On the invariance of constitutive equations according to the kinetic theory of gases

Abstract

Iterative techniques for solving the Boltzmann equation in the kinetic theory of gases yield expressions for the stress tensor and heat flux vector that are analogous to constitutive equations in continuum mechanics. However, these expressions are not generally invariant under the Euclidean group of transformations, whereas constitutive equations in continuum mechanics are usually required to be by the principle of material frame indifference. This disparity in invariance properties has led some previous investigators to argue that Euclidean invariance should be discarded as a contraint on constitutive equations. It is proven mathematically in this paper that the results of the Chapman-Enskog iterative procedure have no direct bearing on this issue. In order to settle this question, it is necessary to examine mathematically the effect of superimposed rigid body rotations on solutions of the Boltzmann equation. A preliminary investigation along these lines is presented which suggests that the kinetic theory is consistent with material frame indifference in at least a strong approximate sense provided that the disparity in the time scales of the microscopic and macroscopic motions is extremely large—a condition which is usually a prerequisite for the existence of constitutive equations.