Increasing power densities in a thermoelectric generator by stacking and incorporating dual heat pipes

Luo, Ding; Yu, Yuan; Yan, Yuying; Chen, Wei-Hsin; Cao, Bingyang

Abstract

Thermoelectric generators (TEGs) hold potential for waste heat recovery applications, but their ability to generate electricity within the confined space of exhaust systems remains a challenge. This work introduces a stacked TEG with dual heat pipes to facilitate heat transfer between thermoelectric modules and hot/cold sources and to help optimize space utilization. We also designed an apparatus to assess the output performance of TEGs. Our experimental findings reveal that, at a temperature of 650 K and a flow rate of 50 m s−1, the stacked TEG can produce 848.37 W of electricity with a power density of 48.22 W L−1.

Citation

Luo, D., Yu, Y., Yan, Y., Chen, W.-H., & Cao, B. (2024). Increasing power densities in a thermoelectric generator by stacking and incorporating dual heat pipes. Device, Article 100435. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.device.2024.100435

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: May 30, 2024
• Online Publication Date: Jun 26, 2024
• Publication Date: Jun 26, 2024
• Deposit Date: Jun 28, 2024
• Publicly Available Date: Jun 28, 2024
• Journal: Device
• Print ISSN: 2666-9994
• Electronic ISSN: 2666-9986
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Article Number: 100435
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.device.2024.100435
• Keywords: thermoelectric generator; waste heat recovery; power density; heat transfer; heat pipe; thermoelectric module
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/36575271
• Additional Information: This article is maintained by: Elsevier; Article Title: Increasing power densities in a thermoelectric generator by stacking and incorporating dual heat pipes; Journal Title: Device; CrossRef DOI link to publisher maintained version: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.device.2024.100435; Content Type: article; Copyright: © 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Inc.