Energy and Buildings 42 (2010) 2077–2082

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Energy and Buildings

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Experimental study of radiation and free convection in an enclosure with a

radiant ceiling heating system
Mostafa Rahimi ∗ , Amir Sabernaeemi
Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Mohaghegh Ardabili, P.O. Box 179, Ardabil, Iran

a r t i c l e i n f o a b s t r a c t

Article history: Participation of the radiation and free convection in the heat transferred from the ceiling surface of a room
Received 22 May 2010 to other internal surfaces has been investigated in this study. A model enclosure representing a room
Received in revised form 15 June 2010 was constructed and equipped with a radiant ceiling heating system. In order to have a thermal map over
Accepted 22 June 2010
both internal and external surfaces of the enclosure, 108 elements were specified over the walls, floor and
ceiling of the enclosure. Temperatures at both sides of the elements were measured using an infrared
Keywords:
thermometer and k-type thermocouples under steady state heat flow condition. Using the measured
Radiant ceiling heating system
temperatures, conductive heat transfer through the compartment elements was first calculated. A model
Combined radiation and free convection
based on the net-radiation method was employed to compute the radiation exchanges between internal
surfaces of the elements. Convection participation was also specified using radiation and conduction for
each element. Based on the results, more than 90% of the heat is transferred by the radiation from the
heated ceiling to the other surfaces of enclosure. The participation of the radiation increases slightly as
the ceiling temperature is increased.
© 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction applicable to the building geometries and conditions, the effect of

Heat exchangers such as radiators, convectors, fan coils and unit
heaters are used to transfer heat energy into the surroundings to
be heated in most of central heating systems. A radiant heating
system is a preferable alternative to produce more comfortable
environment. In a radiant heating system, the heat source is usu-
ally placed under the floor or over the ceiling of the room. Using
a radiant heating system, the heat source will be an extended sur-
face and the temperature difference between the surfaces within an
enclosure would be small. Depending on the physical and geomet-
rical specifications of the surfaces as well as the thermal boundary
conditions of the walls, different amounts of heat energy could be
exchanged between the internal surfaces of an enclosure. The heat
energy is exchanged between internal surfaces within an enclo-
sure by two coupled mechanism, radiation and convection, and a
temperature distribution is established on the surfaces as well as
within the surroundings under steady state heat flow condition.
Combined radiation and convection has been the subject of
many studies in the literature. Based on the findings of the studies
∗ Corresponding author. Tel.: +98 451 5512910; fax: +98 451 5512904.
E-mail addresses: rahimi@uma.ac.ir, mosrah12@yahoo.com (M. Rahimi).
radiation on natural convection could be important even at room
temperature [1–3]. Similar studies for a partitioned enclosure show
that the surface radiation has a significant influence on the flow
pattern and heat transfer within the enclosure [4–6]. Studies of
the combined radiation and convection in buildings using radiant
ceiling heating system are also found in the literature. Miriel et
al. [7] made an experimental and simulated study of performance,
thermal comfort and energy consumption using a radiant ceiling
panel. Causone et al. [8] evaluated convective heat transfer coeffi-
cients in an enclosure using a radiant ceiling heating system. A test
chamber simulating typical conditions of occupancy in an office as
well as in a residential building was used in the study. Okamoto et
al. [9] developed a calculation method for estimating heat fluxes
from a ceiling radiant panel. The heating pipe density inside the
panel and the temperature difference between the room air and the
supply water were two main parameters in their study. Ergin [10]
experimented the surface radiation coupled with natural convec-
tion and conduction for a two-floor enclosure. The emphasis of his
study was on the effect of the through-flow on the wall heat trans-
fer mechanism. The radiation exchanges between the surfaces of
the enclosure including the heater surfaces were computed using
the net-radiation method. Based on the findings of their study, the
effect of the through-flow on the wall heat transfer is significant

