An example program for the determination of chemical rate coefficients from experimental data

Abstract
A program for matching experimental data to the com puted concentrations of various components of a dynamic chemical process is implemented. The digital subsection of the computer is programmed to execute a steepest descent search procedure. The analog section is programmed to solve the chemical rate equations which simulate the re action dynamics. These equations form a two-point bound ary value problem. The search procedure changes param eters in the rate equations, and it compares the computed concentrations to the experimental ones. The squared error is summed over all data points, and this sum is minimized by the search. Significant speedup of the solution to this type of problem is possible with the hy brid system due to the fast solution of the differential equations on the analog and the automated search pro cedure on the digital.