RADIATION: PROCESSES AND PROPERTIES

• Thermal radiation is emitted by all surfaces and requires no matter/medium to

travel
• Applications: Industrial heating, cooling and drying processes, energy conversion
methods – fossil fuel combustion and solar radiation

Unlike conduction and convection, heat transfer by radiation can occur between two
bodies, even when they are separated by a medium colder than both. It is assumed
that the participating medium does not have any role.

Solar radiation reaches the earth after passing through cold air layers at high altitudes.
Radiation – propagation of electromagnetic waves
Characteristics of E.M.Radiation
•Frequency (Hz – 1/sec) c
=
•Wavelength  (m) 
• Electromagnetic waves travel at a speed of light
in vacuum co = 2.998 x 108 m/s co
c=
n – Index of refraction n
c – speed of propagation of wave in that medium

Material n
Air and most gases 1.0
Glass 1.5
Water 1.33
Electromagnetic Radiation: Propagation of a discrete packets of energy
called photons or quanta
Each photon of frequency  is considered to have an energy of

hc
e = h =

h = 6.625 x 10-34 J.s – Planck’s Constant
Energy of the photon – inversely proportional to its wavelength
Shorter wavelength radiation possess larger photon energies
Hence, we try to avoid very short wavelength radiation such as gamma
rays and X-rays since they are highly destructive
Color Wavelength Band (μm) Solar radiation:
Electromagnetic radiation emitted by sun
Violet 0.40 - 0.44 Wavelength band – 0.3 - 3m
Blue 0.44 - 0.49 Half range is in the visible range
Green 0.49 – 0.54 Other half range is in the ultraviolet and
infrared range
Yellow 0.54 - 0.60
Orange 0.60 - 0.67
Red 0.63 - 0.76
• Radiation is a volumetric phenomena but radiation may be
considered as surface phenomena
Radiation by interior molecules – absorbed by adjoining molecules; radiation
that is emitted from a solid or a liquid originates from molecules that within a
distance of 1 m from the exposed surface
 BLACK BODY RADIATION
• A body at an absolute temperature above zero emits radiation in all
directions over a wide range of wavelengths.
• The amount of radiation energy emitted from a surface at a given wavelength
depends on the
• Material of the body
• Condition of its surface
• Surface temperature

BLACK BODY
• A blackbody absorbs all incident radiation,
regardless of wavelength and direction
• For a prescribed temperature and wavelength,
no surface can emit more energy than a
blackbody
• Although the radiation emitted by a blackbody
is a function of wavelength and temperature, it
is independent of direction. That is, the
black body is a diffuse emitter.
 STEFAN-BOLTZMAN LAW
Radiation energy emitted by a blackbody per unit time and per unit
surface area was determined experimentally by Joseph Stefan in 1879
and expressed as

Eb =  T 4 W / m2
Stefan-Boltzman constant  = 5.67 10-8 W/m2.K4
T – absolute temperature of the surface in K
Eb is blackbody emissive power

This relation was theoretically verified in 1884 by Ludwig Boltzman.

This gives the total blackbody emissive power which is the sum of the
radiation emitted over all wavelengths.
 DISTINCTION BETWEEN IDEALISED BLACK BODY AND AN ORDINARY
BLACK SURFACE

• Any surface that absorbs light (the visible portion of radiation) would
appear in black to the eye and the surface that reflects it
completely would appear white
• Considering that visible radiation occupies a very narrow band of
spectrum from 0.4 to 0.76 m, we cannot make judgments
about the blackness of a surface on the basis of visual
observations.
•Snow and white paint reflect light and thus appear white. But they
are essentially black for infrared radiation since they strongly
absorb long wavelength radiation.
• Surfaces coated with lampblack paint approach idealised blackbody
behaviour
A large isothermal cavity at temperature T with a small opening of area
A closely resembles a blackbody of surface area A at the same
temperature
Radiation coming in through the opening of area A undergoes multiple
reflections, and thus it has several chances to be absorbed by the interior
surfaces of the cavity before any part of it can possibly escape.
If the surface of the cavity is isothermal at temperature T, the radiation
emitted by the interior surfaces passes through the opening after undergoing
multiple reflections, and thus it has diffuse nature.
CAVITY ACTS AS A PERFECT ABSORBER AND EMITTER
SPECTRAL BLACKBODY EMISSIVE POWER – is the amount of radiation
energy emitted by a blackbody at an absolute temperature T per unit
time, per unit surface area, and per unit wavelength about the
wavelength 
2 hco2
E ,b ( , T ) = W/m2-µm
 5 (exp  hco  kT  − 1
   

