A novel Y-type thermoelectric generator configuration for the fluid waste heat recovery

Thermoelectric generators (TEGs) suffer from the temperature drop in the fluid waste heat recovery. To overcome this problem, a novel Y-type TEG configuration is proposed, where the thickness of thermoelectric legs gradually decreases along the exhaust flow direction. Additionally, a multiphysic numerical model is established to predict the performance of TEGs and optimize the Delta L value. The research findings indicate that the output power and conversion efficiency are increased by 87.5 % and 42.62 % respectively at the exhaust temperature of 450 K and velocity of 20 m/s when applying the Y-type design (Delta L = 0 mm) instead of the conventional It-type TEG. Besides, the performance of the Y-type TEG can be further improved by optimizing the Delta L value, and the optimal Delta L of 0.015 mm is determined, reaching the improvements of 15.0 % and 8.0 % for the maximum power and efficiency under the exhaust heat of 550 K and 35 m/s, compared with the situation of Delta L = 0 mm. However, an excessive Delta L value may deteriorate the performance. This work provides a promising case for improving the performance of TEGs in waste heat recovery.