AE 517
Fundamentals of Gas Kinetics

Credit: 4 hours.


Fundamental concepts required to study gas dynamic problems from the viewpoint of kinetic theory; derivation of the Boltzmann equation from classical mechanics; reduced and truncated distribution functions and the BBGKY hierarchy; molecular collisions; flux vectors and equations of change; moment equations; summational invariants; H-theorem and Maxwellian distribution; inclusion of the effect of solid surfaces in kinetic theory; existence theory for the Boltzmann equation; iteration procedures; moment methods; Chapman-Enskog procedure; and first and second approximations to the distribution function, heat flux vector, and stress tensor. Prerequisite: ME 410 and AE 412.