Experimental and kinetic study on ignition delay times of DME/H2/O2/Ar mixtures

Ignition delay times of dimethyl ether (DME)/hydrogen/oxygen/argon mixtures (hydrogen blending ratio ranging from 0% to 100%) were measured behind reflected shock waves at pressures of 1.2–10 atm, temperature range of 900–1700 K, and for the lean (ϕ = 0.5), stoichiometric (ϕ = 1.0) and rich (ϕ = 2.0) mixtures. For more understanding the effect of initial parameters, correlations of ignition delay times for the lean mixtures were obtained on the basis of the measured data (XH2 ⩽ 95%) through multiple linear regression. Ignition delay times of the DME/H2 mixtures demonstrate three ignition regimes. For XH2 ⩽ 80%, the ignition is dominated by the DME chemistry and ignition delay times show a typical Arrhenius dependence on temperature and pressure. For 80% ⩽ XH2 ⩽ 98%, the ignition is dominated by the combined chemistries of DME and hydrogen, and ignition delay times at higher pressures give higher ignition activation energy. However, for XH2 ⩾ 98%, the transition in activation energy for the mixture was found as decreasing the temperature, indicating that the ignition is dominated by the hydrogen chemistry. Simulations were made using two available models and different results were presented. Thus, sensitivity analysis was performed to illustrate the causes of different simulation results of the two models. Subsequently, chemically interpreting on the effect of hydrogen blending ratio on ignition delay times was made using small radical mole fraction and reaction pathway analysis. Finally, high-pressure simulations were performed, serving as a starting point for the future work.