EQUATIONS OF COMBUSTION IN THE PRESENCE OF COMPLEX CHEMISTRY

Our aim in this article is to study the equations of combustion in the presence of complex chemistry. A model of laminar premixed flame is c onsidered. Two types of theoretical results are derived. First we stud y existence and uniqueness of solutions and verify maximum principle p roperties. In particular we show that the temperature remains bounded, a. property which has been conjectured for some time but not yet prov ed [1]. Secondly we consider the associated attractor and estimate its dimension. The analysis is carried out for an arbitrary Lewis number and general, physically realistic chemical kinetics. The convective mo tion induced by the combustion is treated in the Overbeck-Boussinescq approximation. The characteristic lengths determining the attractor di mension are identified.