not show)))

As someone who has related to thermography for the last 17 years, it would be very interesting to me to know.
especially about tenths and hundredths of a degree

[lucul]

"The first question is, have you ever worked with a thermal imager?"

See which ones are on sale now on AliExpress from $ 30.
Here, thanks to them, pictures of the computer motherboard.

[karish]

Quote: lucul

see which ones are on sale now on AliExpress from $ 30.
Here, thanks to them, pictures of the computer motherboard

at a distance of 20 cm, this will work when the distance is calculated in hundreds of meters or kilometers - this is a completely different calico.
Here both the matrix and germanium opposition and the cooling of the matrix should be appropriate.
my

takes quite normally with the appropriate optics of 300 meters, electronic cooling of the matrix.
70t bucks.

[28st region]

Those. you suggest the type of patrol going through the forest, and everything is on fire ahead?

[impostor]

No, well, if you are an enthusiast or a pyromaniac - zaradibog, you can even let someone else fall, why bother with infrared radiation generators in fact?

[lucul]

Hide from Thermal Imager: New Materials for Soldier Equipment

Protection against a thermal imager works ideally in a sultry desert, when the ambient temperature is from + 36-40⁰С. At this temperature, it is already difficult to identify a person.
But at low temperatures from -20⁰С and below, the thermal imager opens up in all its glory. To hide the heated exhaled air at this temperature, you need a full-fledged spacesuit with a closed cycle of exhaled air.

[Azimuth]

Detect, identify. These are two targets and they are very different from each other in terms of distance, equipment, target size. If the material shields heat (reflects back to the body), overheating and even more visible spectrum, coolants must be added. If it absorbs, the material itself therefore heats up, if its humidity differs from the terrain, it will "flash" - it is necessary to monitor the humidity. Therefore, it is necessary to increase the thickness of the material (to increase the absorption of IR energy and dissipate it). And also the spectrum of radiation 7-14 to convert when reflected in a different (on the verge of fantasy, but really) On the march, everything is hard to hide. In case of hospitalization - by the selection method.

[lucul]

"These are two targets and they are very different from each other in terms of distance, equipment, target size. The material if it shields heat (reflects back to the body - overheating and even more. If it absorbs - the material itself heats up if its humidity differs from)

Are you familiar with the term CAPTCHA? If not, then take an interest.
You'd be surprised how complex things a modern computer can differentiate.
There is a lot that is not necessary - approximately connect a modern smartphone to the thermal imager and write the recognition algorithm correctly for the programmers.)))

[AUL]

Quote: lucul

There is a lot that is not necessary - approximately connect a modern smartphone to the thermal imager and write the recognition algorithm correctly for the programmers.)))

Better yet, integrate the microprocessor directly into the thermal imager. An extra 5 g of weight will not do the weather. And the food is already there!

[AML]

Why is the work of the Hindus still used for discrimination? :)

There is such a term as cryptographic strength. In short, this is how long it will take to break one or another cipher. There are weakly strong ciphers with a break time of 5 minutes. And they are still in use. Because after 5 minutes, no one will need the data of this cipher. And the resource for encoding decoding requires a little.
So it is with captcha. If you decode the captcha with your neural network for a time longer than the lifetime of the session, then you can only put a tick for yourself - I once again did a useless job.

[karish]

Quote: lucul

Protection against a thermal imager works ideally in a sultry desert, when the ambient temperature is from + 36-40⁰С

no, the ambient temperature matters, but far from decisive, there is such a thing called
emissivity, also the sensitivity and temperature of the sensor and of course the lens with a germanium lens.

[Cube123]

Quote: karish

no, the ambient temperature matters, but far from decisive, there is such a thing called
emissivity, also the sensitivity and temperature of the sensor and of course the lens with a germanium lens.

Oh, come on. There is universal protection, it is just inconvenient to use. Anyone who has played with pyrometers knows that when directed at a mirror, the pyrometer does not show the temperature of the mirror, but the temperature of the object, which at that moment is reflected in the mirror. Therefore, almost any object can be masked with a system of mirrors, if you install them so that soil is reflected in the field of view of the thermal imager. It's just that far infrared mirrors are needed. The mirror, in this case, plays the role of an absolutely white body, which itself does not radiate. If I remember correctly the school physics course

[karish]

Quote: Cube123

Quote: karish

no, the ambient temperature matters, but far from decisive, there is such a thing called
emissivity, also the sensitivity and temperature of the sensor and of course the lens with a germanium lens.

