Burning velocities of dimethyl ether and air

Flame speeds of dimethyl ether and air mixtures have been measured in a spherical bomb by using two experimental methods, for equivalence ratios ranging 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 flame 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 model 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 analysts were used to identify the most important reactions and showed methyl and formyl radicals are key species influencing the flame speed. (C) 2001 by The Combustion Institute.