Application of the spatial averaging theorem to radiative heat transfer in two-phase media

The spatial averaging theorem is applied to rigorously derive continuum-scale equations of radiative transfer in two-phase media consisting of arbitrary-type phases in the limit of geometrical optics. The derivations are based on the equations of radiative transfer and the corresponding boundary conditions applied at the discrete-scale to each phase, and on the discrete-scale radiative properties of each phase and the interface between the phases. The derivations confirm that radiative transfer in two-phase media consisting of arbitrary-type phases in the range of geometrical optics can be modeled by a set of two continuum-scale equations of radiative transfer describing the variation of the average intensities associated with each phase. Finally, a Monte Carlo based methodology for the determination of average radiative properties is discussed in the light of previous pertinent studies.     

Exact equations for radiative transfer of energy and momentum in free electromagnetic fields

In a recent paper a new theory of radiative energy transfer in free electromagnetic fields was formulated. The basic quantities in this theory are the so-called angular components of the average electromagnetic energy density and of the average Poynting vector. In the present paper it is shown that these angular components obey differential equations that may be considered to be rigorous equations for the radiative transfer of energy and of momentum in free electromagnetic fields.     

Studies of the sensitivity of the components of the earth's radiation balance to changes in cloud properties using a zonally averaged model

The accuracy of a simple radiative transfer scheme suitable for use in a general circulation model of the atmosphere is assessed by comparing the calculated radiative heat balance of the Earth/atmosphere system with the available observational data. Studies are then performed to determine the sensitivity of the radiative components to changes in the cloud data and cloud parameterisations which constitute the largest potential source of error in the model input data.     

Comparison between radiative transfer theory and the simplified spherical harmonics approximation for a semi-infinite geometry

In this study, the third-order simplified spherical harmonics equations (SP3), an approximation of the radiative transfer equation, are solved for a semi-infinite geometry considering the exact simplified spherical harmonics boundary conditions. The obtained Green's function is compared to radiative transfer calculations and the diffusion theory. In general, it is shown that the SP3 equations provide better results than the diffusion approximation in media with high absorption coefficient values but no improvement is found for small distances to the source.     

Stochastic radiative transfer in multilayer broken clouds. Part II: validation tests

In the second part of our two-part paper, we estimated the accuracy and robustness of the approximated equations for the mean radiance that were derived in Part I. In our analysis we used the three-dimensional (3D) cloud fields provided by (i) the stochastic Boolean model, (ii) large-eddy simulation model and (iii) satellite cloud retrieval. The accuracy of the obtained equations was evaluated by comparing the ensemble-averaged radiative properties that were obtained by the numerical averaging method (reference) and the analytical averaging method (approximation). The robustness of these equations was estimated by comparing the domain-averaged radiative properties obtained by using (i) the full 3D cloud structure (reference) and (ii) the bulk cloud statistics (approximation). It was shown that the approximated equations could provide reasonable accuracy (∼15%) for both the ensemble- and domain-averaged radiative properties.     

An idealized radiative transfer scheme for use in a mechanistic general circulation model from the surface up to the mesopause region

A new and numerically efficient method to compute radiative flux densities and heating rates in a general atmospheric circulation model is presented. Our method accommodates the fundamental differences between the troposphere and middle atmosphere in the long-wave regime within a single parameterization that extends continuously from the surface up to the mesopause region and takes the deviations from the gray limit and from the local thermodynamic equilibrium into account. For this purpose, frequency-averaged Eddington-type transfer equations are derived for four broad absorber bands. The frequency variation inside each band is parameterized by application of the Elsasser band model extended by a slowly varying envelope function. This yields additional transfer equations for the perturbation amplitudes that are solved numerically along with the mean transfer equations. Deviations from local thermodynamic equilibrium are included in terms of isotropic scattering, calculating the single scattering albedo from the two-level model for each band. Solar radiative flux densities are computed for four energetically defined bands using the simple Beer-Bougert-Lambert relation for absorption within the atmosphere. The new scheme is implemented in a mechanistic general circulation model from the surface up to the mesopause region. A test simulation with prescribed concentrations of the radiatively active constituents shows quite reasonable results. In particular, since we take the full surface energy budget into account by means of a swamp ocean, and since the internal dynamics and turbulent diffusion of the model are formulated in accordance with the conservation laws, an equilibrated climatological radiation budget is obtained both at the top of the atmosphere and at the surface.     

Role of fluctuational electrodynamics in near-field radiative heat transfer

The objective of this paper is to discuss the role of fluctuational electrodynamics in the context of a generalized radiative heat transfer problem. Near-field effects, including the interference phenomenon and radiation tunneling, are important for applications to nanostructures. The classical theory of radiative transfer cannot be readily applied as the feature size approaches the dominant wavelength of radiative emission. At all length scales, however, propagation of radiative energy is properly represented by the electromagnetic wave approach, which requires the solution of the Maxwell equations. Fluctuational electrodynamics provides a model for thermal emission when solving a near-field radiation heat transfer problem, and the fluctuation-dissipation theorem provides the bridge between the strength of the fluctuations of the charges inside a body and its local temperature. This paper provides a complete and systematic derivation of the near-field radiative heat flux starting from the Maxwell equations. An illustrative example of near-field versus far-field radiation heat transfer is presented, and the length scale for transition from near- to far-field regime is discussed; the results show that this length scale can be as large as three times than predicted from Wien's law.     

