COMPLEX DYNAMICS AND CHAOS IN A HYBRID SYSTEM MODELING A CONTROLLED REVERSE FLOW REACTOR

In this work some complex behaviors of a controlled reverse flow reactor is presented. The controlsystem introduces discrete events making the model an infinite dimensional hybrid system.The study is conducted through continuation techniques and brute force numerical simulations.Together with standard bifurcations like pitchfork, saddle-node and Neimark–Sacker, varyingthe set-point parameter of the controller, several novel aspects are singled out: an unusualsequence of period-adding bifurcation phenomena, a new route to chaos and the coexistence ofZeno states with quasi-periodic and chaotic regimes. The period-adding phenomena dictate thetransition between symmetric and asymmetric multiperiodic regimes and a simple rule for theoccurrence of symmetry breaking and recovery is found. The new route to chaos is a transitionfrom a quasi-periodic regime to chaos due to the presence of Zeno phenomena, typical of hybridsystems. The chaos is characterized by Zeno-like oscillations.