The TETRA bi-directional reflectance distribution function (BRDF) model was developed to simulate the reflection from random rough surfaces in optical radiation transfer modeling by the Monte Carlo method (MCM). This procedural model is based on geometrical optics, has as a prototype the two-dimensional model proposed by Torrance and Sparrow, and allows generating, for each ray, a random tetrahedral pit with walls that reflect according to Fresnel's law. An incident ray undergoes one or several reflections from the tetrahedron's walls, and then continues to participate in the radiation transfer on the macro-level. The properties of the TETRA BRDF are studied using numerical experiments.

Date Published: 29 August 2008
PDF: 12 pages
Proc. SPIE 7065, Reflection, Scattering, and Diffraction from Surfaces, 70650W (29 August 2008); doi: 10.1117/12.796142

Published in SPIE Proceedings Vol. 7065:
Reflection, Scattering, and Diffraction from Surfaces
Zu-Han Gu; Leonard M. Hanssen, Editor(s)