Fabrication and evalution of polyvinylidine fluride-barium sulfate composite coating for camouflage of target in snowy environments

Detection of military and civilian targets in snowy regions by enemy ultraviolet sensors has led great loss of life and property damage in these areas during the war. This research is a way to reduce the enemy's ultraviolet vision that its result is decreasing loss of life and property damage. To reduce the enemy''s ultraviolet vision, it is necessary to be camouflaged military and civilian targets properly: For camouflage of these targets in snowy environments, we should use coatings that in addition to visible reflectance, to be harc ultraviolet reflectance like snow. The materials that have visible and ultraviolet reflection like snow are usually in powder form and need to be scattered in a matrix. In this study for making composite coating, the polyvinylidene fluoride and barium sulfate were used as a matrix and filler, respectively. Assimilating of the spectral behavior of the composite coating with snow was performed via the identification of the parameters affecting the construction and their optimization. The composite coating was prepared under optimal conditions, and then its reflection spectrum was compared with NATO snow camouflage coatings in both visible and ultraviolet regions. The results showed that reflection of the composite coating produced is in the range covered by NATO standard snow camouflage coatings, and thus can be used as a camouflage coating to hide the military and civilian targets in the snowy environments.