0378-7788/$ – see front matter © 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.enbuild.2010.06.017
2078 M. Rahimi, A. Sabernaeemi / Energy and Buildings 42 (2010) 2077–2082

Nomenclature

A surface area (m2 )

F view factor in radiation
k thermal conductivity (W/m K)
L thickness of the wall (m)
N total number of the elements
q heat flux for unit surface area (W/m2 )
Q heat flux (W)
S distance (see Fig. 4) (m)
T temperature (K, ◦ C)

Greek symbols
ˇ angle (see Fig. 4)
ı Kronecker delta
ε emissivity of the element surface Fig. 1. Schematic of the experimental rig.
 reflection coefficient
 Boltzmann constant (W/m2 K4 )
the cavity. Multilayer pipe of 16 mm nominal diameter was used in
a spiral pattern in the surface heating system. This pattern and its
Subscripts
dimensions are schematically shown in Fig. 2. The pipe was covered
c convection
with a thin aluminum plate to obtain more uniform temperature at
i inner surface
the surface of the heating system. Hot water was supplied and cir-
j number of an element
culated through the pipe using a water heater package. In order to
k number of an element
obtain a reasonable temperature distribution inside the enclosure,
o outer surface
supplied hot water temperature was controlled by a thermostat.
r radiation
The inlet hot water temperature ranged from 45 ◦ C to 70 ◦ C. The
w wall, water
temperature of the water was recorded using two k-type thermo-
couples at the inlet and outlet of the heating pipe. The water flow
rate through the pipe was adjusted to be 0.0712 kg/s and it was
and the heat transfer from or to the enclosure walls takes place monitored by a flow meter during the experiments.
mainly by the convection. However, as a result of the heater posi- The heating system was turned on to achieve a steady state
tion, the energy exchange by radiation becomes significant for the condition in heat flow throughout the enclosure before collecting
lower compartment walls. the experimental data. Depending on the surrounding temperature
Radiation could be the predominant mechanism in the heat and the thermostat setting, steady state condition was established
energy transferred between surfaces having different tempera- after about 5–6 h in which the indoor temperature was almost con-
tures. It could be evaluated quantitatively in the case of constant stant. Fig. 3 shows the temperature variation at the center of the
temperature assumption for the surfaces. However, a temperature enclosure. It can be seen that the indoor temperature goes up and
distribution rather than a constant one is established over the sur- then approaches a constant value after a relatively long period of
faces of an enclosure using a heating system. For this reason, the time. Similar variations exist for indoor temperature evaluated at
heat energy exchange by convection and radiation between differ- different points inside the enclosure. In order to have a thermal
ent surfaces of an enclosure was investigated in this study. Steady map of the inner and outer surfaces of the enclosure, 104 elements
state heat flow condition was established inside an enclosure
using a radiant ceiling heating system. The temperature distri-
bution over the internal and external surfaces of the enclosure
was measured. Conduction through the elements of the compart-
ments along with the radiation and convection over the inner
surfaces of the elements were quantitatively examined. Average
heat energy exchange between different surfaces of the enclosure
by the radiation mechanism and convection mechanism was sepa-
rately presented for different temperatures of the heating system.
The results of this study could be useful in the design and opera-
tion of a radiant ceiling heating system in relation to the building
geometries.

2. Experimental rig and procedure

A cubical enclosure, which represents a simplified model of a

room, was constructed (see Fig. 1). The enclosure walls were com-
posed of three thermal resistant layers including particleboard of
18.15 mm thick, polystyrene foam of 18.7 mm thick and plywood of
3.9 mm as the inner, middle and outer layers, respectively. External
dimension of the cavity in all three directions was 2.4 m and the wall
thickness was 0.042 m. The cavity was placed inside a large steady
environment where the temperature was not being controlled. The
equipments for ceiling radiant heating system were installed inside Fig. 2. Spiral pattern of the heating pipe.
 M. Rahimi, A. Sabernaeemi / Energy and Buildings 42 (2010) 2077–2082 2079

Fig. 4. Geometry for calculating view factor between discrete surfaces.

