Monte Carlo simulation of far infrared radiation heat transfer: Theoretical approach

We developed radiation heat transfer models with the combination of the Monte Carlo (MC) method and computational fluid dynamic approach and two-dimensional heat transfer models based on the fundamental quantum physics of radiation and fluid dynamics. We investigated far infrared radiation (FIR) heating in laminar and buoyancy airflow. A simple prediction model in laminar airflow was tested with an analytical solution and commercial software (CFX 4). The adequate number of photon tracks for MC simulation was established. As for the complex designs model, the predicted results agreed well with the experimental data with root mean square error of 3.8 K. Because food safety public concerns are increasing, we applied this model to the prediction of the thermal inactivation level by coupling with the microbial kinetics model. Under buoyancy airflow condition, uniformity of FIR heating was improved by selecting adequate wall temperature and emissivity.