Maxwell’s second- and third-order equations of transfer for non-Maxwellian gases

Abstract

Condensed algebraic forms for Maxwell’s second- and third-order equations of transfer are developed for the case of molecules described by either elastic hard spheres, inverse-power potentials, or by Bird’s variable hard-sphere model. These highly reduced, yet exact, equations provide a new point of origin, when using the moment method, in seeking approximate solutions in the kinetic theory of gases for molecular models that are physically more realistic than that provided by the Maxwell model. An important by-product of the analysis, when using these second- and third-order relations is that a clear mathematical connection develops between Bird’s variable hard-sphere model and that for the inverse-power potential.