Unsteady radiative heat transfer in a scattering-dominant medium

A theoretical investigation is made of the unsteady radiative heat transfer through a scattering-dominant absorbing emitting gray medium that occupies a semi-infinite space bounded by a semitransparent gray plate. The system is initially in a uniform state. Simultaneously, the temperature of the plate is changed to a constant value and a beam of radiation is imposed through the plate. The temperature and radiation levels are maintained thereafter. It is found that the radiation field spreads deeply due to strong scattering. A temperature rise follows the spreading by a weak net absorption. Consequently, the behavior of the temperature is qualitatively different from that in a nonscattering medium.