A mathematic model of thermoelectric module with applications on waste heat recovery from automobile engine

Over two-thirds energy of fuel consumed by an automobile is discharged to the surroundings as waste heat. The fuel usage can be more efficient if thermoelectric generators (TEG) are used to convert heat energy into electricity. In this study, a thermoelectric module composed of thermoelectric generators and a cooling system is developed to improve the efficiency of an IC engine. Two potential positions on an automobile are chosen to apply this module, e.g. exhaust pipe and radiator to examine the feasibility. To predict the behaviors of this module, a one dimensional thermal resistance model is also build, and the results are verified with experiments.The maximum power produced from the module is 51.13 mWcm−2 at 290 °C temperature difference. The model results show that, TE module presents better performance on the exhaust pipe than on the radiator.