Optimization Design of Thermoelectric Power Generation System of Waste Heat Recovery

Abstract

Considering that many parameters with mutual influence which were difficult to be considered comprehensively were involved in the optimization design of thermoelectric power generation system, a method that can calculate the optimal design scheme quantitatively according to the heat source characteristic was proposed in this work. The optimum working temperature of the thermoelectric module was determined by coupling the measured thermoelectric module performance curve with the temperature relationship of the cold and hot ends under the design condition. Then, based on the iterative method, the influence of various fin radiator structural parameters on heat dissipation performance was quantitatively analyzed by FLUENT software, so as to deliver the best combination of radiator parameters. The results showed that under the condition of constant heat flux density of 36 kw/m2, in order to obtain the best system efficiency, the cold end temperature should be controlled as 50 oC, and the fin radiator base thickness, fin spacing and fin height of the matched radiator should be 8 mm, 3 mm and 90 mm respectively.