OR

h = 6.6256 x 10-34 J.s – Universal Planck Constant

k = 1.3805 x 10-23 J/K – Universal Boltzmann Constant
Co = 2.998 x 108 m/s
T = Absolute temperature of the blackbody (K)
 IMPORTANT FEATURES
• The emitted radiation is a continuous
function of wavelength. At any specified
temperature, it increases with
wavelength, reaches a peak, and then
decreases with increasing wavelength.
• At any wavelength, the amount of
emitted radiation increases with
increasing T
• As temperature increases, the curves
shift to the left to the shorter wavelength
region. Consequently, a larger fraction of
the radiation is emitted at shorter
wavelengths at higher temperatures.
• The radiation emitted by the sun, which
is considered to be a blackbody at 5780
K, reaches its peak in the visible region.
• On the other hand, surfaces at T  800 K
emit almost entirely in the infrared
region and thus are not visible to the eye
unless they reflect light coming from
other sources.
 WEIN’S DISPLACEMENT LAW

max T = C3 = 2897.8 m.K

• Maximum spectral power is displaced to shorter wavelengths

with increasing temperature
• Solar radiation – middle of the spectrum (  = 0.5 m), since
sun emits as a blackbody at approximately 5800 K
• Blackbody at 1000 K, peak emission – 2.9 m
• With increasing temperature, shorter wavelengths become more
prominent.
 STEFAN-BOLTZMANN LAW


C1
Eb =  d =  T 4
 
0 5 (exp C 2 T  − 1
   
 = 5.67 x 10-8 W/m2.K4 – Stefan-Boltzman Constant
Substitute x=1/ so that dx=(-1/2)d. Then series
(Maclaurin?) expansion and integration……..

BAND EMISSION
Fraction of the total emission from a blackbody
that is in a certain wavelength interval
𝜆 𝜆
‫𝜆𝐸 𝑜׬‬,𝑏 𝑑𝜆 ‫𝜆𝐸 𝑜׬‬,𝑏 𝑑𝜆
𝐹(0−𝜆) = ∞ = 4
= 𝑓 𝑇
‫𝜆𝐸 𝑜׬‬,𝑏 𝑑𝜆 𝜎𝑇
f represents the fraction of radiation emitted from a blackbody at
temperature T in the wavelength band from 0 to .
Fraction of radiation between any two wavelengths 1 and 2
RADIATION INTENSITY
Radiation emitted by a surface propagates in all directions
Radiation incident on the surface may come from different directions
Response of the surface to the radiation depends on the direction
Directional effects – concept – RADIATION INTENSITY (I)

The direction of radiation passing

through a point is best described in
spherical coordinates in terms of
the zenith angle  and the azimuth
angle , as shown in Figure.

Radiation intensity (I) is used to

describe how the emitted radiation
varies with the zenith and azimuth
angles.
 Plain angle Solid angle
r r

dl

dl dS
d  d =
r r2 dS
Solid angle
ω

Surface
area, S

Plain Angle, α

Quantifying the slice of a pizza Quantifying the slice of a water

of plane angle d melon of solid angle d
dS is normal to the direction of viewing since dS is viewed
from the center of the sphere
dS
d =
r2
dS
dS = (rd )(r sin  d )  d  = 2 = sin  d d
r
Solid angle of a sphere
2  

S= 
sphere
dS =  
=0 =0
r 2 sin  d d =2 r 2 
=0
sin  d = 2 r 2 (− cos  )  =0 = 4 r 2

S = 4 r 2

For a sphere with unit radius, solid angle is 4

Differential solid angle d  subtended by a differential surface area dA when viewed
from a point at a distance r from dA is expressed as

dAn dA cos 
d = 2 =
r r2
where  is the angle between the normal to the surface and the direction of viewing,
and thus dAn= dAcos is the normal (or projected) area to the direction of viewing

