On the basic concepts of the direct simulation Monte Carlo method

In this paper, the basic ideas underlying the Direct Simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) method are examined and a novel nonhomogeneous N-particle kinetic equation describing the randomized mathematical model of DSMC is derived. It is shown that different collision-partner selection schemes, including No-Time-Counter (NTC) and Bernoulli-trials schemes, are approximations of the general transition operator of the randomized model. The popular collision-partner selection schemes, represented by the standard NTC and Bernoulli-trials approximations of the general transition operator, represented by Simplified Bernoulli-trials and Generalized Bernoulli-trials schemes, are tested on the one-dimensional rarefied gas heat transfer problem against conditions of two approximation limits: first, leading to the Boltzmann equation and, second, leading to the novel N-particle kinetic one.