DE VELO PMENT THERMAL MANAGEMENT

AUTHORS

MARCO RANALLI MARTIN ADLDINGER DMITRI KOSSAKOVSKI MARCEL WOMANN

is Managing Director and responsible is Engineering Manager at Gentherm is R&D Director at Gentherm Inc. in is Supervisor of the Advanced Cold
for Advanced Product Development at Europe GmbH in Augsburg Azusa, California (USA). End Products team at Tenneco GmbH
Gentherm Europe GmbH in Augsburg (Germany). in Edenkoben (Germany).
(Germany).

LEARNING FROM AEROSPACE
The properties of thermoelectric (TE)
materials have been known for nearly
200 years, since Thomas Seebeck and
Jean Peltier demonstrated the relation
between thermal and electrical effects.
Seebeck, in particular, discovered that
some materials could generate an electric
potential when located between a hot
source and a heat sink. Unfortunately,
scarcity of materials such as Tellurium
and Germanium, limited the use of ther-
moelectric generators (TEGs) of the past
60
to elite applications where system relia-
bility was deemed as paramount.
Reliability is an especially important
fact within the aerospace and astronau-
tics industry. The most famous example
within astronautics is the Mars rover
“Curiosity” where a radioisotope TEG
provides crucial electric power for all
operations. Fortunately, recent material
developments have broadened access to
this technology, opening a new era for
power generation via TEGs. With more
readily available, less costly materials,
TEGs [1] are poised to play an increas-
ingly significant role within the develop-
ment of engines (mobile and stationary)
by enabling conversion of waste heat
into current. Thus, road vehicle entire
efficiency can be improved and CO2
emissions can be reduced.
DEMONSTRATION OF THE
FUNCTIONAL PERFORMANCE
The first step was to demonstrate that
enough electric power could be recovered
from the exhaust gas of a road vehicle.
This project part was carried out together
THERMOELECTRIC GENERATORS
FROM AEROSPACE TO AUTOMOTIVE
The demonstration that a thermoelectric generator (TEG) recovers enough electric power from the
exhaust gas of a road vehicle could be carried out in the framework of a US Department of Energy
(DOE) funded project already in 2011. Today, the prototypes are undergoing an optimisation process
in a follow-up project. The team for this project consists of the BMW and Ford, Tenneco, and Gentherm
as programme leader. Material substitution by skutterudite, better cylindrical cartridge design and
suitability for series production are investigated. The very latest TEG demonstrators will become
available in early 2014.

with BMW [2] and Ford in the framework
of a United States Department of Energy
(DOE) funded project from the fall of
2004 to the fall of 2011. The TEG was
designed as a cylindrical device, with
coolant pipes in the outer perimeter and a
gas heat exchanger in the inner part. The
overall system size was similar to a nor-
mal passenger car exhaust gas muffler
(150 mm diameter and 370 mm length).
The stack design (T-shaped) of the TEG
was used for a more robust, high power
density design to accommodate for low
packaging space and weight and lower
cost, in line with the expectations of the
automotive industry.
As the materials available at that time
can withstand high temperatures only
for short periods, the TEG was also
equipped with an internal by-pass and
an exhaust gas flap valve, in order to
protect the device when the gas tempera-
tures exceeded 620 °C. On a hot gas test
rig, the TEG, using a coolant tempera-
ture of 20 °C, reached the remarkable
value of 714 W electrical power output.
Thereupon, two TEGs were developed,
then built and installed on test vehicles,
➊ (top), and tested under real driving
09I2013 Volume 115
conditions in Europe and North America
for several thousand kilometres. ① (bot-
tom) reports for instance the power out-
put of a TEG which was installed on the
test vehicle in under-floor position dur-
ing normal driving conditions. When the
vehicle speed reached 100 to 120 km/h,
an electrical power output of 400 to
450 W was measured. Similar results
were achieved on the other test vehicle
with good repeatability after several
thousand kilometres, proving that the
system design itself was capable of with-
standing the severe thermo-mechanical
stress typical of exhaust systems in the
vehicle under-floor.
NEW THERMOELECTRIC MATERIALS
FOR HIGH-TEMPERATURE
APPLICATIONS
Building on the success of the previous
project, a new DOE project was begun in
October 2011. The objective of this follow-
up project is to demonstrate a significant
improvement in fuel economy with a sys-
tem design suitable for large mass produc-
tion in passenger cars. The team for this
new project consists of the OEMs, BMW
and Ford, Tier 1 supplier Tenneco, and
Gentherm as programme lead and TEG
subcomponent supplier. In the following,
first results of the not yet completed follow-
up project are presented in more detail.
In the previous TEG, a combination of
half-Heusler and bismuth telluride mate-
rials were used in the TEG. Both materi-
als are comprised of a significant
amount of expensive raw materials,
including hafnium for half-Heusler and
tellurium for bismuth telluride. In addi-
tion, for two thirds of the cylindrical
TEG, these two materials were seg-
mented together to improve perfor-
mance. Their segmentation did improve
performance, but at the expense of addi-
tional parts, interfaces, and complexity.
Gentherm has continuously evaluated
alternative TE material options, finally
selecting skutterudite (SKU, a cobalt/
antimony based mineral) as the best
overall solution. This material converts
heat to electric power at a higher effi-
ciency than half-Heusler TE material at
temperatures between 100 and 600 °C
due to its higher ZT. The ZT is a figure of
merit (dimensionless) based on three
properties of the material (Seebeck coef-
61
 DE VELO PMENT THERMAL MANAGEMENT