Fig. 3. Air temperature variation at the center of the room to achieve steady state
condition.
surface Aj and N is the number of the discrete surfaces. Eqs. (3)
and (4) are individually substituted into Eq. (1) to eliminate qi,k and
were specified on the walls of the enclosure. The number of the provide the following two heat balance equations for Qk in terms
elements examined on each vertical wall was 22 and the number of qo,k :
of elements which were considered on the floor and ceiling of the
enclosure was 16 (see Fig. 1). The temperatures on both inner and εk
Qk = Ak . · ( · Tk4 − qo,k ) (5)
outer surfaces of the enclosure elements were measured using an 1 − εk
infrared non-contact thermometer. Also, eight k-type thermocou-
ples were embedded in the floor to measure the temperature on

N

Qk = Ak · (qo,k − Fk−j · qo,j ) (6)

both upper and lower surfaces of the particleboard. These temper-
j=1
atures were used to calculate the heat loss from the floor during
the experiments. Eq. (5) is solved for qo,k and it is substituted into Eq. (6). These
results in the following expression for a surface element denoted
3. Radiation model by k:
N  
Radiation exchanges between the elements of the enclosure  ık−j 1 − εj Qj 
N

were obtained using the net-radiation method of Hottel [11]. − Fk−j · = (ık−j − Fk−j ) ·  · Tj4 (7)
εj εj Aj
Details of the method can also be found in Siegel and Howell [12]. j=1 j=1
Using this method, heat energy to be supplied to/from each dis-
where ık−j is the Kronecker delta defined as ık−j = 1 when k = j and
crete surface area having constant temperature is determined when
ık−j = 0 when k =/ j. This equation is applied for all of the elements
the surface temperatures of the elements inside the enclosure are
of the enclosure. The view factor, Fk−j can be determined using the
specified. The radiation model assumes opaque, diffuse and gray
following relation:
surfaces, a non-participating medium and uniform incident and,

hence reflected energy flux and temperature. Heat balance at the 1 cos ˇk · cos ˇj
surface of an element having the area Ak is: Fk−j = · 2
dAj dAk (8)
Ak  · Skj
Ak Aj
Qk = qk · Ak = (qo,k − qi,k ) × Ak (1)

where the quantities qi,k and qo,k are the rates of incoming and
outgoing radiant energy per unit surface area, respectively. The
quantity Q is the energy flux supplied by some external means to
the surface to make up for the net radiative loss and thereby main-
tain the specified surface temperature. Another equation results
from the fact that the energy flux leaving the surface is composed
of emitted plus reflected energy. This gives:
qo,k = εk ·  · Tk4 + k · qi,k
Substituting the relation; k = 1 − ˛k = 1 − εk which is used for an
opaque and gray surface, into Eq. (2) then gives:
qo,k = εk ·  · Tk4 + (1 − εk ) · qi,k
The incident heat flux qi,k is derived from the portions of the
energy leaving the discrete surfaces inside the enclosure that arrive
at the kth element surface. Considering the view factor reciprocity
relation, the incident energy can be given as:
where ˇ and Skj are shown in Fig. 4. The view factors are obtained
by numerically integrating Eq. (8). When the surface temperatures
of the elements are specified, the right side of Eq. (7) is known
and there are N simultaneous equations for the unknown Q val-
ues. In the computations, the measured surface temperatures were
employed to obtain the radiative heat transfer rates.
4. Computation of radiative, convective and conductive
(2)
heat fluxes
View factors for the discrete surfaces were first calculated using
Eq. (8). The number of the view points was N(N − 1)/2 and the sum-
(3)
mation rule for each discrete surface satisfied with maximum error
of 1%. Eq. (7) was used to form a linear set of N equations based
on which radiative heat transfer rate was specified for all discrete
surfaces. The sum of net radiation between discrete surfaces of the
enclosure is zero.


