Engineering topics
Publications and source records attributed to Nagel, W..
An analytic solution of the time-dependent radiation transport problem in a one-dimensional, stationary and homogeneous medium of finite thickness is presented. The solution is found by the method of images, and is compared with an eigenfunction expansion. Previous conjectures about the structure of such an expansion are clarified. The Green's function of this problem is also expanded in scattering orders.
The accuracy of four different methods for solving the coherent radiative transfer problem in a strongly magnetized plasma is compared. Specific attention is given to the case of a semi-infinite homogeneous plasma with a magnetic field perpendicular to the surface. The four approaches evaluated were: diffusion approximation schemes; the generalized H-function method of Silant'ev (1982) the Feautrier method of Nagel (1981) and the integral equation approach of Meszares and Bonazzola (1981). It is found that the coupled diffusion approximation schemes of Nagel (1981) and Kaminker et al. (1982) provided satisfactory results and were more efficient in many cases than direct numerical methods.
High altitude balloon attitude control using solar pointing system