Optical Properties of an IR-Transparent Prismatic Plate in Exposure to the Thermal Radiation and its Application as a Radiation Rectifier

Abstract: Optical properties of a prismatic transparent plate and its effects on thermal radiation heat transfer are studied. A 3D ray-tracing numerical method is used to prove the bi-transmittance property of the prismatic sheet when it is exposed to thermal radiation in two opposite directions. It is shown that in the present of a prismatic window a thermal equilibrium with a temperature gradient between two sources is possible.