Use of thermoelectric generator for water flow metering

Abstract

We propose using a thermoelectric generator as a flow meter without requiring additional components. We do so by relating the power generated from the flow of hot water in a pipe to the flow rate. The results show that the steady state values of the power and voltage are more or less independent of the flow rate. On the other hand, the peak power varies significantly with the flow rate. As such, we develop through data analysis a relation between the nondimensional harvested peak power and the Reynolds number. Different sets of experiments are performed to assess the dependence of the developed relation on the boundary conditions. An equation governing this relation is obtained. The proposed approach provides a self-powered monitoring device for quantifying flow rates in pipes conveying hot water.