Numerical solution of radiative transfer equation coupled with nonlinear heat conduction equation

A new way of solving the steady‐state coupled radiative‐conductive problem in semi‐transparent media is proposed. An angular discretization technique is applied in order to express the radiative transfer equation (RTE) in an inhomogeneous system of linear differential equations associated with Dirichlet boundary conditions. The system is solved by a direct method, after diagonalizing the characteristic matrix of the medium. The RTE is coupled with the nonlinear heat conduction equation. A simulation of a real semi‐transparent medium composed of silica fibers is illustrated. Comparison with results of other methods validates the new model. Moreover, the general scheme is easy to code and fast. The algorithm proved to be robust and stable.