Small surfaces viewed from relatively a large distances can be approximately treated
as differential areas in solid angle calculations. For example, the solid angle subtended
by 6 cm2 plane surface when viewed from a point at a distance of 90 cm along the
normal of the surface
S 6
= = = 7.41  10 −4
sr
r 2 902
 INTENSITY OF EMITTED RADIATION
• Consider the emission of radiation by a differential area element dA1 of a surface
• Radiation is emitted in all directions into the hemispherical surface and the
radiation streaming through the surface area dS is proportional to the solid
angle d subtended by area dS
• Radiation is also proportional to the radiating area dA1 as seen by an observer on
dS , which varies from a maximum of dA1 when dS is at the top directly
above dA1 ( = 0) to a minimum of zero when dS is at the bottom ( = 90)
• The effective area of dA1for emission in the direction of  is projection of dA1 on a
plane normal to  , which is dA1cos
Radiation intensity for emitted radiation Ie(,) is defined as the rate at
which the radiation energy dq is emitted in the (,) direction per unit
area normal to this direction and per unit solid angle about this direction

I e ( ,  ) =
dq
=
dq
dA1 cos   d dA1 cos   sin  d d
W m 2 sr ( )
EMISSIVE POWER (E) – rate at which radiation energy is emitted per unit
area of the emitting surface which is expressed in the differential form

= I e ( ,  ) cos  sin  d d
dq
dE =
dA1
Hemisphere above the surface intercepts all the radiation rays emitted by the
surface, the emissive power from the surface into the hemisphere surrounding
it is given by
2  / 2
E=  dE =   e
I ( ,  ) cos  sin  d (
d W m 2
)
hemisphere =0 =0
The intensity of radiation emitted by a surface, in general, varies with
direction (especially with zenith angle ). But, many surfaces in practice
can be approximated as DIFFUSE. For a diffusely emitting surface, the
intensity of emitted radiation is independent of direction and thus Ie=
constant
2  / 2
E =  dE =   I e ( ,  ) cos  sin  d d (W m 2 ) 
hemisphere  =0  =0

E =  Ie
For blackbody
Incident Radiation (Irradiation)
• All surfaces emit radiation, but they also receive radiation emitted or reflected by
other surfaces
• The intensity of incident radiation Ii (,) is defined as the rate at which radiation
energy dG is incident from the (,) direction per unit area of the receiving surface
normal to this direction and per unit solid angle about this direction.  is the angle
between the direction of incident radiation and the normal to the surface

The radiation flux incident on a surface from all directions is called

Irradiation G Incident I (  , ) i

radiation
2  / 2
G=  dG =
hemisphere
  I i ( ,  )cos sin  d d
 =0  =0
W / m2 n


If the incident radiation is diffuse, Ii is independent of  and 

dA
G =  Ii W / m 2


 RADIOSITY
Radiosity – accounts for all the radiant energy leaving a surface
Radiosity - The rate at which radiation energy leaves a unit area of a
surface in all directions
2  / 2
J=  
=0 =0
 I e+r ( ,  )cos sin  d d W / m2

I e + r ( ,  ) is the sum of the emitted and reflected intensities

Radiosity, J If the surface is both a diffuse
reflector and a diffuse emitter,
Reflected Emitted
Ie+r is independent of  and 
Incident radiation radiation
radiation J =  I e+ r W / m 2
E
G

Surface
 SPECTRAL QUANTITIES – wavelength dependence
So far we considered total radiation quantities (quantities integrated
over all wavelengths), and made no reference to wavelength
dependence.
Spectral quantities – variation of radiation with wavelength as well as
direction, and to express quantities at a certain wavelength  or per unit
wavelength interval about 
Spectral Radiation intensity for emitted radiation I,e(,,) is defined as
the rate at which the radiation energy dq is emitted at the wavelength 
in the (,) direction per unit area normal to this direction and per unit
solid angle about this direction

I  ,e ( ,  ,  ) =
dq
W / m 2 .sr.m
dA1 cos  d d
Spectral emissive power
2  / 2
E =     ,e
I ( ,  ,  ) cos  sin  d d W (
m 2
)
=0 =0

When the variation of spectral radiation intensity with I wavelength ,

the total radiation intensity I for emitted, incident, and emitted and
reflected radiation can be determined by integration over the entire
wavelength spectrum as

I  ,e
I e =  I  ,e d 

0 Area =  I  ,e d  = I e
 0

I i =  I  ,i d
0


I  ,e
I e + r =  I  ,e + r d
0
d 
  2  / 2
E=     I  ,e ( , ,  )cos sin  d dd (W m2 )
=0 =0 =0
 2  / 2
G=   
=0 =0 =0
 I  ,i ( , ,  )cos sin  d dd W / m2
 2  / 2
J=   
=0 =0 =0
 I  ,e+r ( , ,  )cos sin  d d d W / m2

