Design and fabrication of thermoelectric waste heat reutilization systempossible industrial application

The current article discussed the detail design and development of an experimental test rig to derive usable energy by utilizing the waste heat energy through a heat exchanger made of Bi2Te3 material. The accuracy including the efficiency of the fabricated device is demonstrated further by verifying the associated parameter through a simulation model (commercial finite element package, ANSYS 15.0). To imitate the waste hot air from the industry is achieved via a heat gun and fed to the test rig for the generation of thermoelectric power. The simulation model accuracy has been demonstrated by juxtaposing the associated experimental data and computational readings. Subsequently, the feasibility and optimum range of design parameters are established by comparing the experimental and the simulation data (triggered temperature difference, voltage output, and heat flux) generated at the interface of the thermoelectric power generators. In addition, the coefficient of determination (R-2) value has been evaluated statistically and verified with the current experimental results for the demonstration of the relevancy. The statistical study shows the existence of the correlation between the current experimental and the simulation model. Also, the experimental result indicates the possible implementation of the newly developed system for the recovery from the waste heat either the automobile exhaust or any other kind of dissipated heat from the industries.