Solution of the Boltzmann equation for unsteady flows with shock waves in narrow channels

Unsteady rarefied gas flows in narrow channels accompanied by shock wave formation and propagation were studied by solving the Boltzmann kinetic equation. The formation of a shock wave from an initial discontinuity of gas parameters, its propagation, damping, and reflection from the channel end face were analyzed. The Boltzmann equation was solved using finite differences. The collision integral was calculated on a fixed velocity grid by a conservative projection method. A detector of shock wave position was developed to keep track of the wave front. Parallel computations were implemented on a cluster of computers with the use of the MPI technology. Plots of shock wave damping and detailed flow fields are presented.     

Kinetic model of the Boltzmann equation for a power-law intermolecular interaction potential

A model kinetic equation approximating the Boltzmann equation with a linearized collision integral is constructed to describe rarefied gas flows at moderate and low Knudsen numbers. The kinetic model describes gas flows with a power-law intermolecular interaction potential and involves five relaxation parameters. The structure of a shock wave is computed, and the results are compared with an experiment for argon.     

Qualitative difference between solutions for a model of the Boltzmann equation in the linear and nonlinear cases

We consider the Boltzmann equation in the framework of a nonlinear model for problems of the gas flow in a half-space (the Kramers problem). We prove the existence of a positive bounded solution and find the limit of this solution at infinity. We show that taking the nonlinear dependence of the collision integral on the distribution function into account leads to an asymptotically new solution of the initial equation. To illustrate the result, we present examples of functions describing the nonlinearity of the collision integral.     

A new consistent discrete‐velocity model for the Boltzmann equation

This paper discusses the convergence of a new discrete‐velocity model to the Boltzmann equation. First the consistency of the collision integral approximation is proved. Based on this we prove the convergence of solutions for a modified model to renormalized solutions of the Boltzmann equation. In a numerical example, the solutions to the discrete problems are compared with the exact solution of the Boltzmann equation in the space‐homogeneous case. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

非线性玻尔兹曼方程的傅里叶谱方法

玻尔兹曼方程作为空气动理学中最基本的方程之一,是连接微观牛顿力学和宏观连续介质力学的重要桥梁.该方程描述了一个由大量粒子组成的复杂系统的非平衡态时间演化:除了基本的输运项,其最重要的特性是粒子间的相互碰撞由一个高维,非局部且非线性的积分算子来描述,从而给玻尔兹曼方程的数值求解带来非常大的挑战.在过去的二十年间,基于傅里叶级数的谱方法成为了数值求解玻尔兹曼方程的一种很受欢迎且有效的确定性算法.这主要归功于谱方法的高精度及它可以被快速傅里叶变换加速的特质.本文将回顾玻尔兹曼方程的傅里叶谱方法,具体包括方法的导出,稳定性和收敛性分析,快速算法,以及在一大类基于碰撞的空气动理学方程中的推广.     

Method for solving the Boltzmann kinetic equation for polyatomic gases

A method is proposed for computing the collision operator of a generalized Boltzmann kinetic equation with allowance for energy transfer from translational to vibrational or rotational degrees of freedom. The collision operator is computed using a projection method on a uniform velocity grid. The operator satisfies the mass, momentum, and energy conservation laws and vanishes for an equilibrium velocity distribution function. Approximate models are suggested that provide savings on the computation of rotational-translational relaxation. Numerical examples are presented.     

Numerical study of radiometric forces via the direct solution of the Boltzmann kinetic equation

The two-dimensional rarefied gas motion in a Crookes radiometer and the resulting radiometric forces are studied by numerically solving the Boltzmann kinetic equation. The collision integral is directly evaluated using a projection method, and second-order accurate TVD schemes are used to solve the advection equation. The radiometric forces are found as functions of the Knudsen number and the temperatures, and their spatial distribution is analyzed.     

Convergence of a splitting method for the nonlinear Boltzmann equation

Convergence of a splitting method scheme for the nonlinear Boltzmann equation is considered. Using the splitting method scheme, boundedness of the positive solutions in a space of continuous functions is obtained. By means of the solution boundedness and some a priori estimates, convergence of the splitting method scheme and uniqueness of the limiting element are proved. The limiting element satisfies an equivalent integral Boltzmann equation. Thereby global in time solvability of the nonlinear Boltzmann equation is shown.     

