Mathematically Reduced Chemical Reaction Mechanism Using Neural Networks

This is the final technical report for the project titled 'Mathematically Reduced Chemical Reaction Mechanism Using Neural Networks'. The aim of the project was to develop an efficient chemistry model for combustion simulations. The reduced chemistry model was developed mathematically without the need of having extensive knowledge of the chemistry involved. To aid in the development of the model, Neural Networks (NN) was used via a new network topology known as Non-linear Principal Components Analysis (NPCA). A commonly used Multilayer Perceptron Neural Network (MLP-NN) was modified to implement NPCA-NN. The training rate of NPCA-NN was improved with the GEneralized Regression Neural Network (GRNN) based on kernel smoothing techniques. Kernel smoothing provides a simple way of finding structure in data set without the imposition of a parametric model. The trajectory data of the reaction mechanism was generated based on the optimization techniques of genetic algorithm (GA). The NPCA-NN algorithm was then used for the reduction of Dimethyl Ether (DME) mechanism. DME is a recently discovered fuel made from natural gas, (and other feedstock such as coal, biomass, and urban wastes) which can be used in compression ignition engines as a substitute for diesel. An in-house two-dimensional Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) code was developed based on Meshfree technique and time marching solution algorithm. The project also provided valuable research experience to two graduate students