Nonlinear analysis of a network of three continuous stirred tank reactors with periodic feed switching: Symmetry and symmetry-breaking

The spatiotemporal symmetry properties of a periodically forced network of three Continuous Stirred Tank Reactors are assessed. The symmetry is induced to the system by a cyclic switching of the feed and discharge positions. The symmetry properties imply that the Poincare, map is the third iterate of another nonstroboscopic map. This feature is here used to characterize the symmetry of the regime solutions, and to carry out bifurcation analysis. Possible bifurcation scenarios and, in particular, symmetry-breaking bifurcations are discussed. As the switch time is varied, different transitions have been identified: among the others, an important role in the birth of asymmetric regimes is played by frequency-locking phenomena. In addition, different routes to chaotic regimes (both symmetric and asymmetric) are reported.