Abstract
The exhaust gases from micro-thermophotovoltaic (TPV) systems have a high temperature, which can be used to preheat the incoming fuel/air mixture. Thus, in this study, a novel porous heat recuperator is proposed to improve the low efficiency of the TPV systems by recovering its wasted heat. Compared to the base case (TPV system with bare double-pipe recuperator) the TPV system equipped with alumina porous heat recuperator exhibits 153 % higher thermal effectiveness. Simulation results showed that using the porous foam recuperator, radiation and exergy efficiencies of the TPV system have increased by more than 44 % and 5 %, respectively. In particular, by applying 85 % porous alumina recuperator in the TPV system, the emitter wall temperature raised up to 1353 K leading to 74 % radiation efficiency with negligible pressure drop limited to 181 Pa. In addition, the utilization of multiple porosities for the foams inside the mixing chamber and annular return path is scrutinized to reach the best system performance. Results of the present study revealed that incorporating porous foam heat recuperators in TPV systems is a simple yet effective approach to design and fabricate practical high-performance TPV systems for portable power generation applications.
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