The law of mass action for fluid mixtures with several temperatures and velocities (Q1113770)

The behavior of a mixture of interaction fluids with different temperatures and non-vanishing diffusion velocities is investigated through a thermodynamic approach. A set of suitable constitutive relations governing the interactions among the constituents is derived via the requirement of Galilean invariance. Next, restrictions on the phenomenological coefficients are deduced via the entropy principle. A generalized law of mass action is then obtained which reduces to the usual one when mixtures at a common temperature, without diffusion, are considered. An application to plasmas is performed and an equation for the ionization equilibrium is obtained which generalizes Saha's equation.