PORTABLE AUTOMOTIVE THERMOELECTRIC GENERATOR (ATEG)

Proposer name College Year and branch Email id Phone number 1 Susheel J YDIT 4th year, Mechanical Engineering susheelj007@gmail.com 7411301157 2 Rajesh M.K YDIT 4th year, Mechanical Engineering rajeshmk.19@gmail.com 9008828693

Abstract:
It is well fact known that automobiles are inefficient, wasting over 74% of energy stored in fuel as a heat. Major energy losses are engine losses, idle & standby, braking losses, aerodynamic drag etc. Thus only 26 % of the available fuel energy is used to drive the vehicle, i.e. to overcome the resistance from road friction. Presented in this paper are some of the results of a study aimed at determining the effectiveness of efficiently transforming that energy into electrical power by using an automotive thermoelectric generator (ATEG). In turn, the electrical power can be used to recharge batteries or other efficient energy storage devices (e.g., flywheels) rather than be dissipated. The primary goal of ATEGs is to reduce fuel consumption. Forty percent of an IC engines energy is lost through exhaust gas heat. By converting the lost heat into electricity, ATEGs decrease fuel consumption by reducing the electric generator load on the engine. ATEGs allow the automobile to generate electricity from the engine's thermal energy rather than using mechanical energy to power an electric generator. Since the electricity is generated from waste heat that would otherwise be released into the environment, the engine burns less fuel to power the vehicle's electrical components, such as the headlights. Therefore, the automobile releases fewer emissions; decreased fuel consumption which also results in increased fuel economy. Replacing the conventional electric generator with ATEGs could ultimately increase the fuel economy by up to 4%.

Introduction and description:

The vehicle manufacturers have made costly strides to improve fuel economy. Car designers also spend great deal of effort to reduce wind drag so as to improve fuel economy through streamlined low drag vehicle body design. Manufacturers also use lighter material to reduce the weight of vehicle and ultimately to reduce fuel consumption. It is well known that automobiles are inefficient, wasting over 74% of energy stored in fuel as a heat. Major energy losses are

engine losses (62.5%), idle and standby (17.2%), braking losses (5.8%), rolling resistance (4.2%) & drive line losses (5.2%), accessory usage (2.5%), and aerodynamic drag (2.6%).Not the entire energy lost in heat can be utilized but a part of the 40% of heat which is lost through exhaust can be conserved by converting it into electrical energy, by using a thermoelectric generator. Thermoelectric generators are all solid-state devices that convert heat into electricity. Unlike traditional dynamic heat engines, thermoelectric generators contain no moving parts and are completely silent. Compared to large, traditional heat engines, thermoelectric generators have lower efficiency. But for small applications, thermoelectric generators can become competitive because they are compact, simple (inexpensive) and reliable. Thermoelectric systems can be easily designed to operate with small heat sources and small temperature differences. Such small generators could be mass produced for use in automotive waste heat recovery or home co-generation of heat and electricity.

A thermoelectric produces electrical power from heat flow across a temperature gradient. As the heat flows from hot to cold, free charge carriers (electrons or holes) in the material are also driven to the cold end (Fig. 1). The resulting voltage (V) is proportional to the temperature difference (T) via the Seebeck coefficient, , (V = T). By connecting an electron conducting (n-type) and hole conducting (p-type) material in series, a net voltage is produced that can be driven through a load. A good thermoelectric material has a Seebeck coefficient between 100 V/K and 300 V/K; thus, in order to achieve a few volts at the load, many thermoelectric couples need to be connected in series to make the thermoelectric device (Fig. 1). A thermoelectric generator converts heat (Q) into electrical power (P) with efficiency .

The efficiency of a thermoelectric converter depends heavily on the temperature difference T = Th Tc across the device. This is because the thermoelectric generator, like all heat engines, cannot have efficiency greater than that of a Carnot cycle (T/ Th). The efficiency of a thermoelectric generator is typically defined as

Where the first term is the Carnot efficiency and ZT is the figure of merit for the device. While the calculation of a thermoelectric generator efficiency can be complex, use of the average material figure of merit, zT, can provide an approximation for ZT.

Here, Seebeck coefficient (), electrical resistivity (), and thermal conductivity () are temperature (T) dependent materials properties.

The concept of Thermoelectric Generator (TEG) proposed (Fig2) here is a portable electric generator which uses the free waste energy in the form of heat from the exhaust of an automobile and converts it into useful electrical energy. The device doesnt need dismantling of any parts of the exhaust system but needs to be clamped to the engine exhaust and exhaust pipe junction. The heat absorbed by the Thermoelectric Generator carried to it by the conduction between the generator and the exhaust pipe interface from which it is converted into useful electrical energy which can be used to charge a secondary battery later from which a continuous supply of current up to 12W can be harnessed.

Fig 1 Schematic of a TEG

Fig 2 The proposed model

The proposed model of TEG is designed as a circular clamp. Since it is a circular clamp a very significant amount of waste heat energy is available for conversion due to large surface area available when compared to the conventional square or rectangular surfaces of TEGs. Since the

exhaust system is not altered there is no parallel effect of TEG on performance parameters of the engine.

Advantages: Since there is no dismantling of any components of the exhaust system, no change in the default performance of the engine occurs. There is no significant load on the engine since TEG is clamped on the engine exhaust and exhaust pipe junction. With proper combination of heat exchanger and TEG the efficiency can be increased from that of a conventional Automotive Thermoelectric generator. Portable and can be used precisely on any heat source Environmentally friendly. Recycles wasted heat energy Scalability, meaning that the device can be applied to any size heat source from a water heater to a manufacturers equipment Lowers production cost

Disadvantages: Requires relatively constant heat source Low energy conversion efficiency rate

Application: It can be used in any automotive to utilize a part of the waste exhaust heat into useful energy. Used as an efficient secondary source of electric current in modern automobiles, same principle is used to convert the heat in waste exhaust of industries into electrical current, suitable hybrid engines with combination of TEGs and others can be built for an efficient performance of machines both in automobiles and in industries.