A hierarchical approach for fast and accurate equilibrium calculation

In the present paper an improved stoichiometric algorithm based on the successive single reaction equilibrium has been described, avoiding the solution of large systems. The algorithm calculates the equilibrium composition adding automatically suitable new reactions to improve the convergence. The algorithm has been tested for plasma composition calculation for a pure nitrogen and air plasma mixtures. The algorithm proposed always converges and it is significantly faster than other hierarchical algorithms. (C) 2004 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.