Interactions between kinetic and radiative processes inside moving absorbing fluids

The aim of this paper is to present several features of the couplings occurring between radiative transfer and the kinetics of a moving dielectric. After determining how the velocity field affects the apparent thermo-optical properties of matter, the energy transport problem is investigated in instationary regime and the general form of transient radiative transfer equation inside a moving medium is built. Then, the model is applied to the particular case of turbulent flows: a system of two equations for mean and fluctuating radiative energies is presented, and the resolution of this system is finally carried out.     

Generalization of the spherical harmonic method to radiative transfer in multi-dimensional space

The basic radiative transfer equation in three-dimensional space is expressed in terms of three commonly used coordinate systems, namely, Cartesian, cylindrical and spherical coordinates. The concept of a transformation matrix is applied to the transformation processes between the Cartesian system and two other systems. The spherical harmonic method is then applied to decompose the radiative transfer equation into a set of coupled partial differential equations for all three systems in terms of partial differential operators. By truncating the number of partial differential equations into four along with further mathematical analyses, we obtain a modified Helmholtz equation. For each coordinate system, analytical solutions in terms of infinite series are obtained whenever the equation is solvable by the technique of separation of variables with proper boundary conditions. Numerical computations are carried out for one dimensional radiative transfer to illustrate the applicability of the technique developed in the present study.     

Radiative transfer with anisotropic scattering in an isothermal slab

Two types of anisotropic scattering, linear anisotropic scattering and Rayleigh anisotropic scattering, are considered in the analysis of radiative transfer for an isothermal, plane-parallel medium confined between gray, diffuse walls. The problem is formulated in terms of a coupled pair of integral equations containing the intensity-moments as the unknown variables. These intensity-moments are shown to be the components of the source function. The set of equations is then solved both numerically and in closed form. The results reveal clearly the effects of anisotropic scattering on important characteristics such as heat flux directional emittance and incident radiant energy per unit area. These effects are well predicted by the approximate closed-form solution.     

Radiative energy transfer I. General equations

A set of equations is derived which makes possible to study the radiative energy transfer process whereby the photons emitted by the energy donor are absorbed by the energy acceptor and so increase the efficiency of the overall energy transfer. It is shown that the coefficients describing the radiative transfer which appear in the expressions for the intensities of the energy donor and the energy acceptor are not the same, due to the fact that part of the fluorescence absorbed by the acceptor comes from radiation which is not detected as donor emission when there is no acceptor present. The general equations derived are applied to two particular cases commonly considered: measurements in reflection, where the fluorescence emission is observed from the same face of the absorption and measurements in transmission where the fluorescence emission is observed from the opposite face of the cell.     

Theoretical study of combined radiative conductive and convective heat transfer in semi-transparent porous medium in a spherical enclosure

A new method for the solution of the radiative transfer equation in spherical media based on a modified discrete ordinates method is extended to study radiative, conductive and convective heat transfer in a semi-transparent scattering porous medium. The set of differential equations is solved using the fourth-order Runge-Kutta method. Various results are obtained for the case of combined radiative and conductive heat transfer, as well as for the interaction of those modes with convection. The effects of some radiative properties of the medium on the heat transfer rate are examined.     

Half-range moment method for solution of the transport equation in a spherically symmetric geometry

A half-range moment method is presented for solving, in various orders of approximation, a multi-group transport equation subject to generalized boundary conditions in a spherically symmetric geometry. The results for the plane-parallel geometry are obtainable from the present analysis as a special case. The equations and the boundary conditions considered are sufficiently general to characterize a variety of problems in radiative transfer, neutron transport and phonon transport if various coefficients appearing in the equations are properly specified.     

Fresnel boundary and interface conditions for polarized radiative transfer in a multilayer medium

In many applications of the theory of radiative transfer, it is important to consider the changes in the index of refraction that occur when the physical domain being studied consists of material regions with distinct optical properties. When polarization effects are taken into account, the radiation field is described by a vector of four components known as the Stokes vector. At an interface between two different material regions, the reflected and transmitted Stokes vectors are related to the incident Stokes vector by means of reflection and transmission matrices, which are derived from the Fresnel formulas for the amplitude coefficients of reflection and transmission. Having seen that many works on polarized radiative transfer that allow for changes in the index of refraction exhibit discrepancies in their expressions for the transmission matrix, we present in this work a careful derivation of the relations between the reflected and transmitted Stokes vectors and the Stokes vector incident on an interface. We obtain a general form of a transmission factor that is required to ensure conservation of energy and we show that most of the discrepancies encountered in existing works are associated with the use of improper forms of this factor. In addition, we derive explicit and compact expressions for the Fresnel boundary and interface conditions appropriate to the study of polarized radiative transfer in a multilayer medium.     

