Influence of angular momentum on transport coefficients in rarefied gases

Abstract In the present work, the influence of intrinsic angular momentum on transport coefficients in a single-component gas flow is studied on the basis of the generalized Chapman–Enskog method. A self-consistent set of flow equations is derived, both for an inviscid and viscous flow approximations. It is shown that when angular momentum is considered, the shear viscosity coefficient is a tensor of rank 4, the thermal conductivity coefficient is a tensor of rank 2. The presence of cross-coupling between the heat flux and flux of angular momentum is also demonstrated. Numerical results for the thermal conductivity coefficient, coefficient of coupling between angular momentum and heat fluxes, as well as the bulk viscosity are presented for the case of 2-dimensional flow of atomic hydrogen.