Boundary-Element Solution of Coupled Heat Conduction-Radiation Problems in the Presence of Shadow Zones

Steady-state and transient temperature fields in bodies containing concave, self-irradiating cavities are considered. Radiation and conduction equations are discretized using the boundary-element method. The technique covers nonlinear material and nonlinear boundary conditions. The presence of shadow zones in the radiating cavities is taken into account. The developed visibility algorithm is integrated into the self-adaptive integration technique of evaluating the entries of the radiation matrices. Excellent overall accuracy of this integration is achieved. Discussed problems are in two dimensions, but the technique may be extended to three dimensions. Numerical examples are included.