Propulsion Kinetics for Alternate Wavelength Signatures (PAWS)

Several current BMDS sensors and advanced technology concepts are using or considering passive exploitation of signature features outside the 2.5-5.0 micron range. However, current signature models are focused primarily on this relatively narrow band in the infrared. We propose to develop a set of software modules called PAWS (Propulsion Kinetics for Alternate Wavelength Signatures) and integrate them into existing MDA signature tools to extend their applicability to alternative bands. PAWS modules will consist of chemical rate, spectral bandmodel, and other chemical databases, and post-processing software. The PAWS approach anchors innovative kinetic modeling of detailed signature mechanisms to high-level computations and flight and laboratory observations. In Phase I we successfully demonstrated the approach by developing prototype PAWS modules, integrating them into the MDA SOCRATES-P/FLITES signature codes, and validating them against field data in the long-wave infrared (LWIR). In Phase II, PAWS will be extended to model signatures from 0.4-14 microns for a large set of propulsion systems and flow regimes. Phase II will upgrade SOCRATES-P/FLITES spectral and kinetic databases and underlying physics accordingly. These upgraded signature codes will be validated against a wide range of field data.