Radiative property investigation of dispersed particulate medium with the consideration of non-uniform particle size distribution and dependent scattering effects

• Idea of combining dependent scattering with non-uniform particles is proposed. • MSTM combined with non-uniform particles is developed for calculating accurately. • Relative error between test and calculated data decreases from 49.87 to 8.82%. Spectral radiative transfer exists widely during application. Particle-containing medium is also called dispersed particulate medium, which may coexist the effects of non-uniform particle size distribution and dependent scattering, due to the reason of preparation, high concentration, aggregation, and so on. Radiative property calculation of dispersed particulate medium with neglecting the consideration of non-uniform particle size distribution and dependent scattering effects can induce significant errors. However, few radiative transfer studies on dispersed particulate medium have considered both the effects of dependent scattering and non-uniform particle size distribution. With the aim to calculate the radiative properties of dispersed particulate medium accurately, the idea of combining the dependent scattering effect with non-uniform particle size distribution effect is proposed by the authors. Multiple sphere T-matrix (MSTM) method combined with measured non-uniform particle size distribution is developed to calculate the radiative properties of dispersed particulate medium with the consideration of non-uniform particle size distribution and dependent scattering effects. Compared to conventional method, the method developed by the authors can decrease the maximum relative error between experimental data and calculation data from 49.87 to 8.82%, when calculating the radiative properties of dispersed particulate medium with the consideration of non-uniform particle size distribution and dependent scattering effects.