  A modification of Mott-Smith method for predicting the one-dimensional shock
wave solution is presented. Mott-Smith distribution function is used to
construct the system of moment equations to study the steady-state structure of
shock wave in a gas of Maxwell molecules and in argon. The predicted shock
solutions using the newly proposed formalism are compared with the experimental
data, direct-simulation Monte Carlo (DSMC) solution and the solutions predicted
by other existing theories for Mach numbers M<11. The density, temperature,
heat flux profiles and shock thickness calculated at different Mach numbers
have been shown to have good agreement with the experimental and DSMC
solutions. In addition, the predicted shock thickness is in good agreement with
the DSMC simulation result at low Mach numbers.
