Theory of Laminar Flame Stability. I. Analytic Stability Condition

Abstract

The stability of propagation of a laminar flame or combustion wave is studied for a general type of flame propagating medium. This is done by investigating the stability of the steady‐state solution of the flame equations for such a system. The method is to solve the linearized system of partial differential equations resulting from an instantaneous heat release perturbation of the steady‐state solution. An approximate solution in analytic form to this linearized partial system is obtained. This permits the statement of an analytic stability condition, and shows the existence of stability limits. The existence of stability limits is suggested as an explanation of inflammability limits.