Thermoelectric Exhaust Energy Recovery with （热电废气能量回收）.pdf

2011-01-0315 Thermoelectric Exhaust Energy Recovery with Temperature Control through Heat Pipes Jorge MARTINS, Francisco P. BRITO, L.M. GONCALVES, Joaquim ANTUNES Universidade do Minho, Portugal Copyright © 2011 SAE International ABSTRACT Currently, a great deal of the automotive industry’s RD effort is focused on improving overall vehicle environmental and energy efficiency [1]. For instance, one of the things that Electric Vehicles (EVs) and Hybrid cars (HEV) have in common is the recovery of waste energy, namely during braking. But, when an I.C. engine is operating (e. g. as a range extender in an EV), a large amount of energy is also wasted within the exhaust gases and with engine cooling, energy that could otherwise be recovered by different methods. This paper reports on the recovery of waste thermal energy using thermoelectric generators (TEG) for application in hybrid, extended range electric vehicles and more generally in any vehicle that could benefit from the generation of a small amount of electric current that would reduce the alternator operation time. Although some manufacturers are trying to develop TEGs to use at exhaust temperatures, there are still no commercially available TEG modules capable of withstanding these extreme temperatures. The present work assesses the potential of the use of heat pipes (HP) as a means of transferring energy from the hot exhaust gases to the TEG modules at a compatible temperature level while minimizing the loss of efficiency due to temperature downgrading. The t