Light Interreflections and Shadowing Effects in a Lambertian V-Cavity under Diffuse Illumination

The different areas of a concave object illuminate each other by a multiple light reflection process, called interreflections, depending on the geometries of the object and the lighting. For an accurate prediction of the radiance perceived from each point of the object by an observer or a camera, an interreflection model is necessary, taking into account the optical properties and the shape of the object, the orientation(s) of the incident light which can produce shadows, and the infinite number of light bounces between the different points of the object. The present paper focusses on the irradiance of two adjacent planar panels (V-cavity) illuminated by collimated light from any direction of the hemisphere, or by diffuse light. According to the reflectance of the material and the angle of the cavity, the loss of irradiance near the fold due to the shadowing effect is partly compensated by the gain in radiance due to the interreflections.