ISSN Online: 2377-424X
ISBN Print: 978-1-56700-421-2
International Heat Transfer Conference 15
Design Optimization of Automobile Exhaust Thermoelectric Generator for Waste Heat Recovery
Abstract
The exhaust of automobile engine contains considerable amount of waste heat, which can be potentially
recovered by thermoelectric generator (TEG). Nowadays, it becomes critically important to recover such
waste heat for improving the overall energy conversion efficiency due to the increasing demand on energy
saving. Moreover, the heat transfer processes need to be optimized to improve the waste heat recovery
efficiency. In this study, a three-dimensional model for automobile exhaust thermoelectric generator module
(AETEM) system is developed. The heat and fluid flow in exhaust flow field, heat transfer in TEG module,
and electron generation and transport are all coupled in this numerical model. The performance and heat and
mass transfer characteristics with two designs of the exhaust flow channel are investigated based on this
three-dimensional model. It is found that proper design optimization, such as placing fastigiate bafflers in
flow channel, can improve the performance of TEG module significantly.