On equivalent diffuse conditions for an internal layer in multislab atmospheric radiation

This paper reports on new discrete ordinates conditions for efficiently solving a set of multislab atmospheric radiation problems characterized by an optically stationary internal layer, i.e. an internal layer whose optical (absorption/scattering) properties and optical thickness do not change from one problem to another in the set. The discrete ordinates conditions reported here are founded in a recently developed spectral nodal method for solving multislab atmospheric radiation problems with anisotropic scattering. We suitably use the optically discretized equations of our recently developed spectral nodal method to derive discrete ordinates diffuse conditions, which model the response—diffuse radiation leaving the layer—of an internal layer to an anisotropic inner source and to diffuse radiation that is incident upon the layer at top and bottom. These conditions can be used to replace an optically stationary internal layer in multislab atmospheric radiation computations, while saving computer resources and without degrading the numerical results.     

Étude tridimensionnelle du transfert radiatif dans un milieu semi-transparent diffusant anisotrope par la méthode des transferts discrets modifiée

The development of the modified discrete transfer method (MDT) in a three-dimensional rectangular configuration allowed us to simulate the thermal behaviour of a semi-transparent, grey, absorbing emitting and anisotropically scattering medium at the radiative equilibrium. An internal source distributes heat uniformly in the medium while the walls of the enclosure that surround it, opaque, grey, diffuse for emission and reflection, are submitted to prescribed temperatures. A linear variation law of the temperature, as well as the scattered radiation intensity, within a grid cell associated with the direction set of the discrete ordinates method has been adopted. A grid close enough to each inner wall was necessary for a better estimation of the incident flux near the singularities of the considered system. These global improvements led to a new version of the stable MDT method, as accurate as the zonal method and as flexible as the discrete ordinates one.     

A theoretical study of radiation between two concentric spheres using a modified discrete ordinates method associated with Legendre transform

A modified discrete ordinates method (DOM) is used in spherical participating media. The radiative intensity is broken up into two components. One component is traced back to the enclosure's source. It is called direct intensity. The other component is rather traced back to the contribution of the medium itself. It is called diffuse intensity. Thus, the radiative transfer equation (RTE) is transformed into two simultaneous equations: a direct RTE and a diffuse RTE. The direct RTE is solved analytically. The diffuse RTE is solved numerically using the DOM. The streaming angular derivative term appearing in spherical geometry is modeled by making use of the Finite Legendre Transform. We study a pure radiation transfer problem between two concentric spheres. The medium is assumed to be gray and isotropically scattering. The limiting spheres are considered to be opaque, gray, diffusely emitting and diffusely reflecting with uniform emissivity over each surface. The obtained results are compared with available cases reported in the literature. In particular, relative importance of the direct radiation in optically thin media is studied.     

Discrete ordinates solution of coupled conductive radiative heat transfer in a two-layer slab with Fresnel interfaces subject to diffuse and obliquely collimated irradiation

The coupled conductive radiative heat transfer in a two-layer slab with Fresnel interfaces subject to diffuse and obliquely collimated irradiation is solved. The collimated and diffuse components problems are treated separately. The solution for diffuse radiation is obtained by using a composite discrete ordinates method and includes the development of adaptive directional quadratures to overcome the difficulties usually encountered at the interfaces. The complete radiation numerical model is validated against the predictions obtained by using the Monte Carlo method.     

MOL solution of DOM for transient radiative transfer in 3-D scattering media

A methodology based on the method of lines solution of discrete ordinates method for solution of the 3-D transient radiative transfer equation is introduced. The method is applied to the prediction of transient and steady state transmittances in a cubical enclosure containing purely scattering medium and validated against Monte Carlo solutions from the literature. The flexibility of the method for implementation of linear spatial differencing schemes, flux limiters and weighted essentially non-oscillatory methods is demonstrated. Van Leer flux limiter is found to provide stable, accurate and efficient solutions.     

The phase-integral method for radiative transfer problems with highly-peaked phase functions

Complete solutions to the radiative transfer equation, including both azimuth and depth dependence are provided by the discrete ordinate method of Chandrasekhar, but these solutions are often limited because of large computer requirements. This paper presents a “phase-integral” method which greatly reduces the number of discrete ordinates needed in the solution for highly-peaked phase functions. A composite quadrature method is shown to be effective in further reducing the number of discrete ordinates required for highly anisotropic phase functions. Examples are given to indicate convergence requirements and expected accuracy in the complete solution for Henyey-Greenstein and cloud-type phase functions.     

A modification of the cumulative wavenumber method to compute the radiative heat flux in non-uniform media

This paper presents a modification of the cumulative wavenumber (CW) method to determine the radiative heat flux in non-uniform participating gases. Previous works in the literature have shown that the CW method renders accurate estimates of the radiative volumetric heat source in the medium. However, as will be shown in this work, the radiative heat flux can present considerable deviation of the correct solution, which results from the radiative energy balance not being satisfied by the CW method. A modification of the method is devised in this work to satisfy the radiative energy balance while keeping the same value of the radiative volumetric heat source. The proposed methodology is applied together with the discrete ordinates method to solve the radiation heat transfer in a one-dimensional slab containing a non-isothermal layer of carbon dioxide. The results are compared to the benchmark line-by-line (LBL) integration, and show that the modified CW method can satisfy the radiative energy balance, improving the estimation of the radiative heat flux in the medium.     

