Chapter 1: Introduction

Reaction Workbench is a suite of mechanism-processing utilities designed for use with Ansys Chemkin. Reaction Workbench includes automated and guided mechanism-reduction capabilities, mechanism-extraction and mechanism-merge utilities. In addition, for hydrocarbon combustion applications in particular, the Surrogate Blend Optimizer facilitates determining model-fuel compositions designed to match real-fuel properties.

Tthe Reaction Workbench software features include a more comprehensive, iterative process for mechanism reduction that involves multiple reduction techniques. For the Surrogate Blend optimizer, an extensive collection of properties and non-linear blending options are available.

User Guide describes each of the Reaction Workbench operations, including:

  • Mechanism Utilities.

  • Surrogate Blend Optimizer.

  • Mechanism Optimization.

  • Mechanism Reduction.

  • Property Estimation from Molecular Structure.

  • Utility for Multi-Zone HCCI Engine Model Extraction from CFD.

Included in each section are instructions on the mechanics of setting up a problem using these modules, as well as guidance on how to apply these capabilities to problems of interest. Theory for Reaction Workbench Models provides the theoretical principles underlying mechanism reduction and surrogate optimization strategies. Mechanism and Fuel-Property Data describes the chemistry sets, mechanism files, and fuel-property data that are provided with Reaction Workbench.

For recommendations on best practices for reducing mechanisms, see the Mechanism Reduction Best Practices.

Reaction Workbench tutorials are available in the Reaction Workbench Tutorial Guide (on the Ansys Help website). This book describes the projects; the files that correspond to these tutorials are included in the Ansys Chemkin software installation.