Abstract
A huge number of chimneys all over the world utilized in many industrial applications and applications like restaurants, homes, etc. contribute badly on the global warming and climate change due to their waste heat. So, in this paper, the performance of thermoelectric generator (TEG) cooled by microchannel heat spreader having nanofluid and used for waste heat recovery from vertical chimney is investigated. Using heat spreader with microchannel cooling system increases the output TEG power compared to natural convection cooling system. In this paper, the impact of microchannel sizes, using nanofluid and heat spreader with different sizes on the TEG performance and cooling, is considered. Three-dimensional mathematical models including TEG, microchannel, nanofluid, and heat spreader are presented and solved by Ansys Fluent software utilizing user-defined memory, user-defined function, and user-defined scalar. All TEG effects (Joule, Seebeck, and Thomson) are considered in TEG model. Results indicate that TEG power rises with increasing the heat spreader and microchannel sizes together. Increasing microchannel and heat spreader sizes four times of TEG size raises the TEG output power by 10%. This also achieves the maximum cooling system efficiency of 88.9% and the maximum net output power. Microchannel heat spreader cooling system raises the system (TEG power-pumping power) net power by 125.2% compared to the normal channel and decreases the required cooling fluid flow rate. Utilizing copper–water and Al2O3-water nanofluids rises maximally the TEG output power by 14% and 4%, respectively; however, it increases the pumping power. Moreover, using nanofluids increases the net output power at low Reynolds number and decreases it at higher Reynolds number.
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Abbreviations
- \({c}_{p}\) (J/kg K):
-
Specific heat
- d (m):
-
Diameter
- h x (W/m2 K):
-
Local heat transfer coefficient
- \(\overrightarrow{j}\) (Amp/m2):
-
Current density vector
- \(k\)(W/m K):
-
Thermal conductivity coefficient
- M :
-
Molecular weight basic fluid, kg kmol
- N :
-
Normal direction
- n A :
-
Avogadro number
- P (W):
-
Power
- Pr:
-
Prandtl number
- \(\overrightarrow{q}\) (W/m2):
-
Heat flux vector
- Ra:
-
Rayleigh number
- Rex :
-
Local Reynolds number
- R l (Ω):
-
Load resistance
- \({S}_{e}\) (Amp/m3):
-
Electric potential model Source term
- \({S}_{h}\) (W/m3) :
-
Energy equation source term
- T (K):
-
Temperature
- T ∞ (K):
-
Ambient temperature
- T (s):
-
Time
- V (m/s):
-
Velocity
- x (m):
-
Location
- ATEG:
-
Thermoelectric generator surface area
- EP:
-
Electric potential model
- MC:
-
Microchannel
- HS:
-
Heat spreader
- TEG:
-
Thermoelectric generator
- UDF:
-
User-defined function
- UDM:
-
User-defined memory
- UDS:
-
User-defined scalar
- ZT:
-
Figure of merit
- \(\alpha\) (1/K):
-
Seebeck coefficient
- \(\sigma\) (Siemens/m):
-
Electric conductivity
- \(\rho\) (kg/m3):
-
Density
- \(\phi\) (V):
-
Electrical potential
- \(\varphi\) :
-
Volume fraction
- µ (Pa s):
-
Dynamic viscosity
- ν (m2/s):
-
Kinematic viscosity
- \(\beta\) (1/k):
-
Thermal expansion coefficient
- λ (m2/s):
-
Thermal diffusivity
- a:
-
Air
- c:
-
Cold
- f:
-
Fluid
- h:
-
Hot
- n:
-
N-type
- nf:
-
Nanofluid
- np:
-
Nanoparticle
- p:
-
P-type
- x,y,z :
-
Cartesian coordinates
- UDF:
-
User-defined function
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Acknowledgements
The authors would like to acknowledge the Mission Department of the Ministry of Higher Education (MOHE) of Egypt for providing a scholarship to conduct this study as well as Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) for offering some of the facilities, tools, and equipment required to carry out this research work.
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Ayman Eldesoukey: carried out theoretical calculations, plotted the results of data
Hamdy Hassan: writing the draft paper, analysis results, preparing data, revising the manuscript
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Eldesoukey, A., Hassan, H. Study of the performance of thermoelectric generator for waste heat recovery from chimney: impact of nanofluid-microchannel cooling system. Environ Sci Pollut Res 29, 74242–74263 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-21015-1
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11356-022-21015-1