Radiation

Goals:

By the end of todays lecture, you should be able to:

- define the three fates of radiation striking matter
- define black body radiation
- define and use the Stefan-Boltzman Law
- define view factor and describe when this is required
- define refractory surfaces and interchange factors
- apply view factors to problems involving radiation between two bodies
- compute heat loss from a system via parallel mechanisms (conduction,
convection, radiation)
- describe conditions under which radiation may be a significant mechanism
of heat transfer

Practical Radiation Problem
Furnace Technology
Fundamentals of radiation

Up to this point, we have discussed heat transfer mechanisms where the
energy is transferred via collisions between molecules; that is by pure
conduction, or conduction combined with convection. There is another
extremely important heat transfer mechanism - Radiant heat
transfer.

Any surface which has a temperature above absolute zero radiates
energy in the form of electromagnetic waves. This does not mean,
however, that the amount of thermal radiation emitted is always
significant.

The intensity and wavelength of the radiation emanating from a surface are
functions of both the temperature and the surface properties. In our discussions,
we will sum up the contributions over all wavelengths and evaluate the total
energy transferred as a function of temperature.

When considering heat transfer by radiation, we must be concerned not only
with the emission of energy from a surface, but also what happens when
radiation strikes a solid surface.

Radiation striking a solid surface has one of three fates:

1.

2.

3.

How are these properties related ?



Absorption absorptivity (o)
Transmission transmissivity (t)
Reflection reflectivity (,)
o + t + , = 1
Two special cases require definition:

If all of the energy is either reflected or absorbed (no transmitted radiation), we
define the body as





If all of the energy striking a surface is absorbed, we define the body as




In general, these physical properties vary with the wavelength of the incident radiation.
It is the difference in the wavelength of reflected light that allows the eye to perceive colors.
For heat transfer calculations, we often assume that the properties o, t, and are independent
of wavelength. When this assumption is made we say that we have gray surfaces.


Opaque o + , = 1
Black body o = 1
Let us return to the subject of radiation emitted by a surface.

Total emissive power is defined as the total amount of energy leaving the
surface per unit time per unit area:

W = energy/area-time [Btu/hr-ft
2
or W/m
2
]


Note: Emissive power is a function of wavelength. The important wavelengths
for heat transfer are 0.5 -50 m. For temperatures above 1500F, the important
wavelength range is between 0.5 and 5 m . In our analysis, we will use the average
values over all wavelengths.



Emissivity

The emissivity is the ratio of the emissive power of a surface compared to the
maximum emissive power.




How does the emissivity relate to the absorptivity (o)
at thermal equilibrium?



Although this strictly applies at thermal equilibrium, we
normally assume that it applies at all temperatures.



Body Black
W
W
= c
c = o
Finally, we must ask how the emissive power of a black body is related to
temperature. The answer is provided by the single most important equation
in radiative heat transfer.

Stefan-Boltzman Law

W = oT
4


where o = 0.1714 x 10
-8
Btu/hr-ft
2
-R
4
(Stefan-Boltzman constant)
= 5.676 x 10
-8
W/m
2
-K
4


For an object that is not a black body (i.e., not a perfect radiator), we can
write the following expression:

T is absolute temperature


W = coT
4
To calculate the heat transfer rate by radiation, we must include terms for
energy output and energy received from the surroundings.

Energy Energy
output: input:

Making the usual assumption that c = o, and multiplying by area yields:




This is the expression for an object totally enclosed by surroundings at T

.

4
s
T o c
4

T o o
( )
4 4

= T T A q
s
co
Example Problem -- Radiation

A body directly exposed to the night sky will be cooled below ambient
temperature because of radiation to outer space. This effect can be used
to freeze water in shallow trays well insulated from the ground. Estimate
the maximum air temperature for which freezing is possible, neglecting
evaporation.

Assume c
waters surface
= 0.95. For cooling atmospheric air at ordinary
temperatures by a horizontal surface facing upward, the heat transfer
coefficient is given by:


h = 0.2(T
air
- T
water
)
1/4


View factors



Previously, we found that for a body totally enclosed by its surroundings, the
net rate of heat transfer by thermal radiation is given by the following
expression:


q = coA(T
s
4
- T
2
4
)

The equation for q given above is one of the most important and commonly
used results, however, it does not cover all situations.

The calculation of view factors is a straightforward exercise in calculus
as shown in the figure on the preceding page. For each point on the surface
A
1
, we consider rays of thermal energy emanating out equally in all
directions. The fraction of these rays (actually, the total solid angle) which
strikes A
2
gives the fraction of energy reaching that surface. Integrating over
all points on surface A
1
and averaging gives the view factor F
12
.

The following relationship is true:

A
1
F
12
= A
2
F
21


What is the energy transfer rate from 1 to 2 and vice versa?



q
1->2
=





q
2->1
=



4
1 12 1
T F A o
4
2 21 2
T F A o
What is the net heat transfer:


q =

or

q =




Note: These equations are for black bodies.


