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Radiation Constants

Reference data and engineering information about radiation constants for basics applications.

radiationconstants

Overview

Engineering reference data for Radiation Constants in basics.

Key Formulas

Ohm's Law

V=IRV = IR

Voltage = Current × Resistance.

Newton's Second Law

F=maF = ma

Force = mass × acceleration.

Conservation of Energy

Ein=Eout+ΔEstoredE_{in} = E_{out} + \Delta E_{stored}

Energy balance.

Variables

SymbolDescriptionUnit
VVVoltageV
IICurrentA
RRResistanceΩ
FFForceN
mmMasskg
aaAccelerationm/s²

Radiation Constants Data

The following table provides the radiation constant values and corresponding emissivity coefficients for common building and engineering materials.

21 rows
Radiation constants and emissivity coefficients for common materials.
Product
Radiation Constant(10⁻⁸ W/m²K⁴)
Emissivity (ε)
Black body5.71
Brass, dull1.30.22
Brick, red5.30.93
Cast iron, rough oxidized5.10.9
Copper, polished0.280.04
Cotton4.40.77
Glass5.10.9
Lampblack paint5.50.96
Oil paint5.40.94
Paper3.10.55
Plaster5.60.98
Sand5.10.9
Silk4.30.75
Silver, polished0.170.03
Tin, unoxidized0.230.04
Water, 0 - 100 °C5.40.95
Wood5.10.9
Wool4.30.75
Wrought iron, dull oxidized5.40.9
Wrought iron, polished1.60.25
Zinc, tarnished1.40.25

Source: engineeringtoolbox.com

Radiation Constant Definition

The radiation constant is a material-specific property used in radiative heat transfer calculations. It is defined as the product of the Stefan-Boltzmann constant (σ) and the emissivity coefficient (ε) of a surface.

The fundamental relationship is:

Radiation Constant=σε\text{Radiation Constant} = \sigma \cdot \varepsilon

Where:

  • σ is the Stefan-Boltzmann constant.
  • ε (epsilon) is the emissivity of the material. It is a dimensionless number between 0 and 1, where *ε = 1 describes a perfect emitter or "black body."

Interactive Charts

Pipes - Bare Surface Heat Loss

References