Calculation of plane flows of a rarefied gas at low Knudsen numbers

A numerical method for calculating plane flows of a rarefied gas at low Knudsen numbers based on model kinetic equations is presented. The method is used to calculate two-dimensional gas flows in a plane channel. The conditions on surfaces which bound the flow domain are considered. In order to use the establishment method to solve the steady problem, two ways of changing from one spatially-uniform step to the next without destroying the conservativeness of the numerical scheme are proposed. By introducing regions of small and large steps in physical space it is possible to construct a steady solution of the problem of the motion of a gas in a long channel. (C) 1997 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.