Oh, come on. There is universal protection, it is just inconvenient to use. Anyone who has played with pyrometers knows that when directed at a mirror, the pyrometer does not show the temperature of the mirror, but the temperature of the object, which at that moment is reflected in the mirror. Therefore, almost any object can be masked with a system of mirrors, if you install them so that soil is reflected in the field of view of the thermal imager. It's just that far infrared mirrors are needed. The mirror, in this case, plays the role of an absolutely white body, which itself does not radiate. If I remember correctly the school physics course

Emissivity - that's what we'll be talking about.
And it's not that simple

[Cube123]

Quote: karish

Emissivity - that's what we'll be talking about.
And it's not that simple

Nobody says it's easy. But there are a lot of methods of protection. Even ordinary vodka helps: laughing. And an umbrella generally solves the problem:
Article on topwar.ru from 2018 "In the thermal imager we can not see":
https://topwar.ru/133767-v-teplovizore-nas-ne-vidno.html

Really curious:
"Hiding from the thermal imager (TP)"
https://guns.allzip.org/topic/151/1208435.html

[karish]

Quote: lucul

But at low temperatures from -20⁰С and below, the thermal imager opens up in all its glory

of course, especially when a person lies naked in the snow and smokes a hookah

[lucul]

of course, especially when a person lies naked in the snow and smokes a hookah

To a drone, with a thermal imager, a lot of interesting things can be seen from above)))

[Yarhann]

thank you yelled))))

[indy424]

can I ask you a question? What is your experience with a thermal imager? without neural networks and microcircuits, but as a simple infantryman or tanker?

[28st region]

Nothing is perfect. But so be it. The fact that such material appeared is already good. Even if it is not ideal, even if it is partially hidden, it is already fulfilling its function.
Even so, without such capes, the elements of uniforms could be found at 300 - 500 meters, but they could only be at 100, and it will not be clear what kind of object fell into the eyepiece.

[Sobol]

Body-body-body-padded
And sheathed not even with a tsigeechka ...

[Aviator_]

or even exhaled warm air.

The air does not glow in the infrared range, no matter how warm it is. Moisture, water droplets contained in it glows. Another thing is that it is always present in the exhaled air.

[karish]

Quote: Aviator_

Air does not glow in the infrared range

Of course it is visible, the exhaled air is seen remarkably.

Quote: Aviator_

Moisture, water droplets contained in it glows.

You do not understand how the thermal imager works.
We are talking about photons of infrared radiation.
There is no connection - absolutely dry hot air floats against the background of the environment.

[Aviator_]

You do not understand how the thermal imager works.

I quite understand. And you do not understand the physics of radiation. Look at the epsilon of any gas (degree of blackness) and make sure that the gas does not shine, there are splashes in it.

[karish]

Quote: Aviator_

I quite understand. And you do not understand the physics of radiation. Look at the epsilon of any gas (degree of blackness) and make sure that the gas does not shine, there are splashes in it.

do not consider exclusively laboratory indicators.
Any gas is perfectly visible against the background of the environment. Gas is not in outer space.
We perfectly catch gas leaks from high-voltage equipment, as you understand, there can be no water there a priori.

Quote: Aviator_

Look at the epsilon of any gas (degree of blackness) and make sure that the gas does not shine, there are splashes in it.

Seriously SF6 -

[Aviator_]

do not consider exclusively laboratory indicators.

I am not considering. Have you read my commentary?

Another thing is that it is always present in the exhaled air.

In your example, the gas is also multiphase, there is a lot in it, and you can see it.

Any gas is perfectly visible against the background of the environment.

About "any" is not necessary here, only with a liquid and solid phase in small doses.

[karish]

Quote: Aviator_

In your example, the gas is also multiphase, there is a lot in it, and you can see it.

What does multiphase mean?
Forgive your incomprehensible definition, but in this case the air seems to be the same as multiphase.
There is a lot in it, there is nothing in it except fluorine and sulfur.

Quote: Aviator_

About "any" is not necessary here, only with a liquid and solid phase in small doses.

With liquid solid doses - GAS, KARL.
this is a gas - there are no solid or liquid fractions in it - in the case that I have given you.
Well, at the last point, tell me how gas nebulae, including those consisting exclusively of hydrogen, are visible in the infrared range, how hydrogen is generally determined in the infrared range using telescopes that capture infrared radiation.
In your opinion, they should be absolutely black.
Read what a black body is

[Aviator_]

Any gas is perfectly visible against the background of the environment.

