Effect of Dissociation on the Rate of Vibrational Relaxation

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Abstract
The rate of dissociation behind strong shock waves in N2 and O2 is calculated using a revised model for the coupling of vibration and dissociation. In previous calculations a model which coupled the rate of dissociation to the degree of vibrational excitation was used. The present model adds to the coupled vibration‐dissociation model the fact that the rate of vibrational excitation is in part determined by the rate of dissociation. Since the average energy of molecules which are dissociated is greater than the average energy of the remaining molecules, this coupling results in a drain on the average vibrational energy. It is shown that this coupling reduces the strong overshoot in vibrational energy that was previously obtained, and decreases the rate of dissociation behind strong shocks.