Radiation-convection heat transfer by an optically thick boundary layer on a plate

Radiation-convection heat transfer in an optically thick boundary layer on an isothermal plate is investigated by means of the radiant heat-conduction approximation and of other more precise methods. The interaction of radiation, conduction, and convection is confined to a region only slightly larger than the boundary-layer thickness, and the problem is thus solved by using the boundary layer equations. A method is proposed for finding a self-similar solution, and the dependence of the self-similar temperature profile on the governing parameters is analyzed. The radiant heat-conduction approximation is modified in order to obtain a more precise description of the radiative transfer at the wall.