ficient, electrical resistivity, and thermal

conductivity). SKU, which is cobalt and
antimony based, is also comprised of
significantly less expensive raw materi-
als. SKU compounds have also a rela-
tively low toxicity compared to other
commonly used TE materials, such as
lead telluride. Today, SKU TE material,
without segmentation, provides the best
overall capability from a cost, efficiency,
and temperature robustness standpoint
in passenger car applications.

200 500
CYLINDRICAL DESIGN IN
180 450 CARTRIDGE CONSTRUCTION
Angle of the exhaust gas flap valve [°]

160 400
Traditionally, TE modules have been the
140 350 foundation of successfully implemented
Vehicle speed [km/h]

Electric power [W]

TE technology. These TE modules, typi-
120 300 cally of flat, rectangular construction,
100 250 serve as building blocks for scalable,
flexible TE architectures. However, a tra-
80 200 ditional, flat module design is problem-
60 150 atic from the mechanical stand point in
applications where large temperature
40 100 gradients exist. A new type of TE “mod-
20 50
ule” has been developed that departs
from flat geometry and embraces the
0 0 cylindrical design from the previous pro-
0 500 1000 1500 2000 ject. This cylindrical subcomponent,
Time [s] called the cartridge, ➋ (top), again inte-
➊ Installation of a thermoelectric generator into the under-floor of an test vehicle (top) and its electric grates the TE material directly into the
power output under real driving conditions (bottom) hot- and cold-side heat exchangers. This
new design provides a more modular
and cost effective approach that greatly
increases scalability for TEG design as it
is able to fit nimbly in various package
Hot gas
shapes and sizes.
The cartridge is essentially an individ-
ually finned tube heat exchanger that
has TE material sandwiched between the
outer hot (exhaust gas) and the inner
cold side (coolant). The design is similar
Current
to the cylindrical design described and
used in the previous project. Multiple
cartridges can be advantageously assem-
30 26.9
bled together in a shell/tube configura-
25 tion to get a complete TEG. Each car-
tridge is comprised of multiple hot-shunt
Power output [W]

20 17.7
assemblies that are connected electri-
15 10.7
cally in series and thermally in parallel.
Initial cartridge prototypes have been
5.4
10 built and tested. The cartridges have
5
been made of different TE materials,
including bismuth telluride, half-Heusler,
0 and SKU. This in part was done to show
200 300 400 600 the flexibility in the design to be able to
Temperature [°C] be made with different TE materials and
➋ Schematic of a TE “module” in cartridge design (top), more modular and cost effective, as well as initial to prove out different aspects of the
values of peak power of cartridge with SKU material (bottom) design with available TE materials.
62
② bottom shows initial power results for
the SKU cartridge. It can be seen that
this cartridge produces up to 26.5 W of
electric output power at a 600 °C hot gas
inlet temperature.
Although this power values are quite
promising by itself, it is expected that
the SKU cartridge can perform even bet-
ter with anticipated power production
between 30 and 40 W at 600 °C gas inlet
and 80 °C coolant inlet temperatures
with gas and coolant flows of 22.5 g/s
and 2 l/min respectively.
Work has also begun on TE material
scale-up methods relating to the car-
tridge design that will help lower cost
and increase manufacturability. Novel
manufacturing techniques are being
developed to further enhance the cost-
effectiveness of the design at production
quantities. These methods combine
manufacturing steps and include net
shape manufacturing to reduce material
loss. They also include designs aimed at ➌ Exergy diagramme for a vehicle with a traditional 2-l four-cylinder engine – the larger green circles repre-
reducing the number of overall parts. sent areas where greater levels of exergy exist and are available at respective temperatures and mass flows
The team has already begun to work of the exhaust gas
hard to better understand cost versus
performance trade-offs for such a
design.
range of driving conditions found in impacts, such as corrosive salt solutions
desired drive cycles. from streets during winter seasons, are a
INTEGRATION INTO THE
Another key challenge requiring con- few examples of the severe loads that
EXHAUST SYSTEM
sideration is the ability of the TEG sys- exists under the vehicle.
Integration of TEGs into a vehicle’s tem to survive the harsh operating con- Additionally, TEGs need to be compact
exhaust system poses several chal- ditions of the vehicle’s under-floor. Ther- in size to fit into tight vehicle installation
lenges. First, for TEGs to be effectively mal loads with exhaust gases reaching spaces. The cartridges form the heart of
integrated, they must satisfy rigorous as high as 900 °C, vibrations induced by the TEG system and require a specific
performance, durability, weight, and the combustion engine and excited by integration to make the system work effi-
packaging demands as well as all other road bumps, as well as environmental ciently. The TEG canning needs to dis-
stringent requirements associated with
the overall system as defined within the
application. They must also be operable
over a wide range of transient driving
conditions with different exhaust gas
temperatures and mass flows.
To ensure selection of the right sys-
tem design points, the exergy was
investigated – the usable part of the
exhaust energy within the TEG system
– for several driving cycles. ➌ illus-
trates the results for the WLTP driving
cycle (Worldwide Harmonised Light
Duty Test Procedure) for a vehicle with
a 2-l four-cylinder engine. The larger
green circles represent areas where
greater levels of exergy exist and are
available at respective exhaust gas tem-
peratures and mass flows. Such analy- ➍ TEG layout – enabling a
ses help to size the system correctly and homogeneous exhaust flow
to ensure an optimal performance for a distribution

