PATH-FOLLOWING FOR DISJOINT BIFURCATION PROBLEMS ARISING IN IGNITION THEORY

The correct formulation governing the ignition of a solid reactant undergoing slow oxidation gives rise to a nonlinear problem which in symmetrical geometries (infinite slab, cylinder, and sphere) is a two point boundary value problem. The discontinuity in the smallest branch of steady-states is the threshold for ignition. The solution branches are found by modifications of the path-following software (AUTO). Gross multiplicity of steady-states occurs for dimensions greater than two, and in all cases, the diagrams exhibit ''disjointedness'' for some parameter values which require special redefinition of the nonlinearity.