Kinetics of hydrogen/oxygen reaction III. The explosion-limit equation and its applications

Abstract

The explosion-limit equation is considered term by term for the evaluation of the various constants and a comparison of the experimental figures with theoretical expectations. In general, the agreement is found to be satisfactory and the equation adequate in describing the whole observed region of spontaneous ignition. Certain features of the reaction about which there still exists some uncertainty are re-examined in the light of the present work. The aspects considered are those of vessel-size effects, the overall reaction mechanism, activation energy of the branching process, surface chain-breaking efficiencies, effects of inert gases and the action of sensitizers.