Thermoelectric technology has revealed the potential for automotive exhaust-based thermoelectric generator (TEG ), which contributes to the improvement of the fuel economy of the engine-powered vehicle. As a major factor, thermal capacity and heat transfer of the heat exchanger affect the performance of TEG effectively. With the thermal
energy of exhaust gas harvested by thermoelectric modules, a temperature gradient
appears on the heat exchanger surface, so as the interior flow distribution of the heat
exchanger. In order to achieve uniform temperature distribution and higher interface
temperature, t he thermal characteristics of heat exchangers with various heat transfer
enhancement features are studied , such as internal structure, material and surface area.
Combining the computational fluid dynamics simulations and infrared test on a high -
performance engine with a dynamo meter, the thermal performance of t he heat exchanger
is evaluated. Simulation and experiment results show t hat a plate-shaped heat exchanger
mad e of brass with accordion-shaped internal structure achieves a relatively ideal
performance , which can practically improve overall thermal performance of the TEG.
& 2014 The Authors .