Transport Properties of High-Temperature Multicomponent Gas Mixtures

Abstract

An investigation is made of some modifications in the kinetic theory of gaseous transport properties which are necessary to take account of effects encountered at high temperatures. In particular, complications arise because of the existence of a multiplicity of different interaction energy curves governing collisions, and because of the possibility of resonant excitation and charge exchange during collisions. It is shown that the results of classical kinetic theory can be kept in the same form, but the cross sections or collision integrals have to be computed differently. It is pointed out that the present modifications are valid to all orders of Chapman‐Enskog approximation. It is also shown that excitation exchange is important in determining the transport properties of mixtures at high temperatures, and the method of calculation of the excitation exchange probability is extended to cases for which multiple interaction curves are involved.