Evaluation of an improved hybrid six-flux/zone model for radiative transfer in rectangular enclosures

An improved model for the calculation of radiative transfer in enclosures filled with an absorbing, emitting and scattering medium is presented. The model is denoted by a hybrid six-flux/zone model since it combines features of both the zone method and (three-dimensional) six-flux models. Compared to the zone method, computation time is considerably reduced and reaches approximately the same order as the faster flux-type models. The accuracy of the hybrid six-flux/zone model presented here is drastically improved without increasing computation time. This is achieved by introducing a correction for the directional characteristics of the propagation of radiation through adjacent zones. The thus improved hybrid model is evaluated for a realistic recognized test problem and found to be an efficient and accurate tool for calculating radiative transfer in enclosures filled with a participating medium.