A State-of-the-Art Survey of the Mechanics of Rarefied Gas Flows: Part I. Fundamental Equations,

Abstract

Several theoretical methods which are adopted for solving the problems of rarefied gas flows are explored in this theory. As the analytic approaches are based on the elements of probability laws and kinetic theory, a review of the method of classical and statistical mechanics is given. After deriving the classical Boltzmann equation for dilute gases starting with the Liouville's equation, some approximate analytical methods of solving the Boltzmann equation are discussed. The approximate analytical methods involve either expansions, in appropriate ways, of the molecular velocity distribution functions, or physical modeling of the collisional integrals of the Boltzmann equation. Some comments of the computational techniques are made in part 1, and more detailed information about these techniques will be provided in part 2 of the survey to be published in the near future. (Author)

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Sep 01, 1973
Accession Number
AD0769478

Entities

People

  • K. S. Nagaraja

Organizations

  • Air Force Research Laboratory

Tags

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Boltzmann Equation
  • Distribution Functions
  • Equations
  • Flow
  • Gas Flow
  • Gases
  • Kinetic Theory
  • Mechanics
  • Rarefied Gases
  • Statistical Mechanics

Fields of Study

  • Mathematics

Readers

  • Calculus or Mathematical Analysis
  • Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD)
  • Molecular Photonics/Laser Physics