09I2013 Volume 115 63

DE VELO PMENT THERMAL MANAGEMENT

tribute the exhaust gas and the cooling

fluid within the system to the cartridges,
and needs to provide the electrical con-
nections. One of Tenneco’s TEG layouts
is shown in ➍. The exhaust gas enters
the system on one side through the
inner, perforated tube. The gas flows
through the perforations and passes the
cartridge surfaces before leaving the sys-
tem on the other side.
This TEG design enables a homogene-
ous exhaust flow distribution to all car-
tridges and therewith an operation of all
cartridges at the same temperature level,
which is an important precondition for
high system efficiency and low device
complexity. Moreover, this flow passage
design allows for a uniform surface tem-
perature across the length and rudimen-
tally over the circumference of each car-
tridge within a wide range of operation,
which is another beneficial feature.
➎ presents an example from 3-D CFD
simulations performed with Star-CD for
optimising the flow distribution to the
cartridge surface at different operation
points.
➎ Simulation results for temperatures and flow velocities in the TEG To enable effective TEG operation for
nearly all vehicle conditions, the system
employs an electrically engaged valve
that controls the gas distribution
between the cartridge path and the by-
pass. In this way, the TEG efficiency can
be maximised while simultaneously ena-
bling backpressure adjustments relative
to the engine. The overall system design
is additionally supported by structural
mechanics simulations using non-linear
FEM tools and by driving condition anal-
yses using 1-D simulation tools.
The very latest demonstrators will
become available in early 2014. Tenneco
is responsible for overall system integra-
tion, and will perform subsequent test-
ing of the TEGs using its in-house test
rigs as a next step. The TEG test pro-
gramme includes for example vibration
tests under hot conditions and continu-
ous operations on burner rigs, as well as
investigations of pressure drop, flow
noise and power output. For a testing
under real world conditions, Tenneco
has developed a mobile cooling system
with full temperature control for use on
various test rigs. This device effectively
mimics the vehicle’s cooling system, pro-
viding the required cold side of a TEG.
As a further step, TEG prototypes will be
➏ Integration of catalytic coating on the cartridge cooling fins – using the coating (right) leads to a tempera- integrated into vehicles of OEM partners,
ture increase of 66 °C suffering yielding a TEG power output increase of nearly 30 % BMW and Ford.
64
FUTURE CHALLENGES: APPLYING
A CATALY TIC COATING

After the completion of the initial pro-

ject, development activities may shift
focus towards component integration,
such as TEGs and catalytic converters.
6 shows the benefits based on prelimi-
nary investigations of applying a cata-
lytic coating on the cartridge cooling
fins. The exothermic reaction resulting
from the oxidation of the hydrocarbons
increases the surface temperature and
thus, the power output of the cartridge.
For the modelled case, which is typical
of Diesel engine gas temperatures during
the homologation cycle, a surface tem-
perature increase from 300 to 366 °C
could be achieved, yielding a TEG power
output increase of nearly 30 %. A lot of
aspects have still to be evaluated, such
as the impact of the cartridge mass on
the one hand, or the possible utilisation
of the Peltier effect to heat up the car-
tridge during cold start on the other
hand.

CONCLUSION

The most recent progress in the fields

TEG development, materials availability
and integration play an important role on
the road to vehicle-friendly thermoelec-
tric generators. The research results
show that recovering electrical energy
from the exhaust gas waste heat with
this technology presents a further possi-
bility to reduce the fuel consumption of
vehicles.

REFERENCES
[1] Friedrich, H.; Schier, M.; Häfele, C.; Weiler, T.:
Electricity from Exhausts – Development of Thermo-
electric Generators for Use in Vehicles. In: ATZ
Worldwide 112 (2010), No. 4, pp. 48-54
[2] Liebl, J.; Neugebauer, S.; Eder, A.; Linde, M.;
Mazar, B.; Stütz, W.: The Thermoelectric Generator
from BMW is Making Use of Waste Heat. In: MTZ
Worldwide 70 (2009), No. 4, pp. 4-11

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