N 
N

qi,k = Fk−j · qo,j (4) Qj = 0 (9)

j=1 j=1

where Fk−j is the view factor, representing the fraction of the energy This equation was also established with maximum error of 1%
which leaves the element surface Ak and arrives at the element for different elements.
2080 M. Rahimi, A. Sabernaeemi / Energy and Buildings 42 (2010) 2077–2082

Fig. 5. Wall heat fluxes for an element.

The wall heat fluxes are shown in Fig. 5. Considering the radia-
tion, convection and conduction, the energy balance for an element
can be expressed as:

q = qc + qr (10)

where q is the conduction through the element, qc is the convection

rate between element surface and the indoor air and qr is the net
radiation from the element surface to the internal surfaces. Con-
sidering one dimensional heat conduction through the wall, the
conductive heat flux under steady state condition is:
Q k
q= = (Ti − To ) (11)
Aw L
where k and L are the thermal conductivity and thickness of the wall
respectively and Ti and To are the internal and external surface tem-
peratures of an element of the enclosure. Thermal conductivity of
different layers of the wall composed by particleboard, polystyrene
foam and plywood were determined using Lee’s Disk method [13].
Based on this measurement, the overall conductive resistance of
the enclosure wall was 0.8869 m2 K/W. The convective flux for each
element was computed using Eq. (10) in which both radiative and
conductive fluxes were known.

5. Results and discussion

A set of experiments was conducted using radiant ceiling heat-

ing system in which the inlet water temperatures ranged from 45 ◦ C
to 70 ◦ C. Fig. 6 shows the contour plots of the measured tempera- Fig. 6. Surface temperature contour plots for inlet water temperature of 65 ◦ C.
tures on both internal and external surfaces of the vertical walls
of the enclosure. This thermal map shows that the highest value
of the internal surface temperature is near the enclosure ceiling then the total energy is conducted through these compartments
and it decreases slowly in the downward direction. The tempera- into the surroundings. For the floor of the enclosure, heat energy
ture variation on the internal surfaces is negligible from the middle received by radiation is greater than the heat loss by conduction
part toward the floor. The temperature distribution on the external into the ground. This means that a part of the received heat energy
surfaces of the enclosure is affected by the surrounding conditions is transferred by convection to the indoor air. The heat loss from the
as well. It is seen that the temperature on the right hand side of
the figure, which corresponds to the temperature of the north wall
of the enclosure is slightly lower than those of the other vertical
walls. This wall of the enclosure was very close to the north wall
of the test environment. Similar variations exist for the different
inlet water temperatures except that the surface temperature val-
ues increase due to the input water temperature increment. Also,
the mean temperature difference between external and internal
surfaces increases as the input heat rate is increased. Based on the
temperature distribution on the surfaces of the vertical walls, floor
and ceiling of the enclosure, heat transfer rate by radiation, conduc-
tion and convection for all elements of the enclosure was calculated.
Summing up the values over the elements, heat transfer rate was
specified for the compartments. Fig. 7 presents the resulted heat
transfer rate by different mechanisms for all the compartments of
the enclosure. Heat energy is received by coupled effect of radiation
and convection on the internal surfaces of the vertical walls and Fig. 7. Wall heat transfer rates for the inlet water temperature of 65 ◦ C.
 M. Rahimi, A. Sabernaeemi / Energy and Buildings 42 (2010) 2077–2082 2081

Table 1
The uncertainty parameters for the inlet water temperature of 65 ◦ C.

