Study on zonal coating design of absorbing material for a stealth helicopter

Abstract

Purpose

By reducing the coating thickness of the weak scattering source, the coating weight of the absorbing material can be reduced by 35% with little effect on the RCS.

Design/methodology/approach

To alleviate the weight-increasing problem caused by a large number of coating of absorbing materials, a method for zonal coating of absorbing materials for a stealth helicopter was proposed. By appropriately reducing the thickness of the coating at the secondary scattering locations, the amount of coating used is significantly reduced.

Findings

Compared with the full-coated, the zonal coating scheme achieves the corresponding RCS reduction effect.

Practical implications

Zonal coating design can achieve the effect of reducing coating weight and cost.

Originality/value

The effects of different coating methods on RCS were verified by electromagnetic scattering simulation, and the applicability of the zonal coating design of the absorbing material to the stealth helicopter was verified.

Citation

Lu, S., Huang, J. and Yi, M. (2020), "Study on zonal coating design of absorbing material for a stealth helicopter", Aircraft Engineering and Aerospace Technology, Vol. 92 No. 7, pp. 1011-1017. https://doi.org/10.1108/AEAT-01-2020-0004