The impact of different stiff ODE solvers in parallel simulation of Diesel combustion

In this paper we analyze the behaviour of two stiff ODE solvers in the solution of chemical kinetics systems arising from detailed models of Diesel combustion. We consider general-purpose solvers, based on Backward Differentiation Formulas or Runge-Kutta methods and compare their impact, in terms of reliability and efficiency, on the solution of two different chemical kinetics systems, modeling combustion in the context of realistic simulations of Common Rail Diesel Engines. Numerical experiments have been carried out by using an improved version of KIVA3V, interfacing a parallel combustion solver. The parallel combustion solver is based on the CHEMKIN package for evaluating chemical reaction rates and on the general-purpose stiff ODE solvers for solving chemical kynetic equations.