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Radiative transfer configuration factor catalog: A listing of relations for

common geometries

Article in Journal of Quantitative Spectroscopy and Radiative Transfer · March 2011

DOI: 10.1016/j.jqsrt.2010.10.002

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John R. Howell M. Pinar Mengüç

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 Author's personal copy

Journal of Quantitative Spectroscopy & Radiative Transfer 112 (2011) 910–912

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Radiative Transfer
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Notes

Radiative transfer configuration factor catalog: A listing of relations

for common geometries
John R. Howell a,n, M. Pinar Mengüc- b,c,n
a
Department of Mechanical Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78712-0292, USA
b
Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY 40506, USA
c
Center for Energy, Environment, and Economy, Ozyegin University, Altunizade, 34662 Istanbul, Turkey

a r t i c l e in fo abstract

Article history: An on-line compilation of radiation configuration factors for over 300 common geometries
Received 20 September 2010 is provided as a supplementary material from the JQSRT web site at doi:10.1016/j.jqsrt.
Accepted 20 September 2010 2010.10.002. The factors are gathered from references across the radiative transfer and
Available online 16 October 2010
illumination engineering literature, as well as from applications in such diverse fields from
Keywords: combustion systems to human factors engineering. These factors are useful in standard
Configuration shape factors surface–surface radiation exchange calculations, and are based on the assumptions that the
Surface-surface radiation exchange surfaces exchanging radiation are diffuse, and that the radiosity from each surface is
Diffuse radiation analysis uniform across that surface. The catalog is updated annually, and can be downloaded from
Radiosity calculations
JQSRT in .PDF format.
& 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction Here, I1 is the diffuse intensity leaving surface 1 and dO1

Students, instructors and practicing engineers require
radiation configuration factors for carrying out efficient
calculation of radiative transfer between pairs of surfaces
and among surfaces in enclosures composed of multiple
surfaces. Many factors have been evaluated and published
across journals in heat transfer, illumination engineering,
agricultural engineering, HVAC, and even as the results of
mathematical exercises.
The defining relation for the fraction of diffuse radiation
leaving surface element dA1 and incident upon surface
element dA2 (Fig. 1) is the well-known equation:
I1 cos y1 cos y2 dA1 dA2 cos y1 cos y2 dA1 dA2
dFd1d2 ¼ ¼
pI1 S2 pS2
1
¼ cos y1 dA1 dO1
p
n
Corresponding authors.
E-mail addresses: jhowell@mail.utexas.edu (J.R. Howell),
menguc@engr.uky.edu, pinar.menguc@ozyegin.edu.tr (M.P. Mengüc- ).
is the solid angle subtended by dA2 when viewed from dA1.
When dA1 and dA2 are in a specific geometric relation
(e.g., they lie on parallel or perpendicular planes, parallel
cylinders, etc.), then it is desirable to evaluate the factor in
terms of convenient geometrical parameters related to the
specific geometry rather than the angles and spacing inherent
in Eq. (1). Additionally, if one or both of the surfaces
exchanging radiation are finite in area rather than differential
elements, then Eq. (1) must be integrated over the finite areas.
Use of finite area configuration factors introduces the require-
ment that radiation leaving the surface (both emitted and
reflected) be both diffuse and uniform across the entire
surface. The result is a factor that is easy to evaluate in terms
of the parameters describing the particular geometry, but a
factor that is particular to only that geometry. Such factors
have been formulated for many configurations useful in
ð1Þ industrial furnace and space heater design, spacecraft thermal
analysis, building energy evaluation, design of lighting sys-
tems, agricultural animal comfort systems, and many others.
Favorite factors include the factor from a Moebius strip
to itself [1] and from various rectangles (walls and ceilings)
to 27, 65, and 88 kg pigs [2].

