STABILITY ANALYSIS OF TWO -VARIABLE MODEL FOR COMBUSTION IN SEALED CONTAINER

Abstract

The paper studies a model for combustion of self heating chem- icals which are in drums inside a sealed shipping container. The stability of interacting drums of chemicals is a problem of great importance for the safety of manufacturers, users and handlers of the energetic material. Since the rate of reaction varies rapidly with temperature, the paper objectively examines the role of temperature on stability of the energetic materials and specifically investigates the effect of temperature broadening exponent called numerical exponent on its stability. The criteria for which stable focus, unstable focus and Hopf’s bifurcation may occur in the new model are established. Of major interest is a criterion on the numerical exponent for which maximum ambient temperature could be attained.