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PurposeThe purpose of this paper is to investigate the effect of different guide fins structures (i.e. single-layer and double-layer guide fins) on the exhaust flow and thermal uniformity of the motorcycle exhaust thermoelectric generator.Design/methodology/approachOne single-layer guide fins structure and three double-layer guide fins structures are numerically investigated in terms of exhaust flow uniformity with different exhaust properties. Then, the double-layer guide fins structure achieving the highest flow uniformity is fabricated and experimentally investigated on a motorcycle at different engine speeds together with the single-layer guide fins structure to evaluate the thermal uniformity.FindingsThe double-layer guide fins structure obtains a better flow uniformity and thermal uniformity compared to the single-layer structure. Among surveyed structures, the double-layer structure with three closed V-shape guide fins achieves the highest flow uniformity. This structure also improves the thermal uniformity from 3.0 to 90.1% in comparison with the single-layer structure in experiments.Originality/valueIn this paper, the double-layer guide fins structures are derived from the improvement of the single-layer guide fins structure. The fluid flow uniformity index is applied as a measure for assessing the exhaust flow uniformity. The enhancement of thermal uniformity of the double-layer guide fins structure is expected to increase the longevity and performance of the motorcycle exhaust thermoelectric generator.

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