Abstract
Recently many issues related to automotive engineering, such as the environment and energy problems have gained attention. These social-related issues are giving impetus to the adoption of urgent measures such as alternative fuels and new combustion techniques for the internal combustion engines. In this context, dimethyl ether is thought to be a potential alternative fuel, as it has lower overall pollutant emissions and better economy. The purposes of this paper are to examine the combustion properties of DME flames at elevated pressure up to 2.0MPa. Laminar burning velocities of DME-air mixtures were determined experimentally over a wide range of equivalence ratio under the various pressures of 0.1MPa, 0.3MPa and 0.5MPa, employing spherically expanding flames. In addition, the combustion properties of DME flames at elevated pressure up to 2.0MPa were examined to clarify the dynamic behavior of the effect of initial pressure corresponding to the practical engine condition.
