Modeling of thermal radiation of polymer coating containing hollow microspheres

The paper deals with the effect of hollow microspheres added to paint or another polymer coating for open surfaces of a building on the heat loss due to thermal radiation. An approximate theoretical model is suggested, which is based on the spectral calculation of the radiative characteristics of a disperse system and determination of the integral flux of thermal radiation. Calculations are performed for a layer of paint with hollow glass microspheres. It is demonstrated that the microsphere shell thickness has the strongest effect on the reduction of heat loss.__________Translated from Teplofizika Vysokikh Temperatur, Vol. 43, No. 2, 2005, pp. 256–266.Original Russian Text Copyright © 2005 by L. A. Dombrovsky.