Tump, Patrick Alan2011-10-242011-10-242011-09https://hdl.handle.net/11299/117016University of Minnesota M.S. thesis. September 2011. Major: Aerospace engineering and mechanics. Advisor: Thomas E. Schwartzentruber. 1 computer file (PDF); vi, 72 pages, appendix A.Large-scale molecular dynamics (MD) simulations using the Lennard-Jones potential are performed to study the structure of normal shock waves in dilute Nitrogen and mixtures of Helium-Argon and Helium-Xenon. The use of realistic MD simulations of normal shock waves promises to provide a more detailed solution than can be provided experimentally, providing a means to validate and create better DSMC models. MD simulations of Nitrogen and Helium-Argon mixtures show promising comparisons to experimental results, with near perfect agreement between MD and DSMC using Generalized Hard Sphere (GHS).en-USAerospace engineering and mechanicsThesis or Dissertation