Lecture 9:

Radiation Modeling in Combustion Flows

15.0 Release

Advanced Combustion Training

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 Outline
Radiation modelling theory
Radiation models in FLUENT
Discrete Ordinates (DO)
P-1
Surface-to-Surface (S2S)
Discrete Transfer Radiation Model (DTRM)
Rosseland
Selecting a radiation model
Postprocessing
Conclusions

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 Introduction
Thermal radiation is emission of energy as electromagnetic waves.
Thermal radiation can occur in vacuum
When any object is above absolute zero it emits energy.
Industrial applications for which FLUENTs radiation models are used:
Combustion (gas turbine, boilers, rocket engine, glass furnace, steel reheat
furnace)
Automotive under-hood, Headlights
Heating, Ventilation, and Air-Conditioning (HVAC)
Ultraviolet disinfection (water treatment)
Glass applications (forming, glass tank)
Many other high-temperature applications

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 Properties of Opaque Surfaces
Reflectivity, Absorptivity, Emissivity
Emission Reflection Incident
Radiation Ii I r I a
Ie Ir Ii 1
Ia Wall
Absorption
I i Incident
Specular and diffuse reflection Radiation Reflected Incident
Radiation r i
Radiation
Diffuse Ir Ii
Radiation
Wall Wall
Diffuse Reflection Specular Reflection
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 Semi-Transparent Surfaces
Reflectivity, Absorptivity, Emissivity, Transmissivity
The region into which the radiation is transmitted may or may not be part of
the computational domain.
Reflection component can be either specular or diffuse.
Emission Reflection Incident
Ie Ir Radiation Ii I r I a It
Ii
1
Ia Wall
Absorption
Transmission
It

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 The Concept of Optical Thickness
An important dimensionless number in radiation problems the optical thickness.
Optical thickness indicates how strongly radiation is absorbed (and scattered)
Should be used in determining which model(s) are appropriate for a given case.

Optical thickness ( + s) L
= absorption coefficient
s= scattering coefficient (often = 0)
L = mean beam length

A simple measure of optical thickness is ( L)

= absorption coefficient (m-1)
L = mean beam length (m) (typical distance between two opposing walls)

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 Participating Media
In absorbing media, it is necessary to take into account some additional terms in
the energy equation
E
V E k T Sr
t

The source term depends on the incident radiation G (sum of each radiation
intensity from all the direction over the whole solid angle)

qr a G 4 T 4 where G I d

This characteristic implies that some additional equations have to be solved in order
to include the energy source term.

G equation with P1 method

I equations (DTRM or DOM)
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 Radiative Properties of Materials
Absorption
In combusting flows, the mixture absorption coefficient accounts for the different
absorptivities of the species CO2 and H2O and is computed using the Weighted Sum of
Gray Gas Model (WSGGM).
The Domain-Based option is recommend.
The Cell-Based option is mesh-dependent and should be avoided.
Soot absorption can also be included.
The default value for the absorption coefficient is zero.

Scattering
With the DO model, a scattering coefficient and phase function are required.
Scattering is automatically included when one takes into account radiation/particle
interactions when using the Discrete Phase Model (DPM).
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 Discrete Ordinates (DO) Model

Solves the RTE for a finite number of discrete solid angles, (or directions s)
4
T 4
I (r, s) s a s I (r, s) a n 2
s I (r, s) (s s) d
4 0

The RTE is written on the control volumes (existing mesh) and solved with a
finite volume method as opposed to ray tracing method.

Solves transport equations similar to the flow and energy equations

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 DO Angular Discretization
Calculate in each quadrant (2D) or each octant (3D) the RTE for NN discrete
ordinates

Each DO has a direction that represents the radiation within a solid angle.

Solid angle discretization given by N and N 2 N

Azimuthal angle (): 0 < < 2

Polar angle () 0 < < /2
n

P t
2 N
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 Activating the DO Model
Define Models Radiation
Coupling between
Radiation Model
flow + energy
equation and
radiation
Solid angle
Discretization Number of bands
+ interval of each
spectral band
Pixelation

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 DO Advantages and Limitations
Advantages
Applicable to all optical thicknesses
Particulate and anisotropic scattering (linear, Delta-Eddington, user-defined)
Radiation in semi-transparent media (refraction, reflection)
Diffuse and specular reflection
Non-gray banded radiation modeling
Various UDFs allow customization of the model and BCs

Disadvantages
Finite number of radiation directions causes numerical smearing
Computationally expensive

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 Discrete Transfer Radiation Model (DTRM)
In the DTRM, the radiation transfer equation is solved along straight rays:
dI a T 4
a I
ds

Tracking of straight rays emitted from boundary faces

Assumes that radiation over a certain range of solid angles from a boundary face
can be approximated by a single ray.

Only absorption and emission are accounted for; no scattering or absorption due
to particulate matter.

