Surface Source Properties

Surface Source Properties

Surface Source Properties describe the emission of surface sources versus temperature, wavelength, and angle. To create a surface source property, you select the Spectral Type and Angular Type of the property.

Spectral Types	Angular Types
Rectangular	Lambertian
Gaussian	Uniform
Solar	Gaussian
Table	Solar
	Table

Any Spectral Type can be combined with any Angular Type. The data required to fully specify the property will vary depending on the choices you make for the Types.

Surface Source Property Editor

In TracePro, surface source properties are identified by a name and stored in a database.

The Surface Source Property editor lets you edit all the surface source properties that exist in the surface source property database or create new surface source properties.

To open the surface source editor, select Define|Edit Property Data, then select Surface Source Properties. Instead of opening as a dialog box, the editor opens as a window. You can return to the model window by selecting the model at the bottom of the Window menu.

Note: The TracePro main menu bar displays a different set of options when you are in the editor window. Once you are in the Surface Source Property Editor window, you can return to the model window by selecting the model item from the Window menu, or simply clicking on the title bar of the model window.

The Surface Source Property Editor has several parts:

•Catalog, Name, and Description

•Spectral Type and Angula Type

•Emission

•Emissivity spreadsheet

The Emission value specifies how much total flux or irradiance/illuminance the source will emit, in whatever units are slected. The Emissivity values in the spreadsheet serve as weighting factors only and are not absolute emissivities.

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Defining Properties

FIGURE 3.10 - The Surface Source Property Editor

TABLE 3.7. Fields in the Surface Source Property EditorInformation and Grid

Panels

Catalog	Property catalog names.
Name	Name dropdown box. Select the name from the drop down list or by typing the
	name into the text box. If the name is found in the database its data is dis-
	played.
Description	The description contains notes about the Surface Source Property.
Spectral Type	The Spectral Type displays the choice made when Adding the property. For
	types other than Table, additional data fields are available to specify the spec-
	trum.
Angular Type	The Angular Type displays the choice made when Adding the property. For
	types other than Table, additional data fields are available to specify the angu-
	lar shape.
Emission	The Emission specifies how much total flux or irradiance/illuminance will be
	emitted by the source. The choices for units of the source are Radiometric
	Flux (Watt), Photometric Flux (lumen), Radiometric Irradiance (W/m^2) or
	Photometric Illuminance (lux).

Create a New Surface Source Property

The steps listed below show the method to create a new property with the Surface Source Property editor.

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Surface Source Properties

1.Select Define|Edit Property Data|Surface Source Properties to open the Surface Source Property Editor window. Select the Catalog to which you would like to add the property, or click Add Catalog to add a new one.

2.Click Add Property.

3.Enter a name for the new property, and select the Spectral Type and Angular Type, then click OK.

4.Edit the data in the top pane and the spreadsheet by selecting a value and typing in a changed value. For a Table Spectral or Table Angular type property, add new wavelengths and angles using the Add... button in the Data Points box.

5.Select Save from the file menu, or close the Surface Source Property editor and answer Yes to the question “property has changed, save data?”

Edit an Existing Surface Source Property

The steps listed below show the method to edit an existing property in the Surface Source Property editor.

1.Select Define|Edit Property Data|Surface Source Properties to open the Surface Source Property Editor window.

2.Select the catalog and name of the property you wish to edit, and select Unlock. You cannot make changes without unlocking the property for editing. Properties supplied with TracePro are Read Only and cannot be unlocked or edited.

3.Make your changes and then select Save from the file menu, or close the Surface Source Property editor and answer Yes to the question “Property has changed, save data?”

4.Check the edited property. The updated property is now available in the Surface Source Property database for future use.

Export a Surface Source Property

The steps listed below show the method to export an existing property within Surface Source Properties.

1.Select Define|Edit Property Data|Surface Source Properties to open the Surface Source Property Editor window.

2.Choose a surface source property catalog and name from the drop-down lists.

3.Select File|Export Property to create a text file that contains the information that defines the selected surface source property. The dialog box prompts you to enter the name and location of the file. For more information about “Gradient Index Property Format”, see page 7.89.

Import a Surface Source Property

The steps listed below show the method to import an existing property within Surface Source Properties.

1.Select Define|Edit Property Data|Surface Source Properties to open the Surface Source Property Editor window.

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