Kinetic and thermodynamic treatment for the Rayleigh flow problem of an inhomogeneous charged gas mixture

Abstract

The extension of our previous paper [Can. J. Phys., 88 (2010), 501–511] has been made for an inhomogeneous charged rarefied gas mixture (two components plasma) instead of a single electron gas. In the present work, the kinetic and the irreversible thermodynamic properties of the plasma are presented from the molecular point of view. Our study is based on the solution of the BGK (Bhatnager–Gross–Krook) model of the Boltzmann kinetic equation together with the Maxwell's equations for both positive ions and electrons in the vicinity of a moving rigid plane. The fundamental aim of this investigation is to illustrate the mutual effects caused by collisions on the distribution functions. The distinction and comparisons between the perturbed and the equilibrium velocity distribution functions are illustrated for both electrons and ions. The ratios between the different contributions of the internal energy changes are predicted via the Gibbs's equation for both diamagnetic and paramagnetic plasmas. The results are applied to a typical model of laboratory Argon plasma.