Development and validation of a reduced chemical kinetic model for dimethyl ether combustion

•A reduced DME mechanism is proposed for ignition delay and combustion predictions.•The reduced mechanism was validated against experimental ignition delay times.•The reduced mechanism was validated against the parent mechanism.•The reduced mechanism was validated against engine and emissions data.

A new, reduced reaction mechanism for DME combustion in internal combustion engines is proposed. The new mechanism is based on a detailed DME mechanism suitable for low to high temperature ranges. The reduced model consists of 29 species and 66 reactions and contains a detailed H2/CO mechanism and reduced C1–C2 chemistry. The reduced mechanism inherits the major reaction pathways of the detailed mechanism, which ensures its predictive capability when coupled into CFD simulations. The performance of the reduced mechanism was compared to simulation results of the detailed mechanism, ignition delay times from a shock tube and a rapid compression machine, and DME engine combustion data. Overall, the reduced mechanism shows a good balance between accuracy and computational efficiency necessary for use in combustion system design applications.