Systematization of relaxation gas dynamics equations. A review

The phenomenological theory of relaxation gas dynamics equations is outlined for laminar flows of multicomponent reacting gases in an approximation analogous to the Navier-Stokes approximation. A system of general equations of relaxation gas dynamics including the level kinetics equations for all excited internal degrees of freedom is formulated on the basis of notions of continuum mechanics. A procedure of going over to particular cases characterized by certain relations between the relaxation times is described and examples of the corresponding closed systems of gas dynamics equations including systems containing the balance equations of the level or mode approximations for the vibrational energy levels of molecules of a gas mixture are given. A method of constructing a database of the models of the rate constants of physicochemical processes as coefficients in the source terms of the balance equations is considered.