Chung, Y.-C.; Wu, C.-I. Efficiency Enhancement in Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion: A Comparative Study of Heat Exchanger Designs for Bi2Te3-Based Thermoelectric Generators. Materials2024, 17, 714.
Chung, Y.-C.; Wu, C.-I. Efficiency Enhancement in Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion: A Comparative Study of Heat Exchanger Designs for Bi2Te3-Based Thermoelectric Generators. Materials 2024, 17, 714.
Chung, Y.-C.; Wu, C.-I. Efficiency Enhancement in Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion: A Comparative Study of Heat Exchanger Designs for Bi2Te3-Based Thermoelectric Generators. Materials2024, 17, 714.
Chung, Y.-C.; Wu, C.-I. Efficiency Enhancement in Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion: A Comparative Study of Heat Exchanger Designs for Bi2Te3-Based Thermoelectric Generators. Materials 2024, 17, 714.
Abstract
The thermoelectric generator (TEG) has much potential as a renewable energy technology that could be used in ocean thermal energy conversion (OTEC). This technique employs TEGs and heat exchangers as substitutes for the intricate elements found in conventional OTEC systems, including pressure valves, evaporators, condensers, and turbine generators. By harnessing the temperature difference between warm surface seawater and cold deep seawater, it facilitates the conversion of this thermal gradient into electrical energy. This study used computer simulations to look at and compare three different types of heat exchangers: a cavity-type heat exchanger, a heat exchanger with flat fins, and a heat exchanger with longitudinal vortex generators (LVGs). The objective was to evaluate the influence of these designs on the thermoelectric conversion performance when implemented in OTEC systems. The study's findings indicate that using heat exchanger configurations featuring flat fins, or LVGs, enhances the efficiency of thermal energy transfer from warm seawater to TEGs, resulting in a notable enhancement in the output power of TEGs.
Furthermore, the efficiency of TEG thermoelectric conversion is influenced by varying seawater flow rates in relation to the performance of flat fins and LVGs. In contrast to the cavity-type heat exchanger, the utilization of a heat exchanger equipped with flat fins has been found to yield a notable enhancement in the output power of TEGs by approximately 22.92%. Furthermore, this configuration demonstrates a substantial improvement in thermoelectric conversion efficiency, exhibiting an increase of around 40.01%. These improvements are observed under certain conditions pertaining to flow rates and fin heights. Utilizing heat exchangers equipped with LVGs has been found to enhance the output power of TEGs by 13.02% and improve the overall thermoelectric conversion efficiency by 17.72%. These improvements are observed under certain conditions, including specific flow rates, LVG tilt angles, and locations.
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