Framework initialization

To begin, start MATLAB and navigate to the folder where you have downloaded the Combustion Toolbox. To include files in PATH, run this command in the command window:

INSTALL()

First, using the Combustion Toolbox (CT), you have to initialize the tool (load databases, set default variables, etc.). To do that, type the following at the prompt:

self = App()

If files contained in CT are correctly defined, you should see something like this:

self = 

  struct with fields:

            E: [1×1 struct]
            S: [1×1 struct]
            C: [1×1 struct]
         Misc: [1×1 struct]
           PD: [1×1 struct]
           PS: [1×1 struct]
           TN: [1×1 struct]
    DB_master: [1×1 struct]
           DB: [1×1 struct]

This self variable encapsulates essential shared data necessary for calculations and typically serves as the first argument in most CT routines. Thus, the data passed between the functions has been organized in a hierarchical tree structure (except for the GUI, which is based on OOP) as shown in Fig.1, namely:

• self (App): parent node; contains all the data of the code, e.g., databases, input values, and results.

• Constants (C): contains constant values.

• Elements (E): contains data of the chemical elements in the problem (names and indices for fast data access).

• Species (S): contains data of the chemical species in the problem (names and indices for fast data access), as well as lists (cells) with the species for complete combustion.

• Problem Description (PD): contains data of the problem to solve, e.g., initial mixture (composition, temperature, pressure), problem type, and its configuration.

• Problem Solution (PS): contains results (mixtures).

• Tuning Properties (TN): contains parameters that control the numerical error of the algorithms implemented in the different modules.

• Miscellaneous (Misc): contains values that configure the auto-generated plots and export setup, as well as flags.

• Database master (DB_master): a structured thermochemical database including data from McBride [2002], Burcat and Ruscic [2005].

• Database (DB): a structured thermochemical database with griddedInterpolant objects (see MATLAB built-in function griddedInterpolant.m) that contain piecewise cubic Hermite interpolating polynomials (PCHIP) [Fritsch and Carlson, 1980] for faster data access.

Figure 1: Combustion Toolbox hierarchical data tree structure, where App.m is the initialization function.