An assessment of techniques for predicting radiation transfer in aqueous media

Five methods of determining radiative transfer in aqueous suspensions have been compared on the basis of their ability to predict radiative flux and absorption profiles within the suspension, as well as overall absorption and reflection by the suspension. They include the forward scattering technique, the delta-Eddington method, a three-flux technique, the six-flux model, and the more rigorous method of discrete ordinates. Calculations have been performed for a planar aqueous suspension over a wide range of independent parameters which include the scattering albedo, bottom reflectance, overall optical depth, and directional distribution of the incident radiation. Reasonable agreement is obtained between the three-flux, six-flux and discrete ordinate results for the range of conditions. In contrast suspension absorption effects are consistently underpredicted and overpredicted, respectively, by the forward scattering and delta-Eddington methods.     

Schur-decomposition for 3D matrix equations and its application in solving radiative discrete ordinates equations discretized by Chebyshev collocation spectral method

The Schur-decomposition for three-dimensional matrix equations is developed and used to directly solve the radiative discrete ordinates equations which are discretized by Chebyshev collocation spectral method. Three methods, say, the spectral methods based on 2D and 3D matrix equation solvers individually, and the standard discrete ordinates method, are presented. The numerical results show the good accuracy of spectral method based on direct solvers. The CPU time cost comparisons against the resolutions between these three methods are made using MATLAB and FORTRAN 95 computer languages separately. The results show that the CPU time cost of Chebyshev collocation spectral method with 3D Schur-decomposition solver is the least, and almost only one thirtieth to one fiftieth CPU time is needed when using the spectral method with 3D Schur-decomposition solver compared with the standard discrete ordinates method.     

A numerical scheme for the solution of axisymmetric radiative transfer problems in irregular domains filled by media with opaque and transparent diffuse and specular boundaries

This paper presents a new numerical scheme of the discrete ordinates method for the solution of axisymmetric radiative transfer problems in irregular domains filled by media with opaque and transparent diffuse and specular (Fresnel) boundaries and interfaces. New test problems of radiative transfer, which describe radiative transfer in domains with Fresnel interfaces, are proposed in this paper. These problems admit analytic solutions and can be used as benchmark ones. The proposed scheme is applied to the solution of the problems. Numerical results show that the presence of Fresnel interfaces leads to an appreciably larger error in numerical solution. This is connected with the “discontinuity” of the Fresnel reflectivity, which, through numerical diffusion, leads to the distortion of numerical solution. Modification of the scheme allows to reduce the numerical error.     

GPU accelerated simulations of 3D deterministic particle transport using discrete ordinates method

Graphics Processing Unit (GPU), originally developed for real-time, high-definition 3D graphics in computer games, now provides great faculty in solving scientific applications. The basis of particle transport simulation is the time-dependent, multi-group, inhomogeneous Boltzmann transport equation. The numerical solution to the Boltzmann equation involves the discrete ordinates (S_n) method and the procedure of source iteration. In this paper, we present a GPU accelerated simulation of one energy group time-independent deterministic discrete ordinates particle transport in 3D Cartesian geometry (Sweep3D). The performance of the GPU simulations are reported with the simulations of vacuum boundary condition. The discussion of the relative advantages and disadvantages of the GPU implementation, the simulation on multi GPUs, the programming effort and code portability are also reported. The results show that the overall performance speedup of one NVIDIA Tesla M2050 GPU ranges from 2.56 compared with one Intel Xeon X5670 chip to 8.14 compared with one Intel Core Q6600 chip for no flux fixup. The simulation with flux fixup on one M2050 is 1.23 times faster than on one X5670.     

Analysis of the radiative transfer equation with highly assymetric phase function

This paper considers a scalar radiative transfer problem with high scattering anisotropy. Two computational methods are presented based on decomposition of the diffuse light field into a regular and anisotropic part. The first algorithm (DOMAS) singles out the anisotropic radiance in the forward scattering peak using the Small-Angle Modification of RTE. The second algorithm (DOM2+) separates the single scattering radiance as an anisotropic part, which largely defines the fine detail of the total radiance in the backscattering directions. In both cases, the anisotropic part is represented analytically. With anisotropy subtraction, the regular part of the signal, which requires a numerical solution, is essentially smoothed as a function of angles. Further, the transport equation is obtained for the regular part that contains an additional source function from the anisotropic part of the signal. This equation is solved with the discrete ordinates method. A conducted numerical analysis of this work showed that algorithm DOMAS has a strong advantage as compared to the standard discrete ordinates method for simulation of the radiance transmission, and DOM2+ is the best of the three for the reflection computations. Both algorithms offer at least a factor of three acceleration of convergence of the azimuthal series for highly anisotropic phase functions.     

