Bifurcation phenomena for an oxidation reaction in a continuously stirred tank reactor - I. Adiabatic operation

We investigate the steady-state multiplicity exhibited by the reaction of a fuel/air mixture in a continuously stirred tank reactor. The chemical mechanism used is a modification of a scheme due to Sal'nikov. We consider four cases; corresponding to the choice of fuel fraction, inflow temperature, inflow pressure, or precursor decay rate as the primary bifurcation parameter. From the perspective of fire-retardancy, the case when the fuel fraction is varied is the most important. In this case the steady-state diagrams provide a basis for a systematic investigation into the effectiveness of gas-phase active fire retardants.