The Monte Carlo Ray-Trace Method in Radiation Heat Transfer and Applied Optics

A groundbreaking guide dedicated exclusively to the MCRT method in radiation heat transfer and applied optics 

The Monte Carlo Ray-Trace Method in Radiation Heat Transfer and Applied Optics offers the most modern and up-to-date approach to radiation heat transfer modelling and performance evaluation of optical instruments. The Monte Carlo ray-trace (MCRT) method is based on the statistically predictable behavior of entities, called rays, which describe the paths followed by energy bundles as they are emitted, reflected, scattered, refracted, diffracted and ultimately absorbed.

The author – a noted expert on the subject – covers a wide variety of topics including the mathematics and statistics of ray tracing, the physics of thermal radiation, basic principles of geometrical and physical optics, radiant heat exchange among surfaces and within participating media, and the statistical evaluation of uncertainty of results obtained using the method. The book is a guide to help formulate and solve models that accurately describe the distribution of radiant energy in thermal and optical systems of practical engineering interest. This important guide:

• Combines radiation heat transfer and applied optics into a single discipline
• Covers the MCRT method, which has emerged as the dominant tool for radiation heat transfer modelling
• Helps readers to formulate and solve models that describe the distribution of radiant energy
• Features pages of color images and a wealth of line drawings

Written for faculty and graduate students in mechanical and aerospace engineering and applied optics professionals, The Monte Carlo Ray-Trace Method in Radiation Heat Transfer and Applied Optics is the first book dedicated exclusively to the MCRT method. 

J. Robert Mahan is Professor Emeritus of Mechanical Engineering at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, where he leads the NASA-funded Thermal Radiation Group.