Performance investigation and design optimization of a thermoelectric generator applied in automobile exhaust waste heat recovery

Meng, Jing; Wang, Xiao‐Dong; Chen, Wei‐Hsin

doi:10.1016/j.enconman.2016.04.080

Cited by 135 publications

(40 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…17 The performance of a two-stage thermoelectric generator 18 is analyzed by using a combination of finite time thermodynamics and nonequilibrium thermodynamics in the study of Chen et al Snyder et al investigated the compatibility factor for the design of TEGs and compared the performances of the segmented generators and cascaded generators. 19 Although many researchers [15][16][17][18][19] designed the optimal structure of thermoelectric generators by mathematical and numerical method, larger output power and higher efficiency are not obtained in these studies; meanwhile, cascaded thermoelectric generators with different crosssectional area ratios and different contact resistances with updated thermoelectric material properties have been rarely investigated numerically. In the current study, the performance characteristics of cascaded thermoelectric generators are investigated in cases with different material properties, different cross-sectional area ratios, and different contact resistances, where the properties of TEG materials are temperature-dependent, which can provide an accurate analysis of thermoelectricity.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Although many researchers designed the optimal structure of thermoelectric generators by mathematical and numerical method, larger output power and higher efficiency are not obtained in these studies; meanwhile, cascaded thermoelectric generators with different cross‐sectional area ratios and different contact resistances with updated thermoelectric material properties have been rarely investigated numerically. In the current study, the performance characteristics of cascaded thermoelectric generators are investigated in cases with different material properties, different cross‐sectional area ratios, and different contact resistances, where the properties of TEG materials are temperature‐dependent, which can provide an accurate analysis of thermoelectricity.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Effects of the cross-sectional area ratios and contact resistance on the performance of a cascaded thermoelectric generator

Luo

Kim

2019

Int J Energy Res

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Summary Thermoelectric generator offers many advantages such as high durability, environmental protection, and high reliability. Since the geometric optimization of a thermoelectric generator is a proper way to improve the performance, this study considers the multiparameter optimization of thermoelectric generators to investigate the effect of cross‐sectional area ratios and contact resistance on the performance of thermoelectric generator. Here, a ∏‐type cascaded thermoelectric system with two stages including two p‐legs and two n‐legs is examined numerically by ANSYS Workbench. The effectiveness and efficiency are obtained for different electric contact resistances. The results show that with a decreasing of the electric contact resistance, the efficiency and effectiveness are increased. Also, higher output power and efficiency of the TEG device are observed with a suitable ratio of cross‐sectional area.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of the cross-sectional area ratios and contact resistance on the performance of a cascaded thermoelectric generator

Luo

Kim

2019

Int J Energy Res

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“…Figure 12 describes the BSFC reduction of the combined system at different ambient temperatures. The BSFC reduction of the combined system was calculated by Equation 6. The maximum BSFC reduction of the combined system was 3.98 g/(kW·h) and 3.3 g/(kW·h) at ambient temperature of 293 K and 303 K, respectively.…”

Section: Performance Evaluation With Different Ambient Temperaturesmentioning

confidence: 99%

Simulation analysis of cooling methods of an on-board organic Rankine cycle exhaust heat recovery system

Zhao

Wei

et al. 2017

Int J Energy Res

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Energy saving and emission reduction of engines were taken seriously, especially for vehicular diesel engines.\ud Exhaust heat recovery based on organic Rankine cycle (ORC) system has been considered as an effective\ud approach for improving engine fuel economy. This article presents the investigation of water or air cooling\ud method for an ORC exhaust heat recovery system on a heavy duty truck through simulations. The models of\ud the truck engine and the ORC system were developed in GT-suite, and the integration system model was\ud developed in the Simulink environment. The validity of the models was verified experimentally. The\ud performance of the vehicular engine with ORC system using water or air cooling method was comparatively\ud analyzed. The simulation results indicated that water cooling method is more suitable for the vehicular ORC\ud system than air cooling method. The relation between benefit and penalty of the ORC system and cooling system\ud was discussed. The operating condition of the cooling system was confirmed having significant effects on the\ud combined system performance, especially the fan speed. The performance improvement of the engine with the\ud use of ORC system was further evaluated under different engine operating conditions and ambient temperatures.\ud Lower ambient temperature had positive impacts on the engine fuel economy. The mass flow rate of exhaust\ud gas for heat recovery should be regulated for better performance under high ambient temperature

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“…Several studies have ratified promising future, that TEGs demonstrate ability to produce electric energy from waste heat of different applications. Some of them are introduced here: Bi 2 Te 3 -PbTe TEG obtains 211 kW electrical power from waste heat of Portland Cement Rotary Kilns [6]; study conducted in Japan presents potential of recovering radiant heat from steelmaking processes with 10-kW-class grid-connected TEG system [7]; thermoelectric power density of approximately 193.1 W/m 2 is obtained from waste heat of biomass gasifier [8], while power density nearly 100 W/m 2 is obtained from combustion chamber [9]; thermoelectric generator integrated within photovoltaic/thermal absorber improves total efficiency of generating system [10]; nearly 5 kWh/yearm 2 can be produced from solar ponds [11]; and the most common and studied TEGs, which recover waste heat from exhaust gas of vehicles in order to improve their efficiency [12][13][14].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Thermoelectric Power Generation Optimization by Thermal Design Means

Aranguren¹,

Astrain²

2016

Thermoelectrics for Power Generation - A Look at Trends in the Technology

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One of the biggest challenges of the twenty-first century is to satisfy the demand for electrical energy in an environmentally speaking clean way. Thus, it is very important to search for new alternative energy sources along with increasing the efficiency of current processes. Thermoelectric power generation, by means of harvesting waste heat and converting it into electricity, can help to achieve above-mentioned goal. Nowadays, efficiency of thermoelectric power generators limits them to become key technology in electric power generation, but their performance has potential of being optimized, if thermal design of such generators is optimized. Heat exchangers located on both sides of thermoelectric modules (TEMs), mass flow of refrigerants and occupancy ratio (the area covered by TEMs related to base area), among others, need to be fine-tuned in order to obtain the maximum net power generation (thermoelectric power generation minus consumption of auxiliary equipment). Finned dissipator, cold plate, heat pipe and thermosiphon are experimentally tested to maximize net thermoelectric generation on real-working furnace based on computational model. Maximum generation of 137 MWh/year using thermosiphons is achieved with 32% of area covered by TEMs.

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Performance investigation and design optimization of a thermoelectric generator applied in automobile exhaust waste heat recovery

Cited by 135 publications

References 32 publications

Effects of the cross-sectional area ratios and contact resistance on the performance of a cascaded thermoelectric generator

Effects of the cross-sectional area ratios and contact resistance on the performance of a cascaded thermoelectric generator

Simulation analysis of cooling methods of an on-board organic Rankine cycle exhaust heat recovery system

Thermoelectric Power Generation Optimization by Thermal Design Means

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