Poiseuille, thermal creep and Couette flow: results based on the CES model of the linearized Boltzmann equation

Abstract

A synthetic-kernel model (CES model) of the linearized Boltzmann equation is used along with an analytical discrete-ordinates method (ADO) to solve three fundamental problems concerning flow of a rarefied gas in a plane channel. More specifically, the problems of Couette flow, Poiseuille flow and thermal-creep flow are solved in terms of the CES model equation for an arbitrary mixture of specular and diffuse reflection at the walls confining the flow, and numerical results for the basic quantities of interest are reported. The comparisons made with results derived from solutions based on computationally intensive methods applied to the linearized Boltzmann equation are used to conclude that the CES model can be employed with confidence to improve the accuracy of results available from simpler approximations such as the BGK model or the S model.