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Study of the effects of axial conduction on the performance of thermoelectric generators integrated in a heat exchanger for waste heat recovery applications

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  • Zaher, M.H.
  • Abdelsalam, M.Y.
  • Cotton, J.S.

Abstract

The electrical power generated from thermoelectric generators (TEGs) integrated in a heat exchanger is maximized by applying novel heat exchanger design criteria for waste heat recovery systems. A numerical model is developed and experimentally validated to simulate the performance of TEG-integrated heat exchangers. The performance of a heat recovery system, suitable for low temperature commercial applications ~300 °C, is investigated for a range of heat exchanger sizes of 2 to 8 TEG rows and exhaust gas mass flow rates of 0.02 to 0.08 kg/s. The adverse effect of the heat conducted axially, along the flow direction, on the total power output of the TEGs is quantified. The number of rows reaches an optimum value for a given gas flow rate beyond which a significant drop in the hot-side temperature of the upstream TEG rows occurs due to the increase of the axial conduction between successive rows. The term “Power Gain” is introduced in this study as the ratio between the power output from a system without axial conduction to that with axial conduction. Power Gain shows the potential benefits of limiting the axial conduction through the heat exchanger and values up to 1.2 times (20% increase in power) can be obtained for relatively low exhaust gas flow rates (~0.02 kg/s). Novel performance maps are developed to correlate the power output with the heat exchanger design, exhaust gas flow rate and number of TEGs. Such maps can be used to guide the optimization of the design of TEG-integrated waste heat recovery systems.

Suggested Citation

  • Zaher, M.H. & Abdelsalam, M.Y. & Cotton, J.S., 2020. "Study of the effects of axial conduction on the performance of thermoelectric generators integrated in a heat exchanger for waste heat recovery applications," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 261(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:261:y:2020:i:c:s0306261919321221
    DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2019.114434
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Hsu, Cheng-Ting & Huang, Gia-Yeh & Chu, Hsu-Shen & Yu, Ben & Yao, Da-Jeng, 2011. "Experiments and simulations on low-temperature waste heat harvesting system by thermoelectric power generators," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 88(4), pages 1291-1297, April.
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    Cited by:

    1. Jie Liu & Ki-Yeol Shin & Sung Chul Kim, 2022. "Comparison and Parametric Analysis of Thermoelectric Generator System for Industrial Waste Heat Recovery with Three Types of Heat Sinks: Numerical Study," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(17), pages 1-16, August.
    2. Ryszard Buchalik & Grzegorz Nowak & Iwona Nowak, 2024. "The Impact of Asymmetric Contact Resistance on the Operating Parameters of Thermoelectric Systems," Energies, MDPI, vol. 17(3), pages 1-29, January.
    3. Buchalik, Ryszard & Nowak, Grzegorz & Nowak, Iwona, 2021. "Mathematical model of a thermoelectric system based on steady- and rapid-state measurements," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 293(C).
    4. Lan, Yuncheng & Lu, Junhui & Mu, Lianbo & Wang, Suilin & Zhai, Huixing, 2023. "Waste heat recovery from exhausted gas of a proton exchange membrane fuel cell to produce hydrogen using thermoelectric generator," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 334(C).
    5. Garud, Kunal Sandip & Seo, Jae-Hyeong & Bang, You-Ma & Pyo, Young-Dug & Cho, Chong-Pyo & Lee, Moo-Yeon & Lee, Dong-Yeon, 2022. "Energy, exergy, environmental sustainability and economic analyses for automotive thermoelectric generator system with various configurations," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 244(PA).
    6. He, Min & Wang, Enhua & Zhang, Yuanyin & Zhang, Wen & Zhang, Fujun & Zhao, Changlu, 2020. "Performance analysis of a multilayer thermoelectric generator for exhaust heat recovery of a heavy-duty diesel engine," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 274(C).

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