Compartment Wall-1 Wall-2 Wall-3 Wall-4 Floor Ceiling

Comp. index (n) 1 2 3 4 5 6

Comp. mean temp. (K) 296.06 296.32 296.30 296.02 295.80 306.25
WTn (K) ±0.1 ±0.1 ±0.1 ±0.1 ±0.1 ±0.1
|WQn | (W) 3.299 3.306 3.305 3.298 3.292 3.593
Qn /Qn (%) 0.0495 0.0578 0.0571 0.0484 0.0432 0.011

vertical walls and the floor of the enclosure is obviously provided

by the ceiling panel surface. In the case of the inlet water temper-
ature of 65 ◦ C, the input heat rate is 285.49 W which is equal to
the heat rate loss from the enclosure. The results indicate that the
radiation is the predominant mechanism, so that 96.2% of heat is
transferred from the ceiling to the other surfaces of the enclosure
for the case of inlet water temperature of 65 ◦ C. Also, it is seen that
the heat transfer rates for the wall-4 is slightly higher than those of
the other walls and this is related to the position of this wall inside
the surroundings. Similar variations exist for different inlet water
temperatures of the heating system.
Fig. 8 presents the participation of the radiation and convection
in the heat transferred from the ceiling to different surfaces of the
enclosure. It is seen that the heat transferred by radiation increases
slowly as the inlet water temperature into the heating system is
increased. The convection participation declines gradually as the
inlet water temperature and as a result the ceiling surface temper-
ature is increased. The convection effect is negligible for the highest
value of the experimented inlet water temperature. Fig. 9. Indoor air temperature at the middle of the enclosure.

Considering the thermal comfort requirements, the indoor air

temperature distribution is also important. The temperature profile
of the indoor air at the middle of the room is seen in Fig. 9 for precisely the accuracy of the heat fluxes. However, considering
different inlet water temperatures. The temperature profiles are mean temperatures of the surfaces of the enclosure and based
almost constant except that the difference between the minimum on the uncertainty error analysis method suggested by Kline and
and the maximum measured temperatures increases as the ceiling McClintock [14] it is shown that the uncertainty in radiative heat
surface temperature is increased. Also, it is seen that the air inside fluxes is in the range of 1–10%.
the enclosure is stratified into two portions under the steady state For a squared cubical enclosure with constant emissivity and
heat flow condition. The temperature variation is negligible within temperature on the surfaces, heat transfer rate by radiation for a
the lower part, whereas a pronounced temperature variation exists compartment (wall-1, for example) is given by:
within the upper part of the indoor air. The air is a non-participating
Q̇1 = εF A[5T14 − 0.9(T24 + · · · + T64 )] (12)
medium and it warms up by convection and diffusion. The warm
and light air remains in the vicinity of the ceiling surface and forms The uncertainty in the value of the radiative heat flux, Q̇1 , is
the warmer portion. calculated using:
Because of the assumptions made and the computation pro-  2  2 
cedure used in the net-radiation method, it is difficult to discuss ∂Q̇1 ∂Q̇1
WQ̇ = WT1 + ··· + WT6 (13)
1 ∂T1 ∂T6

Divided this by the value of the radiative heat flux, Q̇1 , the uncer-
tainty percent is evaluated for this parameter. Similar equations
are used in the uncertainty evaluation for the other radiative heat
fluxes. In the case of inlet water temperature of 65 ◦ C, the uncer-
tainty parameters are shown in Table 1. The uncertainty in the
conductive heat fluxes was less than 2% and for the convective heat
fluxes was in the range of 3–12% considering mean temperature for
the surfaces of the enclosure.

6. Concluding remarks

Our results show that the radiation is the substantial mecha-

Fig. 8. Participation of the radiation and convection in heat exchange.
nism in the heat transferred from the warm surface of the ceiling
to the other surfaces of the enclosure using a radiant ceiling heat-
ing system. The participation of the radiation increases slightly
when the ceiling surface temperature is increased and it is almost
the only heat transfer mechanism when the ceiling temperature
is high. The results of a similar study conducted on the same rig
2082 M. Rahimi, A. Sabernaeemi / Energy and Buildings 42 (2010) 2077–2082

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