Analytical Formulae for Projected Solid Angle on Arbitrary Polygonal Cross Sections

TL;DR

This paper derives exact analytical formulae for calculating the projected solid angle of arbitrary polygonal cross sections using the Gauss-Bonnet theorem, enabling precise computation of radiative flux and view factors.

Contribution

It introduces a novel method to compute projected solid angles for arbitrary polygons through Gauss-Bonnet theorem-based formulae, filling a gap in existing closed-form solutions.

Findings

Exact formulae for projected solid angles of arbitrary polygons

Applicable to radiative flux and view factor calculations

Enables precise, interval-based solid angle computations

Abstract

Closed form solutions for the computation of the solid angle from polygonal cross-sections are well known, however similar formulae for computation of projected solid angle are not generally available. Formulae for computing the projected solid angle from arbitrarily shaped polygons are derived using the Gauss-Bonnet theorem. This is accomplished by transforming the projected solid angle integral to an integral over a spherical patch, which is then reduced by Gauss-Bonnet to a simple summation over its edges, allowing the projected solid angle to be computed exactly. Application of the formulae allows exact calculation of projected solid angle over discrete intervals which may be used for computing radiative flux to surfaces or view factors to free space.