Precisely, what is in the background, and the background should glow.
Alexander, in the above image of the visualization of sulfur hexafluoride used to isolate power plants, the so-called shadow background visualization method (Background Oriented Schlieren, BOS in English) is implemented. This is a refractometric method, that is, it is based on a change in the refractive index of the medium, it requires shining through the investigated area with an external light source (in this case, light from the sky). It has nothing to do with its own radiation. An analogue is a haze over a fire, you see it against the background of distant objects because the hot air has changed the refractive index. There is no intrinsic IR radiation here. Of course, if you look at an area with a changed refractive index in the IR range, you will also see this area, only external illumination is still needed. Self-radiation in hot gas comes precisely from solid and liquid particles of unburned fuel, remember the color of the engine afterburner - solid carbon (soot). About hydrogen in distant space. Nebulae are composed of gas, dust and plasma, the temperature of which is very high. So nebulae are multiphase media in their purest form. Therefore, they are visible. The intrinsic radiation of cold atomic hydrogen is in the decimeter range (wavelength 21 cm).

In your opinion, they should be absolutely black.
Read what a black body is

Do not attribute to me what I did not write. As for the Kirchhoff law and the black body - I myself read to the students of the Moscow Aviation Institute a course in general physics, which includes the quantum theory of radiation (4 semester). Best wishes.

[Garris199]

Interestingly, it will not be hot for a fighter in such a suit, at freezing temperatures?

[Aleks tv]

It is almost impossible for a warm-blooded organism to hide from the thermal imager.
Especially in our latitudes))

But it is possible to "smear" the heat so that it does not give a "contour" of the person in the sight / observation device.
That is, so that parts of the body, visible as warmth, do not make it clear that this is a person.
And if the general picture of the "background" of the area coincides with the areal and thermal foci of the emitted heat of a person, it means that he "hid" - an analogue of the correspondence between the mass network and the terrain, only not in the visible, but in the infrared range of medium waves of the thermal imager.

The main danger of a person disguised in special clothing:
- Movement in place (hands, do not wave them and legs if they are not together)
- Moving, it should not resemble the movement of a person (the movement of heat itself will still be visible).
- Well, the weapon, it, the radish, heats up in the "dances".

[Azimuth]

You need to hide the wavelength of 3-14 microns. Air passes through this range and is identified by the thermal imager.

[yuriy55]

and besides, full-fledged products, ready for practical use, have already been created.

With all due respect to the inventors, I do not believe in the existence of ready-to-use in any climatic conditions. It's like ski wax: for one temperature - one thing, for another - another.
By the way, we are talking about water vapor in breathing. Can be exhaled through the water vapor absorbent box ...
All the same, the invisibility of the object is relative. If the territory is monitored by an electronic automatic complex, it will react to any movement. It seems that the border troops already have something similar.

[KSVK]

Quote: impostor

The main way to protect a person from a thermal imager is to shield the generated heat.

Why is that? In principle, it is possible to illuminate an enemy image intensifier with a thermal curtain.

Image intensifier and thermal imager are ABSOLUTELY different things. The image intensifier is an image intensifier or photomultiplier tube. Works on low light amplification.
And it is easy to hide from the greenhouse, it is enough to place ANY screen between yourself and the thermal imager. The main thing here is that the screen itself is at the ambient temperature. Those. in winter, a warm fur coat, thick mittens and a motorcycle helmet with insulation will work quite well as a disguise.

[karish]

Quote: KSVK

And it is easy to hide from the greenhouse, it is enough to place ANY screen between yourself and the thermal imager

Of course, go around the corner and no one will see you.

Quote: KSVK

The main thing here is that the screen itself is at the ambient temperature.

but this is practically not real

Quote: KSVK

Those. in winter, a warm fur coat, thick mittens and a motorcycle helmet with insulation will work quite well as a disguise.

won't work.
You do not.

[Knell wardenheart]

A relatively useful product, you should not rely on it, but such technologies can reduce a certain% of losses. But this is the case when the development of detection systems is in a better position than countermeasures. Detection systems detect stupid heat, these are, in general, the same semiconductor matrix technologies, the difference in details, but any perfection leads either to a cheaper manufacturing, or a cheaper operation, or to an improvement in resolution and detecting qualities. Detection systems still hide equipment or people. Protection systems, however, are not indifferent to this, because it is one thing to hide an object, another thing to mask its activities, the third thing is to mask its impact on surrounding objects and the environment.
A person radiates heat, he breathes, he transfers heat to surrounding objects, when moving, the footprints of a person also change the thermal picture of the area, etc. The equipment heats up from work, emits a mass of hot CO2, emits in different ranges, depending on its characteristics.
Thus, the defense must take into account all these various and diverse factors, and the attack must work stupidly with the IR range and up to a heap with an array of data. The banal saturation of the battlefield with multi-plane observation means reduces such protection (if it is not a deeply thought-out stationary), in general, then practically to naught. Although, of course,% of losses are decreasing, the economic mass introduction of more or less perfect systems may not be justified at all, this is what I am leading to.

