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Exploratory review of the heat exchanger and cooler geometrical effect on energy harvesting from automobile exhaust using thermoelectric generators

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Abstract

To shift the usual path of ejection of the energy accompanying the exhausts of internal combustion engines, extensive studies have been carried out regarding the powder metallurgy technology used for the manufacturing and forming of various thermoelectric generator couple shapes and how to enhance their power efficiency. But in the present sco** review, the goal is to explain how the temperature difference on the thermoelectric generator sides was affected by improving the external and internal structures of the hot side (heat exchanger) and cold side (cooler) to enhance the amount of harvested power. It was also discussed how cooling techniques and the kinds of metals used to make heat exchangers and coolers affected the output power was explained too. The sco** review was devoted to displaying previous works and systems on how to harvest energy from the exhausts of automobile internal combustion engines and reviewing the impact of the dimensions, arrangements, and shapes of internal obstacles or fins on the amount of temperature difference and produced power. The conclusions are summarized as a path map and viewpoints for the future work of researchers in designing heat exchangers and coolers and profitable investment from the data that has been prepared and summarized in tables (2 and 4). It should also be noted two major factors, the first being the pressure drop, which is necessary to avoid engine power losses across the heat exchanger, and the second being the reduction of extra mass and fuel consumption due to the installation of the heat exchanger, it is possible to design the muffler so that the thermoelectric generators can be installed on it.

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Abbreviations

Α:

Tilt angle

Α:

Cross section area/m2

D:

Diameter/m

h:

Convection heat transfer coefficient/W m−2 k−1

I:

Current (Ampere)

K:

Conduction heat transfer coefficient/W m−1 k−1

k:

Turbulent kinetic energy/m2 s−3

L :

Channel number

m :

Exhaust gas mass/gs−1

\(\dot{m}\) :

Mass flow rate/gs−1

N:

Baffles number

n :

Number

P:

Power/W

P:

Pressure/Pa

Q:

Heat flow/W

R:

Resistance/Ohm

S:

Model design area/m2

T :

Temperature/oC

V:

Voltage/V

W:

Watt

x, y, z:

Cartesian coordinates/m

α :

Seebeck coefficient/V k−1

α :

Tilt angle

β :

Baffler Angle

\(\Delta\) :

Difference

ɛ :

Turbulent dissipation rate/m2 s−3

ƞ :

Conversion efficiency

Ω:

Ohm

b:

Back

C:

Cold

f:

Fluid

fins:

Fins

gas:

Gas

H:

Hot

h:

Hydraulic

hyd:

Hydraulic

int:

Internal

L:

Load

max:

Maximum

n:

Negative thermoelectric generator pole

net:

Net

OC:

Open

opt:

Extreme or optimum

p:

Positive thermoelectric generator pole

sum:

Received heat gain

TEM:

Thermoelectric model

teg:

Thermoelectric generator

water:

Water

AC, WC:

Air and water cooling

ATEG:

Automotive thermoelectric generator

Bi2Te3 :

Bismuth telluride

CO&COU:

Co-flow and counterflow

dev:

Power deviation

EGR:

Exhaust gas recirculation

HE:

Heat exchanger

HEX:

Heat exchanger

IFTEG:

Intermediate fluid thermoelectric generator

Nu:

Nusselt number

Re:

Reynolds number

rpm:

Revolution per minute

TEG:

Thermoelectric generator

TTEG:

Traditional thermoelectric generator

TEM:

Thermoelectric module

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Acknowledgements

The authors gratefully acknowledge Mr. Ahmed S. Alyasiry from engineering technical college for providing data sources, Prof. Salwan Obaid Waheed Khafaji, Prof. Farooq Hassan Ali, Hussein hamzah rashead from the Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Babylon, Iraq, and the engineer Esraa K. Hassan from the Office of Housing and Construction of Babylon City, Iraq, who provided help during the writing of this research.

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  1. Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Babylon, PO Box 4, Babylon, 51002, Iraq

    Mohammed Y. Jabbar & Saba Y. Ahmed

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Jabbar, M.Y., Ahmed, S.Y. Exploratory review of the heat exchanger and cooler geometrical effect on energy harvesting from automobile exhaust using thermoelectric generators. J Therm Anal Calorim 148, 6607–6644 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10973-023-12212-2

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