A hypersonic electromagnetic railgun projectile undergoes severe aero-heating with an increase in altitude. The purpose of this study was to investigate the characteristics of the shock layer flow field as well as the thermal environment of the blunt body wall of a hypersonic electromagnetic railgun projectile at different launching angles. The two-temperature model considers the thermal nonequilibrium effect and is introduced into the Navier–Stokes (N-S) equation, and it is solved using the finite volume method (FVM). The reliability of the calculation model in terms of thermal properties and composition production was verified against a blunted-cone-cylinder–flare (HB-2) test case. The surface temperature of the hypersonic blunt projectile was simulated using a radiation balance wall boundary. The thermal characteristics at the emission angles α = 60° and α = 45° were checked within an altitude range of 0–70 km, including the nonequilibrium effect, reaction heat release, aerodynamic heat flux, and wall temperature. The results show that the translational rotational temperature is higher than the vibrational electronic temperature, and the thermal nonequilibrium effect increases with an increase in altitude. Comparing the two launching angles, the nonequilibrium degree and reaction heat release at α = 60° were higher than those at α = 45°. The rates of exothermic reaction decreased with an increase in altitude. The heat flux along the wall of the generatrix decreased sharply from the stagnation point. With an increase in altitude, the heat flux dropped sharply from 7 MW/m² at H = 0 km to approximately 2 MW/m² at H = 70 km. The wall temperature distribution was similar to the heat flux distribution; however, the surface temperature decreased less rapidly than the heat flux.

Infrared radiation spectra produced by vibration–rotation transitions in multicomponent gases within the vacuum plume of attitude and orbital control engines constitute crucial radiation sources for optical target identification and space maneuver recognition, and rapid prediction of these signatures is essential for real-time forecasting. This study introduces an axisymmetric vacuum plume flow field model based on a simplified point-source approach that accommodates multicomponent combustion gases. Using the Maxwellian velocity distribution and a velocity–position angle algorithm, normalized number density, velocity, and temperature distributions are derived. A plume–freestream interaction model founded on noncentral fully elastic collision theory is incorporated, and overall plume properties are obtained via density-weighted averaging. Neglecting non-equilibrium radiation effects, the high-temperature gas absorption coefficient is calculated using a statistical narrowband model and radiative transfer is solved via the line-of-sight method. The model is validated against direct simulation Monte Carlo results for single-gas and MBB bipropellant plumes and confirmed using infrared spectral data in the 2.0–4.5 μm band. The proposed framework achieves 10²–10³-fold higher computational efficiency than conventional DSMC approaches. Freestream effects on plume diffusion and momentum exchange diminish with increasing altitude, as does the freestream velocity’s enhancement of radiation intensity, whereas greater plume expansion at higher altitudes increases overall radiation intensity.

High-speed impact is a critical mechanism for structural damage. The infrared signatures generated during fragment formation provide essential data for damage assessment, protective system design, and target identification. This study investigated an aluminum alloy blunt projectile penetrating a target plate by employing smoothed particle hydrodynamics to simulate the debris ejection thermal and infrared properties. The infrared signatures of the debris clouds were calculated using Mie scattering theory under a spherical particle approximation. The reverse Monte Carlo methodology was applied to solve the radiative transfer equations and quantify the infrared emission characteristics. The infrared radiation characteristics of the debris cloud were investigated for projectile impact velocities of 800, 1000, and 1200 m/s. The results showed that the anterior debris regions reached peak temperatures of approximately 1200 K, with a temperature rise of 150–200 K per 200 m/s velocity increase behind the target. The medium-wave (3–5 μm) infrared intensity of the debris cloud was higher than the long-wave (8–12 μm) infrared intensity. The development of debris clouds enhanced the dispersion effect and slowed the increase in infrared radiation intensity in the same time interval. This study provides theoretical foundations for the dynamic infrared radiation characteristics of fragments generated by high-velocity projectile impacts. The infrared radiation characteristics within typical spectral bands can be utilized to assess hit probability and kill effectiveness.