Thermal and acoustic performance of an integrated automotive thermoelectric generation system

•An integrated automotive thermoelectric generator system is studied.•Two bench test are used to measure the thermal and acoustic performance.•A performance of 515 W is obtained by the IATEG. In recent years, the use of thermoelectric generators (TEGs) to recover secondary energy from exhaust heat has increased speedily with applications ranging from microwatts to kilowatts. In terms of automotive exhaust system, there are compatibility problems among automotive TEG, catalytic converter and muffler. An integrated automotive thermoelectric generator (IATEG) which contains automotive TEG, catalytic converter and muffler that converts engine exhaust waste heat into electricity is constructed and simulated. Through comparison of steel, aluminum and copper heat exchangers, it is found that both the average interface temperature and the maximum output power increase are highly dependent on the thermal conductivity of the heat exchanger material. An engine bench test and an acoustic bench test are developed to analyze the performance of the IATEG system characteristics, which are undertaken to assess the feasibility of automotive applications. The numerical simulations and experiment results indicate that the IATEG has better sound reduction performance in high frequency noise and higher temperature distribution which can generate a high power while the power output of the TEG can reach 515 W. Through these experiments, thermal, electrical and acoustic performance of the system is characterized. The results establish the fundamental development of IATEG system that enhances the TEG efficiency for vehicles.