APS March Meeting 2015
Volume 60, Number 1
Monday–Friday, March 2–6, 2015;
San Antonio, Texas
Session F12: Focus Session: Thermoelectric Materials and Applications
8:00 AM–11:00 AM,
Tuesday, March 3, 2015
Room: 007C
Sponsoring
Units:
DMP GERA FIAP DCOMP
Chair: Lilia Woods, University of South Florida
Abstract ID: BAPS.2015.MAR.F12.4
Abstract: F12.00004 : Automotive Thermoelectric Waste Heat Recovery*
8:36 AM–9:12 AM
Preview Abstract
Abstract
Author:
Gregory P. Meisner
(General Motors Research and Development)
Considerable fuel energy, as much as 70{\%}, is not converted to useful work
by internal combustion engines but is instead rejected as waste heat, and
more than half of the waste heat, nearly 40{\%} of fuel energy, is contained
in vehicle exhaust gas. This provides an opportunity to recover some of the
wasted fuel energy and convert it from heat into useful work, subject to the
laws of thermodynamics, and thereby improve vehicle energy efficiency.
Thermoelectric (TE) materials have been extensively researched and TE
devices are now being developed for operation at high temperatures
corresponding to automotive exhaust gases for direct solid-state conversion
of heat into electricity. This has stimulated substantial progress in the
development of practical TE generator (TEG) systems for large-scale
commercialization. A significant enabler of this progress has been the US
Department of Energy's Vehicle Technologies Program through funding for low
cost solutions for automotive TE waste heat recovery to improve fuel
economy. Our current project at General Motors has culminated in the
identification of the potential supply chain for all components and assembly
of an automotive TEG. A significant focus has been to develop integrated and
iterative modeling tools for a fully optimized TEG design that includes all
components and subsystems (TE modules, heat exchangers, thermal interfaces,
electrical interconnects, power conditioning, and vehicle integration for
maximal use of TEG power). We have built and tested a new, low-cost Initial
TEG prototype based on state-of-the-art production-scale skutterudite TE
modules, novel heat exchanger designs, and practical solutions to the many
technical challenges for optimum TEG performance. We will use the results
for our Initial TEG prototype to refine our modeling and design tools for a
Final automotive TEG system prototype. Our recent results will be presented.
Thanks to: J.R. Salvador, E.R. Gundlach, D. Thompson, N.K. Bucknor, M.G.
Reynolds, K. Rober, F.R. Stabler; Marlow, JPL, Dana, Delphi E{\&}S,
Eberspaecher, Molycorp, University of Washington, Purdue University,
Michigan State University, ORNL, BNL.
*Supported by US DOE
To cite this abstract, use the following reference: http://meetings.aps.org/link/BAPS.2015.MAR.F12.4