A Continuum Theory for the Interaction of a Weakly Ionized Gas with an Emitting Surface,
Abstract
In problems dealing with the interaction of an ionized gas with an immersed body, the widely-used assumption that the surface acts as a perfect sink for all charged particles must sometimes be relaxed. The effects of surface electron emission (and incomplete absorption) on the behaviour of a stationary, collision-dominated, weakly ionized gas in the vicinity of a spherical probe are analyzed both in the limit of isothermal electrons and in the limit where an electron energy balance yields a variable temperature. A Knudsen layer argument relates the surface boundary conditions on the macroscopic variables to the imposed molecular conditions at the wall. Two levels of electron emission which arise naturally from the formulation are considered. (Modified author abstract)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jun 01, 1974
- Accession Number
- AD0787884
Entities
People
- Juris Kalnavarns
Organizations
- Princeton University