Less commonly used model for combustion calculations

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 DTRM Advantages and Limitations
Advantages

Simple directional model (shadow effects are possible)

Limitations

Cannot account for scattering

No particle/radiation interaction (too complex!)
Computationally expensive as the number of rays increases. This can be reduced by surface
and volume clustering at the expense of accuracy.
Can only account for diffuse surfaces (not specular polished walls).
Gray gas approximation (no wavelength effects)
Cannot use hanging node adaption
Not available in parallel
Not conservative (difficult to verify heat balance)
Best with optically thin media
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 P-1 Model
The P-1 model implementation in FLUENT is a four-term truncation of the general
P-n model, which expands the RTE into an orthogonal series of spherical
harmonics.

Solves a simple diffusion equation for the incident radiation (G). This value is the
sum of all radiative intensity in all directions.

G

x 4 a T 4
aG
xi i

Diffusion Emission Absorption

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 P-1 Model
Scattering effects can be modeled by altering the diffusivity:
1

3 a s C s
C is the linear-anisotropic phase function coefficient (-1 < C < 1), which
dictates the fraction of radiant energy scattered forward (positive C) or
backward (negative C) to the direction of incident radiation.

Radiation flux, qi, is then

G
qi
xi

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 P-1 Model
Advantages
Simple, single diffusion equation
Computationally cheap
Accurate for L > 1 (coal fire)
Allows particulate (and anisotropic) scattering
Conservative
Allows for the modelling of non-gray radiation using a gray-band model

Disadvantages
Participating media must be optically thick ( L > 1)
Since ~ 1 m-1 for hydrocarbon combustion, use for combustor dimensions larger than 1 meter.
Loses accuracy at localized heat sources/sinks (tends to overpredict the radiative heat flux)
Assumes gray gases.
Can only account for diffuse wall surfaces (does not allow specular reflection)
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 The Rosseland Model
The other extreme is a very optically thick medium, ( L > 5) [glass furnace]

Radiative equilibrium is achieved and radiation acts purely diffusively with source
terms due to emission.
G 4 n2 T 4
Radiation intensity is the black body intensity at the gas temperature
G
qr
xi
The radiative heat flux diffuses due to high optical thickness
T
qr 16 n 2 T 3
xi

Combining these equations gives a simple equation for the local radiative heat flux related
to local temperature

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 The Rosseland Model
Advantages
Computationally inexpensive
No transport equations!

Disadvantages
Only valid for media with very large optical thickness
Not available in the density-based solvers

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 Choosing a Radiation Model

Optical
Available Model
Thickness
Surface to surface model (S2S) 0
Rosseland >3
P-1 >1
Discrete ordinates method (DOM) All
Discrete Transfer Radiation Model (DTRM) All

Note: S2S and DOM are the most commonly-used models

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 Which Model is Best for My Application?

Application Model/Method
Combustion in large boilers DO, P1 (WSGGM)
Combustion DO, DTRM (WSGGM)
Glass applications Rosseland, P1, DO (non-gray)
Greenhouse effect DO
UV Disinfection (water treatment) DO, P1 (UDF)

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 Particle-Radiation Interaction
Presence of Solid fuel affects radiation intensity.
Particle Radiative properties (emissivity, scattering)
Constant or function of temperature
In densely loaded systems, the particle absorption can overtake gas absorption.
Turn it on after converging the flow and energy equations.

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 Tips and Tricks
Turn Radiation on after converging the flow and energy equations.
Particulate effects should be applied in the end.
Reduce URF for energy before turning the option on.
Check the radiative properties of the walls and the discrete phase to make sure
these are realistic values.
For most air-fuel combustion scenarios, use WSGGM Domain based method for
absorption coefficient calculations.
Run DO model coupled with energy equation for applications where optical
thickness is greater than 10. This speeds up the calculations.
Do not use it for optical thickness <10 as it slows down convergence.

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 Postprocessing
Radiation contours
Incident radiation (Volumetric quantity)
Integral of these quantities
Radiation temperature provide the Total Heat
Transfer rate and Radiation
Absorption coefficient Heat Transfer Rate
respectively under Report-
Wall flux contours Fluxes panel

Total Surface Heat Flux

Radiation Heat Flux
Surface Incident Radiation (P1,DO) Computed over all solid angles (not a volumetric quantity)
Transmitted Radiation (for each band) (DO)
Reflected Radiation (for each band) (DO)
Absorbed Radiation (for each band) (DO)

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 Post-processing Quantities
Example:
Absorbed Heat Flux = emissivity * Incident Surface Radiation
Reflected Heat Flux = (1-emissivity) * Incident Surface Radiation(q_in)
Radiation Heat Flux = q_out

Emission Reflection Incident

Radiation
Ii I r I a
Ie Ir Ii
1
Ia Wall
Absorption

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 Heat Balance: ReportFluxes
Total Heat Transfer Rate: convective and radiative flux are taken into
account

Net heat balance should be 0 once converged or opposite to all the energy
sources (UDF or constant sources, DPM)

Radiation Heat Transfer Rate: Only radiative net flux is taken into
account;

The sum of this flux is generally different from 0. It can represent the amount
of energy that is absorbed by the media.

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 Conclusions
Radiation can be expensive!

Check order of magnitude of radiative flux compared to convective flux.

Choose the most appropriate method to solve your problem.

Choose resolution parameters keeping in mind the computer resources

available.

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