A new model for atmospheric radiation under clear sky condition at various altitudes

Atmospheric radiation is one of the major factors that dominate the thermal behaviors of aerostats. A high-performance model is needed to evaluate the atmospheric radiation. Based on the atmospheric radiation database containing 24,862 data points compiled from 7 stations with the elevation from sea level to 2373 m and the reference code MODTRAN, a new atmospheric radiation model is proposed using regression and optimization software. It has excellent prediction accuracy with the coefficient of determination of 0.94, the root mean square error of 15.1 W/m2, and the mean absolute percentage error of 4.13% for the database. Comparison with the well-known existing model shows that the new model has the highest prediction accuracy. The new model predictions agree with the MODTRAN calculations at various altitudes very well, and thus it can be used for estimating the thermal performances of a high altitude aerostat.