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Novel Airfoil-Shaped Radar-Absorbing Inlet Grilles on Aircraft Incorporating Metasurfaces: Multidisciplinary Design
Xufei Wang1, Yongqiang Shi1, Qingzhen Yang1
1School of Power and Energy, Northwestern Polytechnical University, Xi'an 710129, China.
Sensors (Basel, Switzerland)
|July 30, 2025
Summary
This study introduces a novel airfoil-shaped radar-absorbing inlet grille (RIG) for aircraft. The optimized RIG significantly reduces aerodynamic loss and enhances radar cross-section (RCS) reduction, improving stealth performance.
Area of Science:
- Electromagnetics
- Aerodynamics
- Materials Science
Background:
- Aircraft engine inlets are critical for radar cross-section (RCS) and aerodynamic performance.
- A conflict exists between optimizing aerodynamic efficiency and electromagnetic stealth in inlet grille design.
- Metasurfaces offer potential for radar absorption in aircraft components.
Purpose of the Study:
- To propose and optimize a metasurface radar-absorbing inlet grille (RIG) with an airfoil shape.
- To balance the competing demands of aerodynamic performance and electromagnetic stealth.
- To reduce the radar scattering from aircraft engine inlets.
Main Methods:
- Design of a RIG using a sandwich structure with PET, copper zigzag strips, and ITO film.
- Application of surface plasmon polaritons for electromagnetic wave absorption.
- Utilizing a multi-objective Bayesian optimization framework driven by expected hypervolume improvement (EHVI).
Main Results:
- The airfoil-shaped RIG reduces aerodynamic losses by 57.79% compared to a rectangular grille.
- Absorption bandwidth is increased by 111.99% after optimization.
- Radar cross-section (RCS) shows a reduction of over 8.77 dBsm in the high-frequency band.
Conclusions:
- The proposed EHVI-Bayesian optimization effectively balances aerodynamic and stealth performance for RIGs.
- The metasurface RIG solution successfully mitigates radar signal strength from aircraft engine inlets.
- This approach offers a viable strategy for enhancing aircraft stealth capabilities.
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