On Thermal Stability Analysis for a Reacting Slab

In this chapter, thermal stability analysis of the steady state exothermic chemical reaction in a slab of combustible material is investigated in the present of convective heat loss to the ambient. The nonlinear differential equations governing the system are obtained and solved using perturbation technique together with a special type of Hermite-Padé series summation and improvement method. The effects of various embedded parameters on the temperature profile and thermal stability of the system are presented graphically and discussed quantitatively. The possibility of thermal runaway phenomena was shown and the corresponding thermal criticality values were obtained and illustrated on a bifurcation diagram. The results reveal the thermal stability criticality as well as the effects of various embedded parameters on the system.