Analysis of radiative heat transfer in enclosures of complex geometry using the discrete ordinates method

This paper presents a new discrete ordinates algorithm for the numerical treatment of radiative participating media in both two and three-dimensional enclosures. The algorithm is based on the utilization of general characteristic relations in lieu of the traditional differencing schemes for the spatial marching procedure. It is ideally suited for the treatment of complex geometries, the grid being formed from triangles (2D) or tetrahedra (3D). The method uses the techniques for recognition of neighboring cells and is exempt of any numerical oscillation. The mathematical derivation is detailed in the text and several examples are given, some in regular geometries, others in more complex enclosures. The method proves to be very accurate and of great flexibility.