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Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons

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Mathematical modeling

Faculty Publications

Publication Year

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Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics

Effect Of Interfacial Tension On Propagating Polymerization Fronts, R. Texier-Picard, John A. Pojman, Vitaly Volpert Mar 2000

Effect Of Interfacial Tension On Propagating Polymerization Fronts, R. Texier-Picard, John A. Pojman, Vitaly Volpert

Faculty Publications

This paper is devoted to the investigation of polymerization fronts converting a liquid monomer into a liquid polymer. We assume that the monomer and the polymer are immiscible and study the influence of the interfacial tension on the front stability. The mathematical model consists of the reaction-diffusion equations coupled with the Navier-Stokes equations through the convection terms. The jump conditions at the interface take into account the interfacial tension. Simple physical arguments show that the same temperature distribution could not lead to Marangoni instability for a nonreacting system. We fulfill a linear stability analysis and show that interaction of the …


The Effect Of Convection On A Propagating Front With A Liquid Product: Comparison Of Theory And Experiments, B. Mccaughey, John A. Pojman, C. Simmons, V.A. Volpert Jun 1998

The Effect Of Convection On A Propagating Front With A Liquid Product: Comparison Of Theory And Experiments, B. Mccaughey, John A. Pojman, C. Simmons, V.A. Volpert

Faculty Publications

This work is devoted to the investigation of propagating polymerization fronts converting a liquid monomer into a liquid polymer. We consider a simplified mathematical model which consists of the heat equation and equation for the depth of conversion for one-step chemical reaction and of the Navier-Stokes equations under the Boussinesq approximation. We fulfill the linear stability analysis of the stationary propagating front and find conditions of convective and thermal instabilities. We show that convection can occur not only for ascending fronts but also for descending fronts. Though in the latter case the exothermic chemical reaction heats the cold monomer from …


Numerical Modeling Of Self-Propagating Polymerization Fronts: The Role Of Kinetics On Front Stability, Stanislav E. Solovyov, Victor M. Ilyashenko, John A. Pojman Jun 1997

Numerical Modeling Of Self-Propagating Polymerization Fronts: The Role Of Kinetics On Front Stability, Stanislav E. Solovyov, Victor M. Ilyashenko, John A. Pojman

Faculty Publications

Frontal propagation of a highly exothermic polymerization reaction in a liquid is studied with the goal of developing a mathematical model of the process. As a model case we consider monomers such as methacrylic acid and n-butyl acrylate with peroxide initiators, although the model is not limited to these reactants and can be applied to any system with the similar basic polymerization mechanism. A three-step reaction mechanism, including initiation, propagation and termination steps, as well as a more simple one-step mechanism, were considered. For the one-step mechanism the loss of stability of propagating front was observed as a sequence …