Radiative absorption in an infinitely long hollow cylinder with Fresnel surfaces

Radiation absorption in an infinitely long hollow cylinder with Fresnel surfaces is studied using the ray tracing method. It is found that the inner boundary can be modeled as a total reflective surface for the infinitely long hollow cylinder. Radiative absorption of hollow cylinders with Fresnel surfaces is compared to diffusive surfaces predicted by the finite volume method. Effects of refractive index, optical thickness and hole size on radiative absorption are studied. Abrupt changes in radiative absorption near τ_r/τ_Ro=1/n are observed for hollow cylinders with Fresnel surfaces. It is because the Fresnel relation predicts a critical angle at . This trend is not observed in diffusive surfaces. Refractive index and optical thickness are two competing factors that govern the radiative absorption. Higher refractive index drives higher absorption close to the inner surface, while higher optical thickness yields higher absorption near the outer surface. The results of this study can also serve as benchmark solutions for modeling radiative heat transfer in hollow cylinders with Fresnel surfaces. It is also found that the directional or hemispherical emittance can be calculated without solving the radiative transfer equation in the media when the temperature variation in the media is small.