Dynamics of lumped chemically reacting systems near singular bifurcation points

Abstract

The systematic method of locating and classifying complex dynamical regimes of lumped reactors involves analysis of dynamics near singular bifurcation points at multiple eigenvalues. Amplitude expansion in the proximity of a singular bifurcation combined with multiple time scaling are used to derive universal equations that, though valid quantitatively only in a narrow patch of the parametric space, give full qualitative information on dynamics of a system possessing the respective highest singularity. The principal general result is that an algebraic singularity of a certain order is required to obtain dynamics of a certain dimensionality. In the lowest order, this is cusp singularity for two-dimensional dynamics in the proximity of bifurcation at double zero eigenvalue, and swallowtail singularity for three-dimensional dynamics at triple zero eigenvalue. The basic equation of two-dimensional dynamics describes various transitions between stationary and periodic states as observed, for example, in a first-order exothermic reaction. The equation of three-dimensional dynamics generates more complex phenomena, in particular, chaotic regimes.