0022-4073/$ - see front matter & 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.jqsrt.2010.10.002
 Author's personal copy
J.R. Howell, M.P. Mengüc- / Journal of Quantitative Spectroscopy & Radiative Transfer 112 (2011) 910–912
2. The catalog
The current JQSRT edition 2010 of the catalog includes
many corrections, additions, and updates from the second
edition, which went on-line over ten years ago. The second
edition in turn was an update from the hard-copy first edition
[3], which was prepared as a low-cost source for a collection
of factors available at the time of publication. The first edition
had 278 factors. The present edition has well over 300 factors,
and many of the first edition’s 278 factors have been revisited
in the literature and are now presented in updated, revised or
simplified form in the present edition. In addition, errors have
been corrected. Many of these were found or pointed out by
users of the catalog. As additional factors or errors are found
and collected, they will be added annually to the catalog.
Fig. 1. Radiosity leaving surface element dA1 and incident on element dA2.
Fig. 2. Example page from the on-line catalog of configuration factors.
911
The factors in the catalog were taken from references that
used a wide variety of methods for their derivation, including
direct integration (both by analysis, the use of symbolic
integration packages, and by numerical integration including
Monte Carlo methods), contour integration, configuration
factor algebra, Hottel’s crossed-string method, mechanical
integrators, the unit-sphere method, and taking derivatives
of known finite area-finite area factors. The wide variety of
techniques indicates that no single method seems to work well
for all classes of geometry. The methods are well described in
the standard radiative transfer texts [4,5], and will not be
further discussed here.
Most of the factors in the catalog are given in algebraic
form, but where numerical integration was used to generate
factors, the results are given in tabular or graphical form.
The configuration factors are organized into three sub-
sections. The three subsections separately list element-to
element, element-to-finite area, and finite area-to-finite
area factors. Within each subsection, factors are arranged
in increasing level of geometric complexity. For example, at
the beginning of any subsection, factors from a planar
surface to: another planar surface, a cylindrical surface, a
spherical surface, or to other geometry are given. These are
followed by factors from cylindrical to: cylindrical, spherical,
or other surfaces, etc. Of course, the principle of reciprocity,
A1 F12 ¼ A2 F21 ð2Þ
allows many additional factors to be derived from those in the
catalog. An example page from the catalog is shown in Fig. 2.
An annotated list of the references used in the catalog is
included. site. The references for a particular factor are listed
on the factor’s page. Each list entry includes a short discussion
of the reference, points out any particular insights, known
errors, and relations to references evaluating factors for similar
geometries.
 Author's personal copy
912 J.R. Howell, M.P. Mengüc- / Journal of Quantitative Spectroscopy & Radiative Transfer 112 (2011) 910–912
The catalog is divided into five sections: an introduction
and index of factors; element-to element factors; element-
to-finite area factors; finite area-to-finite area factors; and
the alphabetized and annotated list of references.
3. Summary
Although the presence of mathematical analysis programs
such as MATLAB, MATHCAD, MAPLE, MATHEMATICA and
others makes evaluation of configuration factors from the
fundamental defining element–element relation tractable for
many geometries, it remains useful to have closed-form
results such as those in the on-line catalog. These can be
used directly in engineering calculations, or as a verification
of results computed by other means. This catalog will be
updated regularly as needed with different number and date.
Appendix A. Supplementary material
Supplementary data associated with this article can be
found in the on-line version at doi:10.1016/j.jqsrt.2010.10.002.
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References
[1] Stasenko AL. Self-irradiation coefficient of a Moebius strip of given
shape. Akad Nauk SSSR Izv Energetika Transport 1967:104–7.
[2] Minowa M. Studies of effective radiation area and radiation configuration
factors of a pig. J Soc Agric Struct (Japan) 1996-1999;
Minowa M. Part 1: Effective radiation area of a pig based on the surface-
model 1996;27(3):155–61 (Ser. no. 71);
Minowa M. Part 2: Configuration factors of a 27 kg pig to rectangular
planes on the side, front or rear wall 1998;29(1):1–8 (Ser. no. 77);
Minowa M. Part 3: Configuration factors of a 27 kg pig to rectangular
planes on the ceiling or floor 1998;29(1):9–14 (Ser. no. 77);
Minowa M. Part 4: Configuration factors of a 65 kg pig to rectangular
planes and comparisons to a 27 kg pig 1998;29(3):137–49 (Ser. no. 79);
Minowa M. Part 5: Configuration factors of an 88 kg pig to surrounding
rectangular planes and configuration factor characteristics of fattening
pigs 1999;30(2):145–56 (Ser. no. 82).
[3] Howell JR. In: A catalog of radiation configuration factors.
New York: McGraw-Hill; 1982.
[4] Howell JR, Siegel R, Mengüc- MP. In: Thermal radiation heat transfer.
5th ed.. New York and London: Taylor and Francis; 2010.
[5] Modest MF. In: Radiation heat transfer. 2nd ed. San Diego: Academic
Press; 2003.