Thermal solitons: travelling waves in combustion

A competitive reaction system is considered, under which some chemical reagent decays by means of two simultaneous chemical reactions to form two separate inert products. One reaction is exothermic, and the other is endothermic. The governing equations for the model are presented, and a weakly nonlinear theory is then generated using the method of strained coordinates. Travelling-wave solutions are possible in the model, and the temperature is found to have a classical sech-squared profile. The stability of these moderate-amplitude temperature solitons is confirmed both analytically and numerically.