A computational analysis of methanol autoignition enhancement by dimethyl ether addition in a counterflow mixing layer

To provide fundamental insights into the ignition enhancement of methanol (MeOH) by the addition of the more reactive dimethyl ether (DME), computational parametric studies were conducted in a one-dimensional counterflow fuel versus air mixing layer configuration with the incorporation of detailed chemistry and transport. Various computational analysis tools based on the computational singular perturbation (CSP) framework were employed for detailed identifications of complex chemical pathways. CSP tools were also used to develop a 43-species skeletal mechanism for efficient computation of ignition of methanol-DME blends at engine conditions. The overarching practical question was the extent to which the addition of DME improves the ignitability of the methanol. As a baseline analysis, the results of a uniform temperature condition at 850 K showed that the low temperature chemistry associated with the DME fuel was highly effective in promoting autoignition. The increase in the oxidizer side temperature was found to diminish the ignition enhancement by DME blending, as the overall reactivity increases and the dominant chemical pathways become shifted towards the high temperature reactions. Finally, the strain rate effect on the ignition delay time was found to be significant for the pure methanol case, and then the effect diminishes as the amount of DME addition increases. This behavior was explained by examining the spatial locations of the ignition kernels and the Damköhler number history for different strain rate conditions.