Radiation in enclosures. Elliptic boundary value problem (Q4486434)

It is considered some enclosure with radiating matter inside. A typical example is a furnace with the flame. Using standard equations of radiative heat transfer theory and avoiding unjustified and simplifying assumptions that are often used in the radiation theory, the authors build some integral equation (with unknown radiative heat flux distribution) of the Fredholm type with a weak singularity of a kernel on the enclosure boundary. They take into account the absorption, emission of real materials, scattering, incident radiation, radiation heat transfer, properties of radiating matter and material of the enclosure boundary. For the solving of this integral equation the authors write, using both variation and boundary elements methods, an approximated problem as the problem of the solving of some linear algebraic system with the positive determined matrix which is solved by means of Cholesky decomposition method. Thus, the book is concerned with both the formulation and the general investigation and solution of the radiative heat transfer problem in enclosures of any geometrical shape, and for any temperature distribution and material properties. At the same time the book text is insufficient considered in the mathematical sense. First, there are statements, the formulations of which are incompetent or absurd. For example, the general partial differential equation and the general boundary value problem for it are written in the form: \(F(u(p),\partial^\alpha u(p))=g(p),\;p\in D\;(1.1)\), \(B(u(r),\partial^\beta u(r))=b(r),\;r\in \partial D\;(1.2)\), ''where \(\alpha,\beta\) are positive numbers''. Later, the reader comes across the formula expressing the solution of such problem: \(u(p)=F_\alpha^{-1}(g(p)),\;p\in D+\partial D\). Any words of type ``multiindex'' are absent. Possibly, the authors wish here to simplify the presentation but get an absurd. The use some concepts are not justified. For instance, the term the pseudointegral operator, the idea of which do not use in full value, should be replaced with most appropriate term here as the singular integral operator. Secondly, the main remark is that any connection between obtained integral equation and elliptic boundary value problems for PDE is not observed. The unique link is that the obtained integral equation is closed to the usual integral equations of potential theory and that the authors use usual variation technique developed in the theory of BVP for elliptic divergent PDE for their aims. In addition, the authors do not write and interpret any BVP for PDE which give the same integral equation even for any special case of parameters values in spite of that the book title contains the works ''elliptic boundary value problem''. Nevertheless, the book contains important advances in the radiation theory and will undoubtedly usefull for engineers and specialists in this field.