Computer simulation of optical radiation scattering by aerosol media

Abstract

Development of the technologies simulating optical processes in an arbitrary dispersed medium is one of the important directions in the field of optical instrumentation and can provide computer simulation of the processes instead of using expensive equipment in physical experiments. The goal of the study is simulation of scattering of optical radiation by aerosol media using the finite element method to show a practical significance of the results of virtual experiments. We used the following initial conditions of the model: radius of a spherical particle of distilled water is 1 μm, wavelength of the incident optical radiation is 0.6328 μm, air is a medium surrounding the particle. An algorithm for implementation of the model by the finite element method is proposed. A subprogram has been developed which automates a virtual experiment for a group of particles to form their random arrangement in the model and possibility of changing their geometric shape and size within predetermined intervals. Model dependences of the radiation intensity on the scattering angle for single particle and groups of particles are presented. Simulation of the light transmission through a dispersed medium provides development of a given photosensor design and determination of the minimum number of photodetectors when measuring the parameters of the medium under study via analysis of the indicatrix of scattering by a group of particles.