Investigation of the effect of design variables of a thermoelectric generator on fuel consumption and output power of a vehicle

A significant percentage of the heating value of the fuel is lost in the form of hot exhaust gases from the vehicle exhaust system. In recent developments, thermoelectric materials have been developed with high efficiency, simplicity, and good strength, and the tendency to use this technology to directly convert wasted heat into electricity has increased. Vehicle heat generators are one of the applications of this technology. In the present paper, a vehicle thermoelectric generator model was first confirmed with experimental data, and then changes were made to the parameters that affect the fuel economy and output power of the vehicle thermoelectric generator. The design that produces the maximum output power is different from the design that produces the most fuel economy. Backpressure was identified as the most important factor in fuel consumption. Different parameters were examined, each of which had different effects on fuel consumption and power output, and finally, a model was obtained that could reduce the overall fuel consumption by 0.07 in the vehicle at rest.