Model simplification of chemical kinetic systems under uncertainty

Abstract

This thesis investigates the impact of uncertainty on the reduction and simplification of chemical kinetics mechanisms. Chemical kinetics simulations of complex fuels are very computationally expensive, especially when combined with transport, and so reduction or simplification must be used to make them more tractable. Existing approaches have been in an entirely deterministic setting, even though reaction rate parameters are generally highly uncertain. In this work, potential objectives under uncertainty are defined and then a number of studies are made in the hope of informing the development of a new uncertainty-aware simplification scheme. Modifications to an existing deterministic algorithm are made as a first step towards an appropriate new scheme.