Spatial dynamics of steady flames 1. Phase space structure and the dynamics of individual trajectories

The spatial dynamics of steady, one-dimensional premixed H 2/O 2 flames are studied. The emphasis in this Article is the geometry of the phase space of the dynamical system describing the steady flames. It is shown that steady flames are described by trajectories on the stable manifolds of saddle fixed points. The saddle fixed points correspond to equilibrium points of time-dependent chemical-kinetic systems that are adiabatic and isobaric and whose constant enthalpy matches the asymptotic enthalpy of the flames. The dimensions of the stable manifolds match the dimensions of the chemical-kinetic systems under most conditions, although the dynamics on them are different. It is further shown that the stable manifolds have low-dimensional attractive submanifolds near the saddlepoint. An algorithm for generating trajectories over the spatial domain of these flames is proposed, and it is used to study individual trajectories and trajectory ensembles, whose collective behavior suggests that there are low-dimensional submanifolds away from the saddlepoint.