RADIATIVE TRANSFER IN PACKED SPHERES.

Radiative transfer through a packed bed of microspheres is analyzed on the basis of a new conceptual model, which combines the continuous and discontinuous models in predicting the scattering and absorption properties of packed microspheres. The basic elements of the formulation consist of the determination of the scattering diagram of a unit cell, the optical properties of a series of thin microsphere layers, and the solution of the two-flux equations. Results show a strong dependence of these radiative properties on the particle diameter and emissivity. Qualitative agreement is shown in the comparison of the predictions with existing experimental data.