Similarly, when the variations of spectral radiation fluxes E , G and J with

wavelength are known, the total radiation fluxes can be determined by integration
over the entire wavelength spectrum
  
E=  E d
=0
G=  G d J=  J  d
=0 =0

When the surfaces and the incident radiation are diffuse, the spectral radiation fluxes
are related to spectral intensities

E =  I  , e G =  I  ,i J  =  I  ,e + r
Problem: A small surface of area A1= 10-3m2 is known to emit diffusely and from
measurements the total intensity associated with emission in the normal direction is In
= 7000 W/m2sr. Radiation emitted from the surface is intercepted by other surfaces
of area A2= A3 =A4 = 10-3m2 ,which are 0.5 m from A1 and are oriented as shown. What
is the intensity associated with emission in each of the three directions ? What are the
solid angles subtended by the three surfaces when viewed from A1? What is the rate
at which radiation emitted by A1 is intercepted by the three surfaces ?

A3

0.5 m
Known: Normal intensity of diffuse
emitter of area A1 and orientation
A2
of three surfaces relative to A1

A1
Find
1. Intensity of emission in each of the three directions
2. Solid angles subtended by the three surfaces
3. Rate at which radiation is intercepted by the three surfaces
Assumptions
1. Surface A1 emits diffusely
2. A1, A2, A3 and A4 may be approximated as differential surfaces (Aj/rj2)
<<1
Analysis
1. From the definition of a diffuse emitter, we know that the intensity
of the emitted radiation is independent of direction. Hence
I = 7000 W/m2. sr
for each of the three directions
2. Treating A2, A3, and A4 as differential surface areas, the solid angles
may be computed by
dS
d = 2
r
where dS is the projection of the surface normal to the direction of the
radiation. Since surfaces A3 and A4 are normal to the direction of
radiation, the solid angles subtended by these surfaces can be directly
found from this equation
A3 10−3
 3 −1 =  4 −1 = 2 = 2
= 4  10 −3
sr
r 0 .5
Since surface A2 is not normal to the direction of radiation, we use dAn,2
= dA2 cos2, where 2 is the angle between the surface normal and the
direction of the radiation. Thus

A2 cos  2 10−3  cos 30

 2 −1 = 2
= 2
= 3. 46  10 −3
sr
r 0.5
 A3

r3 = 0.5 m

 2 = 30 I = 7000 W m2 .sr

A2 n

1 = 60  4 = 45
r2 = 0.5 m r4 = 0.5 m

A2 ,n = A2 cos 2
A1
A2
 2 = 30 A1 = A2 = A3 = A4 = 10-3 m2

 2−1
3. Approximating A1 as a differential surface, the rate at which
radiation is intercepted by each of the three surfaces may be found
from the following equation
q1− j = I  A1 cos   j −1
where 1 is the angle between the normal to the surface 1 and the
direction of the radiation. Hence,

q1− 2
W
( )
= 7000 2 sr  10− 3 m 2  cos 60  3.46  10− 3 sr = 12.1  10− 3 W
m
q1− 3
W
( )
= 7000 2 sr  10− 3 m 2  cos 0  4  10− 3 sr = 28.0  10− 3 W
m
q1− 4
W
( )
= 7000 2 sr  10− 3 m 2  cos 45  4  10− 3 sr = 19.8  10− 3 W
m
Even though the intensity of the emitted radiation is independent of
direction, the rate at which radiation is intercepted by the three
surfaces differs significantly due to differences in the solid angles and
projected areas.
Problem:
What is the total irradiation

G
(W / m.m )

Known: spectral distribution of surface irradiation  (m )

Find: Total irradiation
Analysis : The total irradiation may be obtained from
G =  G d
0
5 m 20 m 25 m 
G=  G d +  G d +  G d +  G d
0 5 20 m 25 m
 1    1 
G = 1000 2 .m (5 − 0)m + 1000 2 .m (20 − 5)m + 1000 2 .m (25 − 20)m + 0
W W W
2 m   m  2 m 

G = (2500 + 15000 + 2500)

W
m2

W
G = 20000
m2

Comments: Generally, radiation sources do not provide such a regular spectral

distribution for the irradiation. However, the procedure of computing the total
irradiation from knowledge of the spectral distribution remains the same, although
evaluation of the integral is likely to involve more detail.