Thermoelectric Energy Harvesting with a Stacked Configuration Using Porous Medium for Marine Applications

Taeho Choi, Junghwan Lee, Junsu Lee and Tae Young Kim ()
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Taeho Choi: Department of Mechanical and Automotive Engineering, Seoul National University of Science and Technology, 232 Gongneung-ro, Nowon-gu, Seoul 01811, Republic of Korea
Junghwan Lee: Department of Mechanical and Automotive Engineering, Seoul National University of Science and Technology, 232 Gongneung-ro, Nowon-gu, Seoul 01811, Republic of Korea
Junsu Lee: Department of Mechanical and Automotive Engineering, Seoul National University of Science and Technology, 232 Gongneung-ro, Nowon-gu, Seoul 01811, Republic of Korea
Tae Young Kim: Department of Mechanical and Automotive Engineering, Seoul National University of Science and Technology, 232 Gongneung-ro, Nowon-gu, Seoul 01811, Republic of Korea

Energies, 2025, vol. 18, issue 6, 1-19

Abstract: This study proposes a vertically stacked thermoelectric generator (TEG) design to enhance output power per unit volume. While the proposed TEG achieved improved conversion efficiency, the high inertia of the exhaust gas leads to significant flow maldistribution across the channels, causing uneven thermal conditions on the TEM surfaces and reducing overall efficiency. To enhance waste heat recovery by improving flow uniformity in the exhaust gas channels, a perforated plate with porosity ranging from 0.15 to 0.75 was inserted. A multi-physics numerical model was developed to simulate the thermoelectric energy conversion phenomena, enabling for the accurate evaluation of both module- and system-wise performance. The insertion of the perforated plate with 0.45 porosity provided the most uniform flow distribution with only a 5% flow rate difference between the exhaust gas channels. This resulted in a system-level output power of 167.1 W, which is ~7% higher than the case without the perforated plate, along with electrical efficiency of 91.1% and conversion efficiency of 3.41%. Moreover, enhanced flow uniformity led to an improved volumetric power density of 20.8 kW/m 3 . When accounting for pumping losses, the perforated plate with 0.6 porosity maximized net output power, demonstrating how optimized flow distribution significantly enhances energy harvesting performance.

Keywords: thermoelectric generator; waste heat recovery; perforated plate; flow uniformity; marine application (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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