A review on thermal collection management and conversion performance enhancement of extended range electric vehicle exhaust thermoelectricity

Abstract

Thermal energy conversion and management have consistently been the focus of energy conservation and emission reduction in automobile fields. The exhaust heat from extended range electric vehicles can be utilized to generate electricity, which is then stored in the onboard energy storage battery for the vehicle. This study illustrates thermal collection management and conversion performance enhancement. The system constructions, energy conversation work principle and advantages for fuel savings and emission reduction are introduced. Approaches for thermal energy efficiency collection enhancement and conversion performance improvement methods are presented. The material and structure, temperature difference change, multi-physics model and maximum power point tracking technology can enhance the thermal energy collection. The maximum output power of extended range electric vehicle experiment can be increased from 12.41 to 1002.6 W with the thermoelectric generator number changes. The simulation model can enhance the output performance by up to 35 %. The efficiency of the extended range electric vehicle exhaust thermoelectric materials system is 48 % when the thermoelectric figure of merit value is 2.4. The thermoelectric efficiency can be improved by 76 % of 3 cascades in uni-leg systems, which can improve fuel economy of the vehicle.