NONEQUILIBRIUM EFFECTS ON ENERGY TRANSFER IN AN IONIZED FLUID FLOW

A multi-fluid theory is formulated and the resulting equation system is developed and then applied to an ionized fluid flow situation in order to evaluate the mechanisms of energy transfer. The effects of temperature and compositional nonequilibrium were explored for several temperature levels and for a range of fluid flow velocities. Comparisons of the multi-fluid theory results are made with results from conventional single-fluid theory for approximately equivalent fluid flow conditions. The multi-fluid theory investigations produced results which were generally consistent with the single-fluid theory procedures. The multi-fluid results were useful in evaluating the relative importance of the several different energy transfer mechanisms. In particular, it was demonstrated that conditions which yield electron temperatures greater than the heavy particle temperature led to a reduction in total heat transfer with increased electron temperature. (Author)