Combustion is a multi-disciplinary subject in which thermodynamics, heat and mass transport, fluid mechanics and chemistry play equally important roles. Analysis of a combustion system most often requires carefully developed models that incorporate concepts from these disciplines. Except for idealized problems for which solutions can be obtained analytically, computational methods are used to obtain solutions of more realistic models.

The course starts with a review of the physical fundamentals of reacting flows and combustion: thermodynamic, chemical kinetics, transport processes, and conservation laws of reacting flows, including the use of analytical and computational methods to facilitate problem solving. Four canonical combustion phenomena are analyzed: combustion in homogeneous gaseous mixtures, laminar-diffusion flames, laminar-premixed flames, and detonation waves. More complex phenomena, such as multiphase combustion, turbulent combustion, combustion instability, etc., are covered. Time permitting, applications to combustion engines, internal and external, uncontrolled combustion (fires) and other applications are considered. Codes are used to compute phenomena of progressively more complex physics.