Numerical study of the radiometric phenomenon exhibited by a rotating Crookes radiometer

The two-dimensional rarefied gas flow around a rotating Crookes radiometer and the arising radiometric forces are studied by numerically solving the Boltzmann kinetic equation. The computations are performed in a noninertial frame of reference rotating together with the radiometer. The collision integral is directly evaluated using a projection method, while second- and third-order accurate TVD schemes are used to solve the advection equation and the equation for inertia-induced transport in the velocity space, respectively. The radiometric forces are found as functions of the rotation frequency.     

Models of a linearized Boltzmann collision integral

For rarefied gas flows at moderate and low Knudsen numbers, model equations are derived that approximate the Boltzmann equation with a linearized collision integral. The new kinetic models generalize and refine the S-model kinetic equation.     

Equilibration Rate for the Linear Inhomogeneous Relaxation-Time Boltzmann Equation for Charged Particles

Abstract

We study the long-time behavior of a linear inhomogeneous Boltzmann equation. The collision operator is modeled by a simple relaxation towards the Maxwellian distribution with zero mean and fixed lattice temperature. Particles are moving under the action of an external potential that confines particles, i.e., there exists a unique stationary probability density. Convergence rate towards global equilibrium is explicitly measured based on the entropy dissipation method and apriori time independent estimates on the solutions. We are able to prove that this convergence is faster than any algebraic time function, but we cannot achieve exponential convergence.     

Solution of the Wang Chang–Uhlenbeck equation for molecular hydrogen

Molecular hydrogen is modeled by numerically solving the Wang Chang–Uhlenbeck equation. The differential scattering cross sections of molecules are calculated using the quantum mechanical scattering theory of rigid rotors. The collision integral is computed by applying a fully conservative projection method. Numerical results for relaxation, heat conduction, and a one-dimensional shock wave are presented.     

Linear Boltzmann equation as the weak coupling limit of a random Schrödinger equation

We study the time evolution of a quantum particle in a Gaussian random environment. We show that in the weak coupling limit the Wigner distribution of the wave function converges to a solution of a linear Boltzmann equation globally in time. The Boltzmann collision kernel is given by the Born approximation of the quantum differential scattering cross section. © 2000 John Wiley & Sons, Inc.     

A comparative analysis of approaches for investigating hypersonic flow over blunt bodies in a transitional regime

Hypersonic flows of a viscous perfect rarefied gas over blunt bodies in a transitional flow regime from continuum to free molecular, characteristic when spacecraft re-enter Earth's atmosphere at altitudes above 90-100 km, are considered. The two-dimensional problem of hypersonic flow is investigated over a wide range of free stream Knudsen numbers using both continuum and kinetic approaches: by numerical and analytical solutions of the continuum equations, by numerical solution of the Boltzmann kinetic equation with a model collision integral in the form of the S-model, and also by the direct simulation Monte Carlo method. The continuum approach is based on the use of asymptotically correct models of a thin viscous shock layer and a viscous shock layer. A refinement of the condition for a temperature jump on the body surface is proposed for the viscous shock layer model. The continuum and kinetic solutions, and also the solutions obtained by the Monte Carlo method are compared. The effectiveness, range of application, advantages and disadvantages of the different approaches are estimated.     

Numerical analysis of the weighted particle method applied to the semiconductor Boltzmann equation

Summary The semiconductor Boltzmann equation involves an integral operator, the kernel of which is a measure supported by a surface. This feature introduces some singularities of the exact solution, which makes the numerical approximation of this equation difficult. This paper is devoted to the error analysis of the weighted particle method (introduced by Mas-Gallic and Raviart [14]) applied to the space homogeneous semiconductor Boltzmann equation. The results are commented in view of the practical use of the method. This paper is closely related to [12], where results of numerical simulations on both test and real problems are given.     

