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Rone,
Manjeet Singh,
- , Department of Mechanical engineering, EIT FARIDABADDepartment of Mechanical engineering, EIT FARIDABAD, Haryana, India
- , Department of Mechanical engineering, EIT FARIDABAD, Haryana, India
Abstract
Utilizing waste heat from thermodynamic systems has shown to be a successful tactic for reducing environmental emissions and improving overall energy efficiency. About 40% of the chemical energy generated during fuel combustion is rejected by exhaust gases in internal combustion engines. It is possible to increase vehicle fuel efficiency and lower greenhouse gas emissions by harvesting this otherwise lost heat energy and turning it into useable electrical power. A viable answer for this kind of energy recovery is thermoelectric (TE) technology, which allows heat to be directly converted into electricity without the need for moving parts. Advantages of this technology include reduced maintenance needs, silent operation, and operational reliability. Despite these benefits, the large-scale application of automotive exhaust thermoelectric generators (AETEGs) remains constrained due to issues including temperature non-uniformity across modules, reduced conversion efficiency, and performance deterioration under variable engine operating conditions. In order to evaluate system performance under simulated exhaust circumstances typical of a light-duty vehicle, an automotive exhaust thermoelectric generator and a special experimental test facility were devised and constructed. A box-style heat exchanger, segmented cooling plates, and 44 bismuth telluride thermoelectric modules positioned on either side of the heat exchanger comprise the developed AETEG. Voltage-current (V-I) and power-current (P-I) characteristics at various thermal input levels were used to experimentally assess system performance. The peak power production of each module and the pressure drops across the heat exchanger were also measured. Degradation at the cold-side thermoelectric leg–solder contact increased internal resistance and decreased power production, according to thermal cycling studies.
Keywords: Waste heat recovery, thermoelectric generator, automotive exhaust energy, heat exchanger design, thermoelectric power generation
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Trends in Mechanical Engineering & Technology
| Volume | 16 | |
| 02 | ||
| Received | 26/05/2026 | |
| Accepted | 06/06/2026 | |
| Published | 20/06/2026 | |
| Publication Time | 25 Days |