The Discontinuous Asymptotic Telegrapher's Equation ($P_1$) Approximation

TL;DR

This paper extends the asymptotic P1 approximation for radiative heat-wave propagation to highly anisotropic media, incorporating discontinuity conditions to improve accuracy in complex geometries and boundary conditions.

Contribution

It introduces a modified discontinuous P1 model that accounts for anisotropic media and sharp boundaries, enhancing the accuracy of radiative transfer simulations.

Findings

More accurate than flux-limiters and variable Eddington factor methods.

Successfully applied to fundamental benchmark problems in plane symmetry.

Improves modeling of heat wave propagation in complex media.

Abstract

Modeling the propagation of radiative heat-waves in optically thick material using a diffusive approximation is a well-known problem. In optically thin material, classic methods, such as classic diffusion or classic $P_1$, yield the wrong heat wave propagation behavior, and higher order approximation might be required, making the solution harder to obtain. The asymptotic $P_1$ approximation [Heizler, {\em NSE} 166, 17 (2010)] yields the correct particle velocity but fails to model the correct behavior in highly anisotropic media, such as problems that involve sharp boundary between media or strong sources. However, the solution for the two-region Milne problem of two adjacent half-spaces divided by a sharp boundary, yields a discontinuity in the asymptotic solutions, that makes it possible to solve steady-state problems, especially in neutronics. In this work we expand the time-dependent asymptotic $P_1$ approximation to a highly anisotropic media, using the discontinuity jump conditions of the energy density, yielding a modified discontinuous $P_1$ equations in general geometry. We introduce numerical solutions for two fundamental benchmarks in plane symmetry. The results thus obtained are more accurate than those attained by other methods, such as Flux-Limiters or Variable Eddington Factor.