Optimization of Fin Distribution to Improve the Temperature Uniformity of a Heat Exchanger in a Thermoelectric Generator

Wu, Cheng; Tang, Zebo; Yang, Xue; Deng, Yadong; Su, Chuqi

doi:10.1007/s11664-014-3527-1

Cited by 45 publications

(13 citation statements)

References 18 publications

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“…Thermal uniformity and pressure drop by designing an exhaust heat exchanger with different internal fin distributions using CFD (Figure ) are optimized . Length, fin spacing, angle, and thickness of fins are considered for the fin distribution.…”

Section: Technical Issues Faced In Eteg and Possible Solutionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Schematic of computational fluid dynamics simulation (adapted from Wang et al) [Colour figure can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com]…”

Section: Technical Issues Faced In Eteg and Possible Solutionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Thermal uniformity and pressure drop by designing an exhaust heat exchanger with different internal fin distributions using CFD ( Figure 10) are optimized. 59 Length, fin spacing, angle, and thickness of fins are considered for the fin distribution. Variation of surface temperature (from 242°C to 208°C) and decrease in pressure drop (from 4.59 kPa to 0.98 Pa) are observed upon optimization.…”

Section: Inefficient Heat Exchanger and Heat Sinkmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Thermoelectric conversion of waste heat from IC engine-driven vehicles: A review of its application, issues, and solutions

Patowary

Baruah

2018

Int J Energy Res

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Summary Thermoelectric generator (TEG) is a promising thermoelectric (TE) conversion technology to effectively recover and convert waste heat from vehicle exhaust into useful energy, ie, electricity. Exhaust TEG (ETEG) is a system that is incorporated into the exhaust manifold of a vehicle. Exhaust TEG comprises of a heat exchanger, TEG modules, heat sink, and power conditioning unit. The present work reviews different vehicular ETEGs based on engine type, engine‐rated power, type and number of TEG module, efficiency of ETEG and TEG, exhaust and coolant temperature, and power output of ETEG. In addition to these, the technical issues faced in these ETEGs are addressed under 2 categories, viz., primary (TEG with low ZT TE material and inefficient heat exchanger and heat sink) and secondary issues (low operating temperature TEG modules and installation position of ETEG). In addition to it, effects of vibration and thermal cycling of exhaust system on TEG modules that may arise in ETEG are also discussed. A review of preventive solutions to the issues is also presented. Finally, the economic aspects of an ETEG are also discussed. The review highlights the need of commercialization of TE materials with ZT > 2, high‐temperature operating range, and segmented TEG modules in large volumes so that their practice can be extended in vehicular applications. Heat exchanger modeling using computational fluid dynamics and interfacing with heat transfer theory is essential to maintain temperature uniformity across the TEG modules. Installation of ETEG in the exhaust pipe should be such that it does not affect the performance of the engine. It is also realized that sturdy TEG modules should be developed for long‐term operation to prevent degradation due to mechanical vibration and thermal cycling of the vehicle. Further, ETEG is economically beneficial in vehicles such as trucks owing to availability of high thermal energy in their exhaust stream.

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Section: Technical Issues Faced In Eteg and Possible Solutionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Schematic of computational fluid dynamics simulation (adapted from Wang et al) [Colour figure can be viewed at wileyonlinelibrary.com]…”

Section: Technical Issues Faced In Eteg and Possible Solutionsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Inefficient Heat Exchanger and Heat Sinkmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Thermoelectric conversion of waste heat from IC engine-driven vehicles: A review of its application, issues, and solutions

Patowary

Baruah

2018

Int J Energy Res

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“…16, among the listed 16 TE materials, the BiTe-based TE materials have the largest figure of merit below 200 °C, but the figure of merit of PbTe-based TE materials are the largest in the range of 200-500 °C. In fact, the temperature uniformity had a significant effect on the electric power output [65]. To maximize the electric power output, the fin distribution of hot-side shutterfin heat exchanger was optimized for a given vehicle TEG system [65].…”

Section: Radial and Flow-directional Segmented Enhancement Technologimentioning

confidence: 99%

“…In fact, the temperature uniformity had a significant effect on the electric power output [65]. To maximize the electric power output, the fin distribution of hot-side shutterfin heat exchanger was optimized for a given vehicle TEG system [65]. The optimized result showed that the pitch of upstream fins positioned 0.5 mm larger than down-stream fins gave the best temperature uniformity, which could result in larger power output.…”

Section: Radial and Flow-directional Segmented Enhancement Technologimentioning

confidence: 99%

A review on thermoelectric-hydraulic performance and heat transfer enhancement technologies of thermoelectric power generator system

et al. 2018

THERM SCI

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The thermoelectric material is considered to a good choice to recycle the waste heat in the power and energy systems because the thermoelectric material is a solid-state energy converter which can directly convert thermal energy into electrical energy, especially suitable for high temperature power and energy systems due to the large temperature difference. However, the figure of merit of thermoelectric material is very low, and the thermoelectric power of generator system is even lower. This work reviews the recent progress on the thermoelectric power generator system from the view of heat transfer, including the theoretical analysis and numerical simulation on thermoelectric-hydraulic performance, conventional heat transfer enhancement technologies, radial and flow-directional segmented enhancement technologies for the thermoelectric power generator system. Review ends with the discussion of the future research directions of numerical simulation methods and heat transfer enhancement technologies used for the thermoelectric power generator in high temperature power and energy systems.

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Multi‐Scale Microstructural Thermoelectric Materials: Transport Behavior, Non‐Equilibrium Preparation, and Applications

et al. 2017

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Considering only about one third of the world's energy consumption is effectively utilized for functional uses, and the remaining is dissipated as waste heat, thermoelectric (TE) materials, which offer a direct and clean thermal-to-electric conversion pathway, have generated a tremendous worldwide interest. The last two decades have witnessed a remarkable development in TE materials. This Review summarizes the efforts devoted to the study of non-equilibrium synthesis of TE materials with multi-scale structures, their transport behavior, and areas of applications. Studies that work towards the ultimate goal of developing highly efficient TE materials possessing multi-scale architectures are highlighted, encompassing the optimization of TE performance via engineering the structures with different dimensional aspects spanning from the atomic and molecular scales, to nanometer sizes, and to the mesoscale. In consideration of the practical applications of high-performance TE materials, the non-equilibrium approaches offer a fast and controllable fabrication of multi-scale microstructures, and their scale up to industrial-size manufacturing is emphasized here. Finally, the design of two integrated power generating TE systems are described-a solar thermoelectric-photovoltaic hybrid system and a vehicle waste heat harvesting system-that represent perhaps the most important applications of thermoelectricity in the energy conversion area.

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Optimization of Fin Distribution to Improve the Temperature Uniformity of a Heat Exchanger in a Thermoelectric Generator

Cited by 45 publications

References 18 publications

Thermoelectric conversion of waste heat from IC engine-driven vehicles: A review of its application, issues, and solutions

Thermoelectric conversion of waste heat from IC engine-driven vehicles: A review of its application, issues, and solutions

A review on thermoelectric-hydraulic performance and heat transfer enhancement technologies of thermoelectric power generator system

Multi‐Scale Microstructural Thermoelectric Materials: Transport Behavior, Non‐Equilibrium Preparation, and Applications

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