A modified numerical integration method to calculate the view factor between finite and infinite cylinders in arbitrary array

Abstract

The view factor has a critical impact on the estimation of the radiation heat transfer between different surfaces of energy systems. This paper presents an alternate and simple method for the blocking judgment and a modified numerical integration approach to calculate the view factor between finite and infinite length cylinders in an arbitrary array. The proposed method has been successfully validated through a comparison with the state-of-the-art published methods. Two cases are studied: (i) cylinders arranged in a staggered array for different spacing and lengths; (ii) cylinders arranged in an arbitrary array. The results show that the proposed method provides a fast and accurate way to evaluate the view factor for cylinder arrays with similar length. The analysis reveals that the length and arrangements have a strong influence on the view factor. The proposed method might be very useful to design an improved compact heat exchanger using a nonstandard arrangements.

Design for Additive Manufacturing (DfAM) of Thermally Drawn Microstructure Filament

“…To more accurately model radiation from the four cylindrical heating elements that is incident on the cylindrical preform, the apparatus can be considered a cylinder array for the purpose of view factor calculations. The array in the experimental furnace can be considered staggered, so the view factor for all heating elements should be equal [31].…”