The use of Monte Carlo simulation to evaluate the optical properties of polyester fabric treated with titanium dioxide nanopigments

Abstract The current study utilises Monte Carlo simulation and Mie scattering theory to estimate the reflectance spectra of fabric coated with titanium dioxide nanopigments of various diameters and concentrations. Image processing was carried out and experimental data were gathered to evaluate the performance of Monte Carlo simulation. The distribution and location of the nanopigments on the surface of fabric were determined using the Monte Carlo method. Reflection of the fabric was calculated based on Monte Carlo simulation with the partitive mixing method and Mie theory. According to the experimental and simulation results, the reflectance of coated samples was increased by increasing the concentration and number of titanium dioxide nanoparticles. There was a good match between the results obtained by Monte Carlo simulation and the experimental results. For coated samples (dTiO 2 : 500 nm), the root mean square error between measured and predicted reflectance by the Monte Carlo and partitive mixing method and by Monte Carlo and Mie theory was 0.022 and 0.0078, respectively. The results indicate that the performance of the Monte Carlo and Mie method was better than that of the Monte Carlo and partitive mixing method. According to t ‐test analysis, there was no statistically significant difference between the experimental data and Monte Carlo simulation.