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Experimental study on waste heat recovery of refrigeration system for closed-loop heat sink thermoelectric generator

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Abstract

In this paper, thermal to electrical using waste heat recovery from a refrigeration system is utilized to generate electricity through a closed-loop heat sink thermoelectric generator (TEG) is presented. The concentric tube heat exchanger is used to take the waste heat from a refrigeration system to produce hot fluid for TEGs. The cold fluid is produced by a refrigeration system used for cooling the cold side. The hot and cold sides of the TEGs are coupled with heat sinks where hot and cold fluids flow through the heat sink channel to generate electricity. The effects of the fluid flow, and on/off modes of the refrigeration system, are investigated. It was found that the output voltage depends on the operating behavior of the refrigeration system, and operating time when on mode and off mode directly affects a hot fluid temperature fabrication. Applying fluid mass flow rate on the hot side and the cold side is very important that may cause the output voltage to be enhanced. The maximum temperature difference was obtained for the long-running refrigeration test mode. For on mode and off mode, the operating time of 10 minutes is the greatest to obtain the minimum and maximum temperature difference of 19.80°C and 13.10°C to get the maximum and the minimum output voltage of 9.80 V and 5.67 V. Besides, the cooling efficiency of the refrigeration system was increased and reduced power consumption by approximately 23% as integrated with the TEG system. Cooling capacity (Qc) and COP of the refrigeration system equipped with TEG increased by approximately 40% over traditional refrigeration system. Excess heat from the cooling system is recovered and converted into electricity. This is an energy-saving alternative that may help reduce the global warming crisis.

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Abbreviations

T:

Temperature, [°C]

TEG:

Thermoelectric generator

HS:

Heat sink

HEX:

Heat exchanger

\(Q\) :

Heat transfer rate, [W]

\(I\) :

Current, [A]

\(V\) :

Voltage, [V]

m:

Mass, [kg]

\(\dot{m}\) :

Mass flow rate, [ms-1]

\(\Delta t\) :

Total time, [s]

\(\Delta T\) :

Temperature difference, [°C]

COP:

Coefficient of performance

\(C_{p}\) :

Specific heat, [kJkg-1 °C-1]

\(T\) :

Temperature, [°C]

W:

Work done by compressor, [W

\(\rho\) :

Density, [kgm-3]

\(\mathop V\limits^{ \circ }\) :

Volume flowrate, [kgm-3

c:

Cold side of TEG

cold:

Cooling load of water

h:

Hot side

in:

Inlet

out:

Outlet

TEG:

Thermoelectric generator

min:

Minimum

max:

Maximum

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Acknowledgment

The authors would like to express their appreciation to the Strategic Wisdom and Research Institute, Srinakharinwirot University (SWRI), and financial support from the faculty of Engineering, Srinakharinwirot University, through the research grant No. 172/2564 acknowledges.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Thermal Solution and Energy Technology Research and Development Laboratory (TSET R&D), Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Srinakharinwirot University, 63 Rangsit-Nakhonnayok Rd., Nakhonnayok, Ongkharak, 26120, Thailand

    Songkran Wiriyasart

  2. Biofuel and Bioenergy Technology Research and Development Laboratory (BBT R&D), Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Srinakharinwirot University, 63 Rangsit-Nakhonnayok Rd., Ongkarak, Nakhonnayok, 26120, Thailand

    Sommas Kaewluan

  3. Thermo-Fluid and Heat Transfer Enhancement Laboratory (TFHT), Department of Mechanical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Srinakharinwirot University, 63 Rangsit-Nakhonnayok Rd., Ongkharak, Nakhon-nayokNakhonnayok, 26120, Thailand

    Paisarn Naphon

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Correspondence to Songkran Wiriyasart.

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Wiriyasart, S., Kaewluan, S. & Naphon, P. Experimental study on waste heat recovery of refrigeration system for closed-loop heat sink thermoelectric generator. Heat Mass Transfer 59, 1019–1035 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00231-022-03317-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00231-022-03317-9

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