Design of an original thermoelectric generator prototype with heat pipe

• Main Author: Kalaichelvam Ramdass
• Other Authors: Alessandro Romagnoli
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2019
• Subjects: DRNTU::Engineering::Mechanical engineering::Alternative, renewable energy sources
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/76411
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Depletion rate of fossil fuel is high for both energy generation and consumption purpose. Thus, the emission of harmful greenhouse gases can be reduced through by the means of investing heavily in renewable energy sources. In recent years, industries around the world produce large amount of waste heat that were released to the surroundings and were unable to recycle them. Many industries are looking for possible solutions to fully utilize the production of waste heat and converting them to useful form of energy sources for power generation, mainly electricity. This could possibly be done by utilizing Thermoelectric Generator (TEG) in recovering waste heat and generating electricity. The main purpose of TEG is to generate electricity when there is a temperature differential across the Thermoelectric Material (TEM). Generally, its energy conversion system efficiency is low and uses Bismuth Telluride (〖Bi〗_2 〖Te〗_3) as it is low cost. In addition, TEG has a limited hot surface area to transfer heat to the hot side of TEM. Thereby, inclusion of heat pipe into the system enhances heat transfer flow through the TEM that leads to possible increment in temperature differences The objectives of this project focus on the following areas: To conduct experiment to the current, proof of concept, lab-scale prototype To study and design a HP-TEG for recovering waste heat To study and design a fin-plate heat exchanger to enhance heat transfer rate This study will also allow the student to CAD out the drawings via Autodesk Inventor. The experimental results and designs of this process are shown in the report.