Laminar flame speed measurements of dimethyl ether in air at pressures up to 10 atm

Laminar flame speed measurements of dimethyl ether/air mixtures were made at 1, 5, and 10 atm with equivalence ratios ranging from 0.7 to 1.6. All experiments were performed in a large cylindrical constant-volume bomb with optical access. A new method for converting flame images into flame radii was used. Results reported in other studies were investigated, and some explanations on the disparities found are presented. A full uncertainty analysis was performed combining precision errors from data scatter with predicted systematic errors. Uncertainties ranging between 4.2% and 8.6% were found depending on the equivalence ratio and initial pressure. Experimental results agreed well with some other spherical flame experiments and counterflow flame measurements, but were found to be much lower than PIV-based stagnation flame results. Also, two spherical flame studies deviated significantly both in magnitude and trend. Critical radii and Peclet numbers, defined by the onset of rapid flame acceleration, were recorded for all high-pressure experiments. Markstein lengths were measured and showed a decreasing trend with increasing equivalence ratio. Three different methods were used to define the laminar flame thickness, and large disparities were found between them. In this study, the modeled temperature gradient method for the definition of flame thickness is preferred over other methods. Modeling was performed with the latest version of a C3 chemical kinetics mechanism. Good agreement is seen between the experimental results and the model at all pressures. Emphasis is placed in this paper on reporting experimental uncertainties, calculated density ratios, flame temperatures, and flame radii ranges used for data analysis, and the results resolve some discrepancies seen in the literature for dimethyl ether flame speeds. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.