Ignition and extinction of catalytic reactions on a flat plate

Abstract

In this paper ignition and extinction processes of catalytic reactions in a flat plate boundary layer flow are analyzed. The catalytic plate has finite thickness and thermal conductivity. It is assumed a global one-step and irreversible chemical reaction with Arrhenius kinetics and large activation energy. lit is further assumed adiabatic boundary conditions for the lower surface and in both edges of the plate. For this case, the critical Damkohler number for ignition is not strongly affected by the axial heat conduction through the plate. On the other hand, the finite thermal conductivity has a big influence on the extinction process. An analytical expression for the critical Damkohler number for extinction is obtained.