Effect of Volumetric Absorption Coefficient on Rosseland Radiative-Energy Transfer.

An examination of the effect of the volumetric absorption coefficient on equilibrium radiative-energy transfer in an optically dense gas or fluid. The absorption coefficient, which is assumed to be proportional to the absolute temperature to the nth power, is used in the Rosseland approximation for the radiation-flux vector to determine the steady-state temperature profile and energy transfer to the wall for an inviscid incompressible fluid passing over a flat plate at a constant velocity. The study shows that the temperature profile and gradient at the wall are very sensitive to the value of the parameter n, but that the magnitude of the net energy radiated to the wall is much less sensitive. For each unit increase in n, the normalized energy transferred to the wall by radiation increases by only a factor of 1.11 to 3.27; for the entire range of 0 to 6, the energy transferred to the wall increases by a factor of 44. 22 pp. Refs.