Numerical analysis of influence on spray combustion and emission characteristics in a DME fueled engine

Abstract

Emissions from a automotive vehicle have been highly concerned over the recent decades because of the increasing restriction on its effect on environmental aspect. Dimethyl ether (DME) is thought to be one of the most preferred alternative fuels for Compression ignition (CI) engines. Meanwhile, previous researches also have considered the good prospects for applying DME in CI engines. In this study, experimental and numerical approaches are used to investigate the spray combustion and emission characteristics of DME fuel in a compression ignition engine. To analyze spray behavior, injection and spray characteristics such as injection quantity, injection rate, and spray tip penetration are measured under various operating conditions. The combustion performance and exhaust emissions of DME fueled engine are calculated using AVL FIRE code. The simulated results are validated with experimental results from a direct DME injection compression ignition engine. From this study, DME has the almost zero since it has no C-C bonds, and has smaller CO and HC emissions than that of diesel fuel. The NOX emission is more higher comparing to diesel fuels due to the greater combustion temperature. These results provide the improved understanding of combustion process and exhaust emission characteristics of DME fueled CI engines.