Abstract
•Annular thermoelectric materials implemented on exhaust pipe enhances output power.•Unileg annular thermoelectric system is introduced for the first time.•Unileg system reduces thermal stresses without lowering conversion efficiency.
Increasing temperature gradients are desired in thermoelectric (TE) systems to produce higher amounts of power. However, high temperatures lead to increased thermal stresses impacting the reliability of TE materials. Stresses are more pronounced in annular systems despite their space saving advantages compared to flat configurations. One possible solution to reduce thermal stress problem is utilizing single material (unileg) TE module instead of dual material (unicouple) system. This study introduces unileg, annular TE configuration for the first time. The results indicate that replacing flat TE system in exhaust pipe with annular configuration can increase TE performance and thermal stresses can be reduced significantly.
