Burning velocities of dimethyl ether and air

Flame speeds of dimethyl ether and air mixtures have been measured in a sph erical bomb by using two experimental methods, for equivalence ratios rangi ng from 0.7 to 1.7 at an initial pressure of 1 bar and a temperature of 295 K. The corrected funda-mental velocities were deduced from the measured fl ame speeds and thermodynamic data. The maximum burning velocity of 47.5 cm/ s was observed at an equivalence ratio of 1.13. Partial agreement with a mo del for dimethyl ether oxidation was obtained. Chemical kinetic modeling of the flame speeds was performed with a detailed mechanism for the oxidation of DME comprising 77 species and 351 reactions. In addition, sensitivity a nalysts were used to identify the most important reactions and showed methy l and formyl radicals are key species influencing the flame speed. (C) 2001 by The Combustion Institute.