Radiative heat transfer between two concentric spheres separated by a two-phase mixture of non-gray gas and particles using the modified discrete-ordinates method

The radiative heat transfer between two concentric spheres separated by a two-phase mixture of non-gray gas and a cloud of particles is investigated by using the combined finite-volume and discrete-ordinates method, named modified discrete-ordinates method (MDOM), which integrates the radiative transfer equation (RTE) over a control volume and a control angle simultaneously like in the finite-volume method (FVM) and treats the angular derivative terms due to spherical geometry as the conventional discrete-ordinates method (DOM). The radiative properties involving non-gray gas and particle behavior are modeled by using the extended weighted sum of gray gases model (WSGGM) with particles. Mathematical formulation and final discretization equations for the RTE are introduced by considering the behavior of a two-phase mixture of non-gray gas and particles in a spherically symmetric concentric enclosure. The present approach is validated by comparing with the results of previous works including gray and non-gray radiative heat transfer. Finally, a detailed investigation of the radiative heat transfer with non-gray gases and/or a two-phase mixture is conducted to examine the dependence of the radiative heat transfer upon temperature ratio between inner and outer spherical enclosure, particle concentration, and particle temperature.     

辐射输运与电子能量强耦合源项的一种高效计算方法

本文研究辐射输运和电子能量耦合方程组的数值方法. 在具有光性厚特征的应用问题中,这两类方程的耦合源项表现出强刚性,使得设计稳健高效的数值格式陷入困难.针对辐射输运多群模型和电子能量的耦合方程组的刚性源项,我们给出一种基于电子温度变化规律拟设（ansatz）的积分算法,其时间步长不受刚性源项限制,从而使得计算效率比传统显式方法或隐式非线性迭代获得本质的提高.在所基于的拟设有效时,算法确保给出具有物理意义的解,数值算例显示其给出的解具有较高的精确度.     

Discrete vs. continuum-scale simulation of radiative transfer in semitransparent two-phase media

The mathematical formulation of the continuum approach to radiative transfer modeling in two-phase semi-transparent media is numerically validated by comparing radiative fluxes computed by (i) direct, discrete-scale and (ii) continuum-scale approaches. The analysis is based on geometrical optics. The discrete-scale approach uses the Monte Carlo ray-tracing applied directly to real 3D geometry measured by computed tomography. The continuum-scale approach is based on a set of continuum-scale radiative transfer equations and associated radiative properties, and employs the Monte Carlo ray-tracing for computations of radiative fluxes and for computations of the radiative properties. The model two-phase media are reticulate porous ceramics and a particle packed bed, each composed of semitransparent solid and fluid phases. The results obtained by the two approaches are in good agreement within the limits of statistical uncertainty. The continuum-scale approach leads to a reduction in computational time by approximately one order of magnitude, and is therefore suited to treat radiative transfer problems in two-phase media in a wide range of engineering applications.     

Radiative transfer equation for graded index medium in cylindrical and spherical coordinate systems

In graded index medium, the ray goes along a curved path determined by Fermat principle, and the curved ray-tracing is very difficult and complex. To avoid the complicated and time-consuming computation of curved ray trajectory, the methods not based on ray-tracing technique need to be developed for the solution of radiative transfer in graded index medium. For this purpose, in this paper the streaming operator along a curved ray trajectory in original radiative transfer equation for graded index medium is transformed and expressed in spatial and angular ordinates and the radiative transfer equation for graded index medium in cylindrical and spherical coordinate systems are derived. The conservative and the non-conservative forms of radiative transfer equation for three-dimensional graded index medium are given, which can be used as base equations to develop the numerical simulation methods, such as finite volume method, discrete ordinates method, and finite element method, for radiative transfer in graded index medium in cylindrical and spherical coordinate systems.     

Modelling radiative mean absorption coefficients

We define and compute mean absorption coefficients for the macroscopic models of radiative transfer. These coefficients take into account the anisotropic form of the photon emission and lead to a better computation of a photonic flow far from the radiative equilibrium. They are deduced by averaging a specific radiative intensity on the space of frequency and are generalized versions of the Planck means. This intensity is obtained by minimizing the mathematical entropy with the constraint of the reconstruction of radiative moments and constitutes the closure of the M ₁ radiative model. We discuss the influence of these coefficients, extend them to the case of multi-frequency problems and perform a numerical comparison with the former Planck mean.     

A general integration method for radiative transfer in 3-D non-homogeneous cylindrical media with anisotropic scattering

A general set of integral equations is presented to solve 3-D radiative heat transfer problems in emitting, absorbing and linear anisotropic scattering finite hollow or solid cylinders with non-homogeneous media. By tracing a ray to compute the intensity,it is much easier to handle the spatial change properties including extinction coefficient. Both the continuous change property and step-change property are dealt with without difficulties. The solid angle integration in getting the incident radiation and heat fluxes is represented by the bounding surface integration. In order to avoid the singularity problem near the bounding surface, the surface integrations are transformed to new modified integral equations by mathematical methods. By doing so, we get more flexible general integral equations applicable to all cases (3-D solid cylinders, 3-D hollow cylinders, finite cylinders or infinite cylinders). This scheme has been verified by comparing the results with published data in the literature. It is believed that this method will be useful in combined radiation and convection heat transfer problems.