Contributions of steady heat conduction to the rate of chemical reaction

TL;DR

This paper investigates how steady heat conduction influences chemical reaction rates using kinetic theory and compares different modeling approaches, highlighting the importance of second-order velocity distribution functions.

Contribution

It derives the effect of steady heat flux on reaction rates using the Boltzmann equation and compares results with BGK and information theory models, emphasizing the role of second-order distributions.

Findings

Second-order velocity distribution is crucial for accurate reaction rate calculation.

No qualitative differences found among Boltzmann, BGK, and information theory models.

Steady heat flux significantly affects chemical reaction rates.

Abstract

We have derived the effect of steady heat flux on the rate of chemical reaction based on the line-of-centers model using the explicit velocity distribution function of the steady-state Boltzmann equation for hard-sphere molecules to second order. It is found that the second-order velocity distribution function plays an essential role for the calculation of it. We have also compared our result with those from the steady-state Bhatnagar-Gross-Krook(BGK) equation and information theory, and found no qualitative differences among them.