Study on the performance of TEG with heat transfer enhancement using graphene-water nanofluid for a TEG cooling system

Improvement of the heat transfer effect of cold side of a thermoelectric generator(TEG) is one of the approaches to enhance the performance of the TEG systems.As a new type of heat transfer media,nanofluids can enhance the heat transfer performance of working liquid significantly.In this study,the performance of a commercial TEG with graphene-water(GW) nanofluid as coolants in a minichannel heat exchanger is investigated experimentally at low temperatures.The results show that the output power of TEG increases with the flow rate under 950 mL/min.However,the fluid flow rate has no influence on the output power of TEG with higher flow rate(larger than 950 mL/min) when the heat transfer dynamic balance state of the system is reached.The optimal concentration and flow rate of nanofluid are 0.1 wt%and 950 mL/min,respectively.At the optimal conditions,the improved voltage,output power and conversion efficiency with GW nanofluid applied in the cooling system are increased by11.29%,21.55%and 3.5%in comparison with those with only water applied,respectively.