Accelerating the hemi-cube algorithm for calculating radiation form factors

Journal Article · Fri Nov 01 00:00:00 EST 1991 · Journal of Heat Transfer (Transactions of the ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers), Series C); (United States)

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1115/1.2911204· OSTI ID:7069246

Rushmeier, H E; Hall, D E ^[1]; Baum, D R ^[2]

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1. Georgia Inst. of Tech., Atlanta (United States)
2. Silicon Graphics Computer Systems, Mountain View, CA (United States)

The calculation of form factors for the analysis of radiation heat transfer is computationally expensive when surfaces are not in full view of one another. Because of its lower time complexity, the hemi-cube method is efficient for problems with large numbers of surfaces. In this note, methods to improve the hemi-cube algorithm by taking advantage of graphics hardware and two types of geometric coherence are presented. The implementation of the methods on a computer workstation is described, and timings demonstrating speedups by factors of up to 6.7 are given. The acceleration of the calculation of form factors is not an isolated computational problem. The ability to calculate form factors very quickly can alter the overall computational methodology used to analyze radiant heat transfer, and can greatly extend the complexity of geometries that can be studied.

• OSTI ID: 7069246
• Journal Information: Journal of Heat Transfer (Transactions of the ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers), Series C); (United States), Vol. 113:4; ISSN 0022-1481
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

42 ENGINEERING
99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS//MATHEMATICS, COMPUTING, AND INFORMATION SCIENCE
RADIANT HEAT TRANSFER
COMPUTER CALCULATIONS
ALGORITHMS
COMPUTER GRAPHICS
GEOMETRY
ENERGY TRANSFER
HEAT TRANSFER
MATHEMATICAL LOGIC
MATHEMATICS
420400* - Engineering- Heat Transfer & Fluid Flow
990200 - Mathematics & Computers