[Avior]

At rest, the body of an average adult produces approx. 100 W, and under load this figure can increase significantly.

In this connection, a simple question arises - you can screen this heat, but the heat itself will not go anywhere.
That is, the temperature will rise under this cape, and it’s a matter of time before this is reflected on the cape and it heats up. Not to mention the state of a person in such a thermal package.
A thermos outside corresponds to the ambient temperature, but if there is a heat source inside, it will somehow come out.

[riwas]

There are laser systems that burn out the matrix of infrared devices. The British company "BTP Materials Systems" has proposed a material that can reduce the likelihood of detection of military equipment by IR means and air reconnaissance radar. It is called "permirrem", it provides a reduction in thermal radiation from the object to a level corresponding to the background of the surrounding vegetation. It is a fiberglass-reinforced plastic containing a proprietary pigment.
On VO, a similar topic has already been with a detailed review.
https://topwar.ru/153948-nevidimost-pod-ljubym-uglom-blizhe-chem-kazhetsja.html

[evgen1221]

And the thermal imager itself does not emit anything that it is impossible to detect it? IMHO these capes before the first shot at the enemy prepared in the technical plan or to drive the Papuans in Africa. In a normal batch, greetings from art will arrive very quickly, it seems to me. And what prevents them from throwing an artillery strike at the observer with the heat.

[sen]

And the thermal imager itself does not emit anything that it is impossible to detect it?

There is equipment for sniping the optics of snipers.
http://www.bnti.ru/index.asp?tbl=02.04.
Probably and IR equipment so it is possible.

[Kostadinov]

That is, you stupidly set the temperature range of 33-37⁰С and everything, everything above or below this temperature, the filter simply will not show)))

Then it is even easier to avoid the thermal imager. Screening stupidly so that the temperature will be approximately below 33 degrees, or more than 37, he does not see anything.

But at low temperatures from -20⁰С and below, the thermal imager opens up in all its glory. To hide the heated exhaled air at this temperature, you need a full-fledged spacesuit with a closed cycle of exhaled air.

At temperatures around zero, a phase transition occurs in the water, which absorbs / sees a lot of heat without changing temperatures, and water in nature is very much. So snow is the best screen from a thermal imager.

[agond]

Hiding from the thermal imager is certainly a necessary matter, but serious thermal imagers are not diminutive, contain heavy, often cooled receiver lenses and cannot be reduced at all (the length of infrared radiation does not allow), therefore, thermal cameras are unlikely to be massive, cameras for near ultraviolet light are more likely to become massive , since they can be ten less and cheaper, and dozens of times lighter, and in terms of resolving power, information content ultraviolet is orders of magnitude higher than infrared radiation, by the way, a polar bear at night against the background of snow is almost invisible in the thermal imager (if it stands backwards,) , and in ultraviolet light a contrast spot without any digital image processing.

[Alexfly]

All this is useless, it is not relevant, since high-quality thermal imagers are still not or not enough ...

[Murzilka]

Good day everyone. The topic is interesting. I will insert my experience, albeit far from expert. Good protective properties were shown by an ordinary raincoat with fabric scraps sewn over the entire area (like "goblin or kikimora). Tested with a second-generation Pulsar (according to the owner) from a distance of 150 steps. The subject was at rest, the air temperature was about + 3- 5, wind 5-7 meters per second, without precipitation (data from Yandex weather at the time of the study) a night without a moon, sitting in the undergrowth, dressed: thin heel from the composition of the VKPO, a slide on fleece, on top of this cape dressed in the form of a raincoat The operator of the device did not detect the object.Of course, the experiment is far from scientific and under different conditions it could turn out to be completely different, but nevertheless such an observation took place.

[sarmat55]

As a radio engineer, I’ll say that metals do not transmit heat rays, but tend to heat up and light up, so you need a combination of metal fabric and heat-insulating fabric, it looks like the Jews went down this path. If there is a fabric with metal on top and a fabric with thermal insulation underneath, then theoretically this should work. Then, in the same way, polythene with a thickness of more than 1-2 cm does not transmit thermal rays of the infra-red range. Here's a vector for you to work ...

[sarmat55]

How to protect yourself from a thermal imager?