Effect of pressure and equivalence ratio on the ignition characteristics of dimethyl ether-hydrogen mixtures

Experimental and numerical study on the effect of pressure and equivalence ratio on the ignition delay times of the DME/H2/O2 mixtures diluted in argon were conducted using a shock tube and CHEMKIN II package at equivalence ratios of 0.5–2.0, pressures of 1.2–10 atm and hydrogen fractions of 0–100%. It was found that the measured ignition delay times of the DME/H2 mixtures demonstrate three ignition regimes. For the DME/H2 mixture at X H 2 ≤80%, the ignition is controlled by the DME chemistry and ignition delay times present a typical Arrhenius pressure dependence and weak equivalence ratio dependence. For the DME/H2 mixture at 80% <  X H 2  < 98%, the ignition is controlled by the combined chemistries of DME and hydrogen, and the ignition delay times give higher ignition activation energy at higher pressures and a typical Arrhenius equivalence ratio dependence. However, for the DME/H2 mixture at X H 2 ≥98%, the ignition is controlled by the hydrogen chemistry and ignition delay time shows complex pressure dependence and weak equivalence ratio dependence. Comparison of the measurements of neat DME and neat hydrogen with the calculations using three generally accepted mechanisms, NUIG Aramco Mech 1.3 [1], LLNL DME Mech [2–4] and Princeton-Zhao Mech [5], shows that NUIG Aramco Mech 1.3 gives the best predictions and can well capture the pressure and equivalence ratio dependence at various hydrogen fractions. The sensitivity and normalized H-radicals consumption analysis were performed using NUIG Aramco Mech 1.3 and the key reactions that control the ignition characteristics of DME/H2 mixtures were revealed. Further chemical kinetic analysis was made to interpret the ignition delay time dependence on pressure and equivalence ratio at varied hydrogen fractions.