Radiation fireballs are singular phenomena which involve severe thermal radiation and,
consequently, they need to be duly assessed and prevented. Although the radiative heat transfer
produced by a sphere is relatively well known, the shadowing measures implemented to control
the fireball’s devastating effects have frequently posed a difficult analytical instance, mainly due
to its specific configuration. The objective of this article is to develop a parametric algorithm that
provides the exact radiative configuration factors for the most general case in which the fireball is
located at any distance and height above the ground, partially hidden by a protective wall over an
affected area at different positions with respect to the said fireball. To this aim we use methods based
on Computational Geometry and Algorithm-Aided Design; tools that, departing from the projected
solid-angle principle, provide exact configuration factors, in all cases, even if they do not present
a definite analytical solution. This implies dealing with spatially curved radiative sources which
had not been addressed formerly in the literature due to their mathematical difficulties. Adequate
application of this method may improve the safety of a significant number of facilities and reduce
the number casualties among persons exposed to such risks. As a similar radiative problem appears
in volcanic explosions; we hope that further extensions of the method can be adapted to the issue
with advantage
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