Spectral methods for the non cut-off Boltzmann equation and numerical grazing collision limit

Summary. In this paper we study the numerical passage from the spatially homogeneous Boltzmann equation without cut-off to the Fokker-Planck-Landau equation in the so-called grazing collision limit. To this aim we derive a Fourier spectral method for the non cut-off Boltzmann equation in the spirit of [21,23]. We show that the kernel modes that define the spectral method have the correct grazing collision limit providing a consistent spectral method for the limiting Fokker-Planck-Landau equation. In particular, for small values of the scattering angle, we derive an approximate formula for the kernel modes of the non cut-off Boltzmann equation which, similarly to the Fokker-Planck-Landau case, can be computed with a fast algorithm. The uniform spectral accuracy of the method with respect to the grazing collision parameter is also proved. Received July 10, 2001 / Revised version received October 12, 2001 / Published online January 30, 2002     

Quantitative Lower Bounds for the Full Boltzmann Equation,Part I: Periodic Boundary Conditions

ABSTRACT

We prove the appearance of an explicit lower bound on the solution to the full Boltzmann equation in the torus for a broad family of collision kernels including in particular long-range interaction models, under the assumption of some uniform bounds on some hydrodynamic quantities. This lower bound is independent of time and space. When the collision kernel satisfies Grad's cutoff assumption, the lower bound is a global Maxwellian and its asymptotic behavior in velocity is optimal, whereas for noncutoff collision kernels the lower bound we obtain decreases exponentially but faster than the Maxwellian. Our results cover solutions constructed in a spatially homogeneous setting, as well as small-time or close-to-equilibrium solutions to the full Boltzmann equation in the torus. The constants are explicit and depend on the a priori bounds on the solution.     

Fast algorithms for computing the Boltzmann collision operator

The development of accurate and fast numerical schemes for the five-fold Boltzmann collision integral represents a challenging problem in scientific computing. For a particular class of interactions, including the so-called hard spheres model in dimension three, we are able to derive spectral methods that can be evaluated through fast algorithms. These algorithms are based on a suitable representation and approximation of the collision operator. Explicit expressions for the errors in the schemes are given and spectral accuracy is proved. Parallelization properties and adaptivity of the algorithms are also discussed.

     

A Relaxation Scheme for Solving the Boltzmann Equation Based on the Chapman-Enskog Expansion

Abstract In [16] a visco-elastic relaxation system, called the relaxed Burnett system, was proposed by Jinand Slemrod as a moment approximation to the Boltzmann equation. The relaxed Burnett system is weaklyparabolic, has a linearly hyperbolic convection part, and is endowed with a generalized eotropy inequality. Itagrees with the solution of the Boltzmann equation up to the Burnett order via the Chapman-Enskog expansion. We develop a one-dimensional non-oscillatory numerical scheme based on the relaxed Burnett system forthe Boltzmann equation. We compare numerical results for stationary shocks based on this relaxation scheme,and those obtained by the DSMC (Direct Simulation Monte Carlo), by the Navier-Stokes equations and bythe extended thermodynamics with thirteen moments (the Grad equations). Our numerical experiments showthat the relaxed Burnett gives more accurate approximations to the shock profiles of the Boltzmann equationobtained by the DSMC, for a range of Mach numbers for hypersonic flows, th     

A Comparison of Optimal Methods for Local Access Uncapacitated Network Design

We compare some optimal methods addressed to a problem of local access network design. We see this problem arising in telecommunication as a flow extension of the Steiner problem in directed graphs, thus including as particular cases some alternative approaches based on the spanning tree problem. We work with two equivalent flow formulations for the problem, the first referring to a single commodity and the second being a multicommodity flow model. The objective in both cases is the cost minimization of the sum of the fixed (structural) and variable (operational) costs of all the arcs composing an arborescence that links the origin node (switching center) to every demand node. The weak single commodity flow formulation is solved by a branch-and-bound strategy that applies Lagrangian relaxation for computing the bounds. The strong multicommodity flow model is solved by a branch-and-cut algorithm and by Benders decomposition. The use of a linear programming solver to address both the single commodity and the multicommodity models has also been investigated. Our experience suggests that a certain number of these modeling and solution strategies can be applied to the frequently occurring problems where basic optimal solutions to the linear program are automatically integral, so it also solves the combinatorial optimization problem right away. On the other hand, our main conclusion is that a well tailored Benders partitioning approach emerges as a robust method to cope with that fabricated cases where the linear programming relaxation exhibits a gap between the continuous and the integral optimal values.