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Bifurcation and hysteresis varieties for the thermal-chainbranching model II: positive modal parameter

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  24 October 2008

Ian Stewart
Affiliation:
Mathematics Institute, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, England 218 Tulip Drive, Gaithersburg, Maryland, U.S.A.
Alexander Woodcock
Affiliation:
Mathematics Institute, University of Warwick, Coventry CV4 7AL, England 218 Tulip Drive, Gaithersburg, Maryland, U.S.A.

Extract

When hydrogen and oxygen react in a closed vessel, the reaction either happens slowly or explosively, depending on the initial temperature θ0 and pressure P. In the (θ0, P)-plane the boundary between these behaviours is represented by a curve. On this curve P is triple-valued over θ0 in certain ranges; that is, for certain initial temperatures there are three explosion limits. This phenomenon, known as the explosion peninsula, is among other things a sign that more than one elementary reaction is involved in the oxidation of hydrogen. Other reactions display similar effects.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge Philosophical Society 1984

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References

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