Effective search of starting values for kinetic parameters estimation

For the calculation of kinetic parameters from thermal data files numeric optimization has been well introduced. But suitable starting values near the global minimum of the sum of deviation squares are needed for a successfully parameter estimation. Namely the search for starting values requires a lot of time and diminishes the effectiveness of the total procedure. Therefore we have developed an algorithm of the automatic search of starting values for the optimization of activation energy end frequency factor of a chemical reaction. This search procedure uses the knowledge of the specific course of the corresponding SDS surface in the near of its global minimum. In this area the SDS describes two plateaus separated by a narrow valley. The search procedure avoids starting values at one of these plateaus. This PC program is part of the complex software package TA-kin v3.3 for kinetic evaluation of thermal measurements.