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ISSN Online: 2379-1748

ISBN Flash Drive: 978-1-56700-483-0

ISBN Online: 978-1-56700-482-3

4th Thermal and Fluids Engineering Conference
April, 14–17, 2019 , Las Vegas, NV, USA

THE ROLE OF THE RADIATION DISTRIBUTION FACTOR PDF IN ASSESSING UNCERTAINTY IN THE MONTE CARLO RAY-TRACE METHOD

Get access (open in a dialog) pages 397-405
DOI: 10.1615/TFEC2019.cmd.027524

Resumo

In a recent contribution the authors demonstrate that the uncertainty in heat transfer results obtained using the Monte Carlo ray-trace (MCRT) method is related to the median of the radiation distribution factor probability density function (PDF). The value of this discovery would be significantly enhanced if the median could be known a priori without first computing the distribution factors. This would allow the user to determine the number of rays required to achieve the desired accuracy of a subsequent heat transfer analysis. The current contribution presents a correlation for the median of the distribution factor PDF as a function of emissivity and the number of surface elements defining an enclosure. The correlation involves a single parameter whose value is thought to be unique for a given enclosure geometry. We find that the radiation behavior of a given enclosure can be classified on a scale ranging from reflection-dominated to geometry-dominated. The median correlation is shown to work well for reflection-dominated enclosures but works less well for geometry-dominated enclosures.