Radiation Heat Transfer

Abstract

Thermal radiation is the dominant mode of heat transfer in flames with characteristic lengths exceeding approximately 0.2 m. It is for this reason that quantitative analysis of fire dynamics requires a working knowledge of thermal radiation. This chapter will introduce the fundamentals of thermal radiation and offer several methods for calculating radiant heat transfer in fires. Basic thermal radiation concepts are presented with an emphasis on application to fire phenomena; the reader is referred the literature for specialized topics [1–4].