Radiative transfer in finite cylindrical media using transformed integral equations

A modified direct integration method is presented to solve three-dimensional radiative transfer in emitting, absorbing and linear-anisotropic scattering finite cylindrical media. This scheme effectively avoids an integral singularity in the coupled Fredholm type integral equations of radiative transfer. The scheme leads to faster and more accurate results, which are needed in combined mode and non-gray problems. The calculated incident radiation and heat fluxes agree well with published results by discrete ordinates method. Using the transformed integral equations, the effects of boundary emission and reflection can also be easily handled.     

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.     

Standard and goal-oriented adaptive mesh refinement applied to radiation transport on 2D unstructured triangular meshes

Standard and goal-oriented adaptive mesh refinement (AMR) techniques are presented for the linear Boltzmann transport equation. A posteriori error estimates are employed to drive the AMR process and are based on angular-moment information rather than on directional information, leading to direction-independent adapted meshes. An error estimate based on a two-mesh approach and a jump-based error indicator are compared for various test problems. In addition to the standard AMR approach, where the global error in the solution is diminished, a goal-oriented AMR procedure is devised and aims at reducing the error in user-specified quantities of interest. The quantities of interest are functionals of the solution and may include, for instance, point-wise flux values or average reaction rates in a subdomain. A high-order (up to order 4) Discontinuous Galerkin technique with standard upwinding is employed for the spatial discretization; the discrete ordinates method is used to treat the angular variable.     

Complete matrix solution of radiative transfer equation for PILE of horizontally homogeneous slabs

This article covers the analytical solution of the discretized radiative transfer equation in the matrix form. The equation is discretized according to the discrete ordinates method. The solution is based on the representation of the light field in a scattering medium as a superposition of an anisotropic and a smooth regular parts. The first of them is calculated analytically using the smoothness of the solution angular spectrum. The regular part is obtained from a radiative transfer equation boundary problem with the anisotropic part as a source function by discrete ordinates method with a scaling transformation and a matrix-operator method applied. There is no limitation of the scattering law in a medium.     

Layer-edge conditions for multislab atmospheric radiative transfer problems

We derive nonstandard layer-edge conditions for efficient solution of multislab atmospheric radiative transfer problems. We begin by defining a local radiative transfer problem on the lowermost layer of a multislab model atmosphere and we consider a standard discrete ordinates version of this local problem. We then make use of a recently developed computational method in order to derive layer-edge conditions involving incident, reflected and transmitted radiation. These layer-edge conditions for the lowermost layer are given in terms of inherent optical properties of the layer, the solar zenith angle and the quadrature set used in the discrete ordinates approach. They can be used to increase the efficiency of our computational method in solving practical problems in atmospheric radiative transfer. Moreover, they are amenable to incorporation into other discrete ordinates methods. To illustrate, we report numerical results for two atmospheric model problems.     

Hybrid discrete ordinates—spherical harmonics solution to the Boltzmann Transport Equation for phonons for non-equilibrium heat conduction

The Boltzmann Transport Equation (BTE) for phonons has found prolific use for the prediction of non-equilibrium heat conduction phenomena in semiconductor materials. This article presents a new hybrid formulation and associated numerical procedures for solution of the BTE for phonons. In this formulation, the phonon intensity is first split into two components: ballistic and diffusive. The governing equation for the ballistic component is solved using two different established methods that are appropriate for use in complex geometries, namely the discrete ordinates method (DOM), and the control angle discrete ordinates method (CADOM). The diffusive component, on the other hand, is determined by invoking the first-order spherical harmonics (or P₁) approximation, which results in a Helmholtz equation with Robin boundary conditions. Both governing equations, referred to commonly as the ballistic-diffusive equations (BDE), are solved using the unstructured finite-volume procedure. Results of the hybrid method are compared against benchmark Monte Carlo results, as well as solutions of the BTE using standalone DOM and CADOM for two two-dimensional transient heat conduction problems at various Knudsen numbers. Subsequently, the method is explored for a large-scale three-dimensional geometry in order to assess convergence and computational cost. It is found that the proposed hybrid method is accurate at all Knudsen numbers. From an efficiency standpoint, the hybrid method is found to be superior to direct solution of the BTE both for steady state as well as for unsteady non-equilibrium heat conduction calculations with the computational gains increasing with increase in problem size.     

求解辐射传递方程的离散坐标法

阐述了含吸收散射性介质三维空腔内辐射传递方程的离散坐标解法。讨论了入射散射项积分格式的选取,以及假散射和射线效应对解精度的影响。对三维矩形炉膛内辐射传递过程进行了数值模拟,并与区域法和离散传递法进行比较。比较结果表明离散坐标法具有较好的精度,是目前燃烧室内辐射传热过程数值模拟的一种较好的方法。