Abstract

Even by conservative estimates more than 20% fuel energy from internal combustion engines is wasted as exhaust heat. Currently organic Rankine cycles and thermoelectric generators are most widely investigated options for automobile exhaust heat recovery. Use of thermoelectric generators for recovery of exhaust heat in automobiles at concept level started few decades ago. Major advantages of this technology over Rankine cycles are little noise and vibration, high durability, environmental friendliness, and low maintenance cost for converting low quality thermal energy directly into high quality electrical energy. Major challenges are lower efficiency (~8%), drop in efficiency at lower temperatures, performance optimization in synchronization with multiple constraints of after-treatment devices, silencer, back pressure reduction, turbo-charging etc. Larger size of diesel locomotives compared with space available for automobile engine’s mounting on vehicles makes the installation of exhaust heat recovery system in diesel locomotives more practical. In this paper, feasibility and suitability of various exhaust heat energy recovery methods for diesel locomotives has been discussed.

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