Stability Analysis of a Perfectly Stirred Reactor

Flame stability in furnaces and engines has always been a concern from both the design and operational points of views. This concern has become increasingly significant with burner modifications designed to control emissions (particularly NOX). In studies reported in this paper, we used the Perfectly Stirred reactor concept (PSR) as the primary model to evaluate its performance. Equations previously analysed by Baker and Essenhigh have been extended to include, particularly, the variability of the oxygen in the system. The equation set is used as the basis for a bifurcation analysis. The results establish the boundaries of ignition and extinction for different operating conditions. The bifurcation analysis shows that the system, if perfectly stirred, is evidently stable.