Improved discrete ordinate method for accurate simulation radiation transport using solar and LED light sources

This work describes adaptive quadrature, a new feature designed to improve the Discrete Ordinate Method (DOM) in parallel and cone-shaped radiation sources. OpenFOAM was chosen as the simulation framework to implement the new feature. It already included a Discrete Ordinate Method (fvDOM), but it focuses on thermal radiation and is limited to isotropic emission, diffuse phenomena, and non-scattering media. The model was completed to cover volumetric and superficial absorption, isotropic and anisotropic scattering (with user-defined phase functions), diffuse and specular reflection, diffuse and parallel transmission, and three types of superficial emission sources, i.e., isotropic, cone-shaped, and parallel. Additionally, the model is prepared to work in grey mode or with wavelength bands. Multiple regions with different optical properties are also allowed. Most of the model has been validated by individual simulations of every feature in simple geometries that permit an analytical solution, with errors between 0% and 6.08%. These simulations were also verified in a comparison with an established version of the standard DOM, with differences between model implementations below 2.5%. Some advantages of the developed adaptive quadrature are also analysed using simulation results for different radiative sources and angular discretization. The main conclusion is that adaptive quadrature better defines view angle and light direction of emission sources compared to the established DOM, improving significantly the accuracy of the simulation of non-isotropic sources.