Performance improvement of the automotive thermoelectric generator system with a novel heat pipe configuration

This work introduces a new heat pipe configuration into the automotive thermoelectric generator (ATEG) to boost its output performance, where heat pipes are arranged in a staggered up-and-down pattern and are in direct contact with the exhaust gas. Besides, a computational fluid dynamic (CFD) and thermal-electric hybrid numerical model is established to predict the performance of the ATEG. Meanwhile, the effect of staggering distance between heat pipes, fin thickness and spacing on the system performance is examined. The proposed heat pipe configuration allows heat pipes to absorb more thermal energy from the exhaust gas and then enhances the system's performance. The output power of the ATEG is in a parabolic relationship with the staggering distance, and the optimal staggered distance of L = 1.5 mm is determined. Both the thickness and spacing of the fins exert considerable influence on the heat absorption efficiency of the heat pipe, with the impact of fin spacing being considerably more pronounced than that of thickness. Besides, the ATEG reaches the maximum net power of 111.64 W at the fin thickness of δ = 0.5 mm and the spacing of d = 1.0 mm, experiencing an improvement of 15.07 % compared with the original structure. The research findings offer both a theoretical foundation and practical guidance for enhancing the output performance of ATEG systems incorporating heat pipes.