( )
4
2
4
1 12 1
T T F A o
( )
4
2
4
1 21 2
T T F A o
Sometimes two heat exchanging surfaces T
1
and T
2
are connected by a series
of surfaces through which no heat is transferred. An example might be the floor
and ceiling of a building connected by well insulated walls.

If there is no heat flow through the walls, what do we know about the relationship
between absorption and emission?

Such surfaces are called refractory surfaces. When refractory surfaces are
present, the view factor must be adjusted to account for this extra radiation.
The modified view factor is called an interchange factor and indicated by the
Symbol F . The heat transfer equation is now written as:


q =


or


q =



An approximate equation for
12
F in terms of F is:


12 1 2 1
12 1 2
12
2
2
F A A A
F A A
F
+

=


This equation assumes one source and one sink. Also, neither A
1
nor A
2
can see any part of
itself.
( )
4
2
4
1 12 1
T T F A o
( )
4
2
4
1 21 2
T T F A o
Example problem -- View factors


Two black disks of 2 ft diameter are placed directly opposite one another at a
distance of 4 feet. Disk 1 is maintained at 2000R and disk 2 at 1000R. o = 0.1714
x 10
-8
Btu/hr-ft
2
-R
4


Calculate the heat flow between the two disks for the following situations:

(a) when no other surfaces are present
(b) when the two disks are connected by a cylindrical refractory surface

Gray surfaces:

When gray surfaces are present (i.e., surfaces for which c < 1), the calculation
of the appropriate form of the view factor or interchange factor is substantially
more complicated.

The complication arises because the energy coming off a surface involves both
emitted radiation and reflected radiation. The final result is straightforward, but
the details of the derivation are tedious.

The result is:
q = oA
1

12
T
1
4
T
2
4
( ) [MSH 14.38]

12
=
1
1/ F
12
( )
+
1
c
1
1
|
\

|
.
|
+ A
1
/ A
2
( )
1
c
2
1
|
\

|
.
|
[MSH 14.41]
Examples:
Small body A
1
is surrounded completely by surface A
2
F
12
= 1
12
= c
1 q = c
1
oA
1
(T
1
4
- T
2
4
)
exactly as before
Infinite planes A
1
= A
2
F
12
= 1

12
=
1
1/ c
1
( )+ 1/ c
2
( )1
| |
Parallel mechanisms of heat transfer

One of the important features we should recognize about radiation is that it acts in
parallel with other heat transfer mechanisms. Thus, the total heat transfer from a
surface is the sum of the convective heat transfer and the radiative heat transfer.


q
t ot
= q
c
+q
r



q
t ot
=




This equation can be written as:

q
t ot
= hA(T
1
T
fl uid
) +h
r
A(T
1
T
2
)
where h
r
is the radiation heat transfer coefficient.
( ) ( )
4
2
4
1 1 1 1 1
T T A T T hA
fluid
+ c o
It must be stressed that this is simply a convenient formalism, and that h
r
is not a constant. The correct expression for h
r
may be inferred by
comparing this equation with the Stefan-Boltzman law. The result is:
h
r
= oc
1
(T
1
4
T
2
4
)
(T
1
T
2
)
Note: For equation 14.47, T
1
is the temperature of surface A
1
. T
fluid
is the
temperature of the fluid in the surroundings (the fluid cannot radiate energy back
to A
1
). On the other hand, T
2
(T
8
in earlier notes) is the temperature of surface A
2
in the surroundings which can radiate energy back to A
1
.
For a surface open to the night sky:
T
fluid
= T
2
=
For a heated object in a room, the air temperature (T
fluid
) might be different than
the surrounding wall temperature (T
2
).
T
air
0
Thus, with combined mechanisms of convective and radiative heat
transfer, there are two ways to write the total heat transfer rate:
q
t ot
= hA(T
1
T
fluid
) + h
r
A(T
1
T
2
)
q
t ot
= hA(T
1
T
fluid
) + oAc
1
(T
1
4
T
2
4
)
This applies when object A
1
is completely surrounded by A
2
.
When A
1
is not completely surrounded by A
2
, then c
1
= F
12
(F
12
is a view factor which accounts
for the fraction of radiation from A
1
reaching A
2
).
Let's take a look at the contribution by radiation as function of
temperature.
Recall,
h
r
= oc
1
(T
1
4
T
2
4
)
(T
1
T
2
)
Suppose a hot pipe of temperature T
1
is in a room at T
2
= 70F (529R). If
the pipe has emissivity c = 1, we find the following values for the radiation
heat transfer coefficient:
T
1
(F) h
r
(Btu/hr-ft
2
-F)
100 1.1
200 1.45
300 1.9
400 2.4
500 3.1
1000 8.2
It is easily seen that radiative heat transfer will become a significant
mechanism at elevated temperatures.
Example Problem -- temperature measurement

A thermocouple (see figure below) is measuring the temperature of hot
air flowing in a pipe whose walls are maintained at T
w
= 400 K,. The
true temperature of the gas T
g
= 465 K. Calculate the temperature T
m

indicated by the thermocouple. The emissivity of the probe is assumed
to be c = 0.6 and the convective heat-transfer coefficient h
c
= 40 W/m
2
K.

T
m
T
g
T
w