On Topology Optimization for Thermal Radiative Devices Using a Ray-tracing Approach
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Thermal radiation is a fundamental mode of heat transfer occurring between distant objects via electromagnetic waves. The design of thermal radiative devices is inherently difficult, since radiative heat transfer is highly sensitive to the geometric relationship of their surfaces and the shadowing effects. Topology optimization (TO) provides an effective approach to designing such complex devices through a rigorous mathematical framework. In previous studies of TO, the effects of thermal radiation have often been simplified as fixed boundary conditions [1] or volumetric heat sources [2]. In this context, Onodera and Yamada [3] extended such boundary conditions to design variable-dependent boundaries, while also incorporating shadowing effects. Meanwhile, Castro et al. [4] developed a TO approach to designing boundary reflectivity within enclosures using the view factor method. However, these conventional approaches still focus on the thermal radiation only on prescribed boundaries or in specific directions. To address these limitations, this study develops a novel TO framework for thermal radiative devices based on a ray-tracing approach. To explicitly capture the radiative effects including the mutual radiation and shadowing in all directions, the proposed method recalculates the view factors within the computational domain at each optimization step. Numerical examples demonstrate the effectiveness and validity of the proposed design approach in achieving efficient thermal radiative devices.
