Abstract
Computer simulations of three different geometries of thermoelectric generator (TEG) appliances have been carried out to calculate the maximum power generated by a single TEG and the maximum total power generated by all the TEGs in the geometries. Among these three geometries, every aspect was the same except the number of TEGs, so the density of the number of TEGs facing hot flowing air was varied. We used single-TEG, three-TEG, and five-TEG models. Simulations were carried out at 120 °C for the hot flowing air and at 42 different cold side temperatures to see the effect at different temperature differences. We showed the effect of the density of the TEG number on the maximum power generated. Powers generated by a single TEG from each geometry and the total generated powers in different geometries are compared. We have used the results we obtained to calculate the total electric energy generated by these TEGs in the wall of an industrial chimney for a six-month duration (between October 2017 and April 2018 in the winter season) by using real daily temperature data at a chosen site (the city of Kırıkkale) taken from the Turkey Meteorological Institute.
Highlights
To reduce the use of environmentally harmful energy sources, the waste energy given to surroundings as waste heat from power plants, vehicles, heating systems, etc., can be reused
If we look at the average powers produced by a single thermoelectric generator (TEG) from each system, as given in Table III, the denser the TEGs are placed, the more power generation occurs per single TEG
When we consider that darker red represents lower temperature values in Figs. 10–12, we see that the heat entering from the positive y direction is given to the heat sinks more as the TEG number gets denser in a system
Summary
To reduce the use of environmentally harmful energy sources, the waste energy given to surroundings as waste heat from power plants, vehicles, heating systems, etc., can be reused. The design of a heat sink that is used in TEGs is important because this component is responsible for the amount of thermal power that is given to or taken from the cold and hot face, respectively. If there is a hot flowing fluid, the choice of the number of TEGs and the replacements between them in front of the flowing fluid are important This affects the heat transfer into or from the TEG hot/cold face. Changing the number density of the TEG in the way of the hot flowing air changes the output power This is going to be studied and shown in this paper. By simplifying this model and by taking small sections from an industrial chimney and making geometrical approximations, we have simulated TEG power generation to find an answer to the question: What is the effect of TEG density inside the hot flowing air on the generated power when the TEGs are between cold air and flowing hot air (inside the walls of the chimney), namely, the chimney’s air flow?
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