Radiation heat transfer with

participating medium
 What is a participating medium & how does it affect?

I,0 is not largely attenuated since air at
ordinary T & P comes very close to a
nonparticipating medium: it does NOT emit,
absorb and scatter radiation.
Monatomic molecules (such as Ar & He) and
symmetric diatomic molecules (e.g., N2 & O2)
are essentially transparent to radiation.
I,0 is largely attenuated since asymmetric
molecules such as H2O in the fog can absorb
radiation; and dust particles in the fog can
scatter radiation.
: Absorption coefficient of the medium, 1/m;
s: Scattering coefficient of the medium, 1/m;
 Participating medium
- Gases with asymmetric molecules such as H2O, CO2, CO, SO2 and
hydrocarbons CmHn may participate in the radiation process:
(1) by absorption at moderate temperatures;
(2) by absorption & emission at high temperatures (such as in
combustion furnaces)
- Aerosols (such as dust, liquid droplets & soot) will cause scattering,
which refers to the change of radiation direction due to reflection,
refraction & diffraction.
It complicates the radiation heat transfer
- Participating medium emits and absorbs radiation throughout the
entire volume;
- One single participating gas
(1) strong non-gray: emit & absorb radiation at a number of
narrow wavelength bands;
(2) emissivity: largely dependent on gas temperature, pressure &
thickness of gas layer;
(3) absorptivity: also largely dependent on source temperature
- Gas mixture
(1) emission & absorption characteristics depends on (T, P, L) &
mixture composition (Xi);
(2) the presence of other participating gases affects the radiation
characteristics of a particular gas due to overlapping in
wavelength bands.
 The attenuation of a radiation
beam while passing through an
absorbing medium of thickness L.
Beers law

dI(x)= -I (x)dx

is the spectral absorption coefficient

of the medium whose unit is m-1

Separating the variables and integrating from x = 0 to x = L gives

I ,L
e L
I ,0
The spectral transmissivity of a medium can be defined as the ratio of the
intensity of radiation leaving the medium to that entering the medium

I ,L
e L
I ,0
Radiation passing through a nonscattering (and thus nonreflecting) medium
is either absorbed or transmitted. Therefore 1 , and the spectral
absorptivity of a medium of thickness L is

1 1 e L

From Kirchoffs law, the spectral emissivity of the medium is

1 e L

The spectral absorption coefficient of a medium in general, vary with

wavelength, temperature, pressure, and composition.
Spectral absorptivity of CO2 @ 830K & 10 atm for a path length of 38.8 cm
FIGURE 12-36. Emissivities of H2O and CO2 gases in a mixture of nonparticipating gases
at a total pressure of 1atm for a mean beam length of L (1m atm = 3.28 ft atm). /* one
single participating 1m atm = 3.28 ft atm gas in a mixture of nonparticipating gases*/
FIGURE 12-37. Correction factors for the emissivities of H2O and CO2 gases at pressure
pressures other than 1 atm for use in the relations

w = Cw w,1 atm and c = Cc c,1atm

FIGURE 12-38. Emissivity correction for use in g = w +c when both CO2 and H2O
vapor are present in a gas mixture.
Calculate emissivity & absorptivity of gas mixture H2O+CO2+(O2 & N2)

Emissivity g = f (P, xi , L,Tg )

c,1atm & w,1atm : emissivity of CO & H O when total pressure is 1 atm. (Figure
2 2
12-36)
emissivity correction factor, accounting for the overlap of emission bands
of CO2 & H2O when they exist together in a mixture with nonparticipating
gases. (Figure 12-38)
Cc pressure correction factors, which accounts for the effects of total
pressure other than 1 atm. For flame radiation, the higher the pressure
Cw is, the bigger the emissivity (radiation) will be. For instance, pressurized
PC or CFB furnace. (Figure 12-37)
Absorptivity g = f (P, xi , L,Tg ,Ts )

Ts : source temperature (from where radiation is incident). Absorptivity is also

source temperature dependent.

From Hottels charts one can obtain the total emissivities / absorptivities of any gas
mixture if (P, Xi, L & T) is known. But this method is not suitable for CFD, which needs
explicit correlations.
Net rate of radiation heat transfer between gas and its bounding surface
For a Black bounding surface (which reflects nothing)

For a Gray bounding surface (things become complex due to reflection)

For surfaces with an emissivity s > 0.7

Wall emissivity of furnaces & combustion chambers are typically greater than 0.7.