Simulation study on regenerative thermoelectric generators for dynamic waste heat recovery

Regenerative thermoelectric generators (RTEGs) are used to recover waste heat from car engines. Compared to conventional thermoelectric generators (CTEGs), RTEGs can help significantly reduce the negative effects of engine transients on the performance of thermoelectric generators. In this study, a new type of RTEG, based on the CTEG, was designed. Numerical simulations of both the CTEG and the RTEG were performed using Fluent under dynamic temperature conditions based on the New European Driving Cycle (NEDC). The results show that the fluctuations in the hot-side temperature and output voltage decreased by 86.46-87.71% and 86.45-89.16%, respectively, with the use of different types of RTEGs compared to the CTEG. Moreover, the RTEG helped avoid the inversion problem of the electromotive force direction for a short time when the temperature of the heat source suddenly decreases. (C) 2019 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.