Radiation transport modeling using extended quadrature method of moments

Abstract

The radiative transfer equation describes the propagation of radiation through a material medium. While it provides a highly accurate description of the radiation field, the large phase space on which the equation is defined makes it numerically challenging. As a consequence, significant effort has gone into the development of accurate approximation methods. Recently, an extended quadrature method of moments (EQMOM) has been developed to solve univariate population balance equations, which also have a large phase space and thus face similar computational challenges. The distinct advantage of the EQMOM approach over other moment methods is that it generates moment equations that are consistent with a positive phase space density and has a moment inversion algorithm that is fast and efficient. The goal of the current paper is to present the EQMOM method in the context of radiation transport, to discuss advantages and disadvantages, and to demonstrate its performance on a set of standard one-dimensional benchmark problems that encompass optically thin, thick, and transition regimes. Special attention is given in the implementation to the issue of realizability—that is, consistency with a positive phase space density. Numerical results in one dimension are promising and lay the foundation for extending the same framework to multiple dimensions.