Numerical Analysis of the Influence of Thermal Stresses on the Nonlinear Thermomolecular Pressure Difference Effect

Abstract

On the basis of a numerical analysis of the non-Navier-Stokes gas-dynamic equations for slow non-isothermal gas flows, the nonlinear thermomolecular pressure difference effect due to a large temperature gradient along the lateral surface of a capillary is investigated. It is shown that the magnitude of the effect is substantially different from the values calculated using the Navier-Stokes equations. For two models of molecular interaction (Maxwell molecules and hard spheres), the possibility of a quasi-one-dimensional interpretation of the effect for experimental estimation purposes is demonstrated. The solutions of the relaxation kinetic equation for flow in a plane capillary at small Knudsen numbers and the gas-dynamic equations for slow non-isothermal flows are compared and the range of their applicability is estimated.