Front tracking for quantifying advection-reaction-diffusion

Area of Science:

• Chemical kinetics
• Physical chemistry
• Mathematical modeling

Background:

• Reaction fronts are crucial in chemical processes.
• Accurate measurement of front dynamics is essential for understanding reaction-diffusion systems.
• Existing methods often lack precision or require complex experimental setups.

Purpose of the Study:

• To introduce a novel front-tracking algorithm for measuring reaction front speed and thickness.
• To determine chemical diffusivity and reaction rates from front dynamics.
• To validate the algorithm's performance in reaction-diffusion systems and laboratory experiments.

Main Methods:

• Development of a front-tracking algorithm utilizing sequential concentration fields.
• Testing the algorithm with prescribed front speeds/thicknesses and simulation data.
• Application to laboratory experiments of the Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction.

Main Results:

• The algorithm accurately measures front speed and thickness.
• Calculated diffusivity and reaction rates closely match true values.
• Statistically robust measurements were obtained for the Belousov-Zhabotinsky reaction.

Conclusions:

• The front-tracking algorithm provides reliable local measurements of reaction front dynamics.
• It enables precise quantification of diffusivity and reaction rates in reaction-diffusion systems.
• The method advances the analysis of chemical waves and reaction kinetics.