View factor calculation using the Monte Carlo method and numerical sensitivity

The geometrical view (configuration) factor plays a crucial role in radiative heat transfer simulations and several methods, such as integration, the Monte Carlo and the hemi-cube method have been introduced to calculate view factors in recent years. In this paper the Monte Carlo method combined with the finite element (FE) technique is investigated. Results describing the relationships between different discretization schemes, number of rays used for the view factor calculation, CPU time and accuracy are presented. The interesting case where reduced accuracy is obtained with increased refinement of FE mesh is discussed. Copyright © 2005 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.