Third M.I.T. Conference on Computational Fluid and Solid Mechanics June 14–17, 2005  

On chain branching and its role in homogeneous ignition and premixed flame propagation

J.C. Leea,*, H.N. Najma, S. Lefantzia, J. Raya, M. Frenklachb, M. Valoranic, D.A. Goussisd
aSandia National Laboratories, Livermore, CA 94550, USA bDepartment of Mechanical Engineering, University of California at Berkeley, and Environmental Energy Technologies Division, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, Berkeley, CA 94720, USA cUniversity of Rome 'La Sapienza', 00184 Roma, Italy dAgiou Georgiou 49, 26500 Rio, Greece
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ABSTRACT
The role of chain branching in a chemical kinetic system was investigated by analyzing the eigenvalues of the system. We found that in the homogeneous ignition of the hydrogen/air and methane/air mixtures, the branching mechanism gives rise to explosive modes (eigenvalues with positive real parts) in the induction period as expected; however, in their respective premixed flames, we found none. Thus, their existence is not a necessary condition for the propagation of a premixed flame.

Keywords:  Chemical kinetic system; Homogeneous ingnition; Premixed flame
* Corresponding author. Tel.: + 1 (860) 610 7553; Fax: + 1 (925) 294 2595; E-mail: leejc@utrc.utc.com