Nonequilibrium flow of a dissociating gas in a horizontal channel with axial temperature variation

Flow of a rarefied high temperature ideal dissociating gas in a horizontal channel is studied under a general differential approximation for radiative heat flux. On the assumption that there is a small but linear axial wall temperature variation, the problem is tackled by a perturbation series expansion. The basic approximation is nonlinear and it is tackled by an iterative algorithm involving nonlinear integral equations. The higher approximation which is linear is solved by a finite difference scheme. Consequences of the effect of relaxation on the heat transfer are discussed quantitatively. (author). 7 refs, 2 figs