Chemical Kinetic Mechanism Reduction and Construction Strategies of Multicomponent Fuels for Internal Combustion Engines: A Review

The growing demand for accurate and computationally efficient combustion mechanisms for simulations has driven significant advances in chemical kinetic mechanism reduction for multicomponent fuels. This review systematically examines the evolution of reduction methodologies, from early size- and stiffness-reduction techniques to modern construction-based and optimisation-driven strategies. Key approaches including directed relation graph (DRG) methods, sensitivity analysis, path flux analysis, computational singular perturbation (CSP), and genetic algorithms are critically assessed. The review further explores the foundational kinetic mechanisms of hydrocarbons, alcohols, ethers, and esters, highlighting the hierarchical role of C0–C4 core chemistry in multicomponent fuel oxidation. It provides a consolidated understanding of reduction strategies and workflows; highlights access to detailed kinetic mechanisms for practical fuels. A central finding is that co-oxidation interactions between fuel components significantly influence combustion behavior and must be explicitly retained in reduced mechanisms. Despite substantial progress, challenges remain in developing universal reduction frameworks, establishing standardised validation datasets, and achieving fully automated mechanism construction. This review provides a roadmap for researchers seeking to implement skeletal/reduced chemical kinetic models in multidimensional engine simulations while retaining chemical fidelity across wide operating conditions.