Thermal Explosion

Vasily B. Novozhilov is Professor of Mathematics at Victoria University in Melbourne, Australia. He previously held professorial positions at the Institute of Fire Safety Engineering Research and Technology at the University of Ulster, UK and at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. He is a member of The Combustion Institute and has authored or co-authored over 150 publications, including the book Theory of Solid-Propellant Nonsteady Combustion, also from Wiley.

• About the Author xiPreface xiiiImportant Notation and Abbreviations xix1 Introduction 11.1 Informal Description of Thermal Explosion 11.2 Historical Remarks and Terminology 31.3 Fundamentals of Chemical Kinetics 61.4 Definition of Thermal Explosion 101.5 Similarities and Differences with Other Phenomena 132 Classical Theory of Thermal Explosion 152.1 General Considerations 152.2 Steady-State Semenov Theory 202.3 Steady-State Frank–Kamenetskii Theory 232.3.1 Planar Symmetry 262.3.2 Cylindrical Symmetry 272.3.3 Spherical Symmetry 282.4 Non-steady Theory 322.5 Comparison of the Semenov and the Frank–Kamenetskii Formulations 373 Extended Mathematical Theory of Thermal Explosion 413.1 Generalized Boundary Conditions 413.2 Dynamical Regimes 493.3 Thermal Explosion in a Region of Arbitrary Shape 563.4 Stability of Thermal Explosion Solutions 603.5 Interpretation of Thermal Explosion in Terms of Theory of Catastrophes and Control Theory 633.6 Review of Other Results in Mathematical Theory of Thermal Explosion 664 Thermal Explosion in a Quiescent Medium 694.1 Kinetic Effects 694.2 Conjugate Thermal Explosion 804.3 Diffusion Thermal Explosion 924.4 Spotted Thermal Explosion 954.5 Experimental Validation of the Theory of Thermal Explosion 985 Thermal Explosion in Dynamic Mixtures 1015.1 Thermal Explosion in Flow Reactor 1015.2 Thermal Explosion Under Natural Convection Conditions 1065.3 Thermal Explosion Under Forced Convection Conditions 1356 Thermal Explosion and Fire Dynamics 1476.1 Compartment Fire Flashover: Problem Description 1476.2 One-Variable Thermal Explosion Models of Fire Flashover 1506.3 Two-Variable Thermal Explosion Models of Fire Flashover 1586.4 Pseudo – Three-Variable Models and Other Results in Thermal Explosion Modelling of Fire Flashover 1657 Thermal Explosion in Granular Reacting Media, Biosolid Fuels and Electric Batteries 1717.1 Experimental Data 1717.2 Thermal Explosion in Granular Reacting Media 1757.3 Thermal Explosion of Biosolid Fuels 1767.4 Thermal Explosion of Electric Batteries 1888 Control Problem in the Theory of Thermal Explosion 1958.1 Problem Formulation 1958.2 Instantaneous Control 1968.3 Smooth Control 2028.3.1 Smooth Autonomous Control 2078.3.2 Smooth Non-autonomous Control 2119 Thermal Explosion Prevention 2199.1 Concept of Thermal Management. Passive and Active Methods 2199.2 Passive Methods 2209.3 Inertization 2249.4 Cooling Media Injection 2259.5 Prevention of Fire Flashover 226References 237Problems 249Problem Solutions 251Index 263