Thermoelectric Conversion of Waste Heat

to Electricity in an IC Engine Powered Vehicle

Principal Investigator: Harold Schock
Prepared by:
Harold Schock, Eldon Case, Charles Cauchy, Jonathan D’Angelo, Andrew Hartsig,
Tim Hogan, Mercouri Kanatzidis, James Novak, Fang Peng, Fei Ren,
Tom Shih, Jeff Sakamoto, Todd Sheridan, Ed Timm

08/22/2007

Supported By: Acknowledgement: ONR

support
US Department of Energy under MURI Program
Energy Efficiency Renewable Energy (EERE) Mihal Gross, Project Monitor
John Fairbanks and Samuel Taylor, Contract Monitors

IOWA STATE
UNIVERSITY
 Implementation of a Thermoelectric Generator
with a Cummins ISX Over-the-Road Powerplant
Engine-TEG Simulation
and Experimental Verification
MSU / Cummins

• Complete engine system- f(x,t)

• Temperatures and heat flux
• EGR energy
• Energy in exhaust (T, P, m)
• Turbine work, inlet/outlet temperatures

3D CFD Analysis
TEG Design and Construction
Iowa State / MSU
MSU/JPL

6 Cyl. Engine Test Data

• Generator design • Couple and Module Issues
• TEG materials selection Cummins Convection and radiation between
legs with and without insulation
• Mechanical and TE material property
characterization including Weibull P2 - Single cylinder +TEG Demo Current distribution, Joule heating,
analysis Heat fluxes
• FEA analysis MSU • Electrical energy production
• Leg and module fabrication methods
• Unsteady heat transfer analysis to and
from modules (3D, pulsatile, comp.)

Systems for Utilization

of Electrical Power Recovered
MSU

• Design of electrical energy conditioning and utilization

system
• Control system design and construction
• Inverter, Belt Integrated Starter-Generator Selection
Goals and Objectives
 Using a TEG, provide a 10% improvement in fuel
economy by converting waste heat to electricity
used by the OTR truck
 Evaluate currently available thermoelectric
materials to determine optimum material selection
and segmentation geometry for this application
 Develop TEG fabrication protocol for module and
system demonstration
 Determine heat exchanger requirements needed for
building TEGs of reasonable length
 Determine power electronic/control requirements
 Determine if Phase 2 results make an engine demo
in Phase 3 reasonable
 Important Barriers
• Design of heat exchanger is a major challenge with heat
transfer coefficients needed which are 5x higher than
without enhanced heat transfer modes
• Reliable thermoelectric module fabrication methods need
to be developed for the new high efficiency TE materials
• Material strength and thermoelectric properties must meet
life cycle performance criteria
– Powder processing methods are being refined to provide
increased strength while maintaining thermoelectric properties of
ingot forms of the material
• ZT for the temperature ranges (700K) for last material are
about 1.5 and need to be closer to 3.0 to reach the
efficiency goals requested by DOE
 Accomplishment to date
 Systems for ingot synthesis and leg preparation demonstrated
 March 07, 100 ton hot press operational at MSU (up to a 10 cm puck)
 Tube furnaces and leg cutting equipment operational (500 grams/batch)
 Segmented legs demonstrated by Sakamoto at JPL and Hogan at MSU
 Segmented leg - module fabrication methods being developed
 Sakamoto at JPL demonstrated segmented p-leg with 14.5% efficiency
 Hogan group fabricated and tested numerous LAST/LASTT modules
 Diffusion bonding of stainless steel to LAST and BiTe demonstrated
 Power electronic module isolation methods designed and
being tested at MSU
 Transport measurements conducted by MSU have been
verified by Northwestern, JPL, Iowa State and the general
literature
 Sublimation issues appear to be under control with aerogel
coatings developed by Sakamoto at JPL and Fortifax at MSU
 Analytical studies performed for various operation modes and
conditions
 Geometries for high efficiency heat transfer rates evaluated
 Efficiency improvements for various operational modes for the Cummins
ISX engine evaluated for various geometries
 Some Specifics
• Power Electronic Controls
• Segmentation of Legs
• Mechanical Strength and Module Fabrication
• The DOE Sponsored Application
• Heat Transfer Issues
• TEG Design Details
• Performance Calculations
• Summary
 Problems of Traditional Connection
Methods
I0
I0

I2 I1 R2
V02
M2
V2
R2 R1
V0 RL V0 RL
M2 M1
R1
V2 V1 M1 V01

V1

Parallel connection Series connection

 Different output characteristics of TEG modules cause problems

when connect them with traditional methods;
 One TEG module can become the load of another and waste
power;
 Can not guarantee maximum power output from each TEG module;
 Single failed module can cause power output interruption .
 Power Electronics for TE
Generation

I1 I2
+ +
TEG Power Electronics Z2
Z1 V2 Load
Module V1 Circuit _
_

Developing power electronic circuit as an interface

between TEG module and load with the features
of:

 Load matching;
 Power conditioning;
 Maximum power point tracking;
 Failed TEG module bypassing.
Power Electronics Solution
I0

R2

M2 PE
PE V02
Circuit
Circuit 22
V2

V0 RL

R1
M1
PE
PE V01
Circuit
Circuit 12
V1

A power electronic circuit is designed for each TEG

module and features functions of:
 Maximum power point tracking;
 Bypassing failed module;
 To Achieve High Power Output

I0

Rn Rn

Mn PE
PE V0n PE
PE V0n
Circuit
Circuit n2 Circuit
Circuit n2
Vn Vn
Mn
V0 RL

R1 R1
M1
PE
PE V01 PE
PE V01
Circuit
Circuit 12 Circuit
Circuit 12
V1 V1
M1

 High power output can be achieved by series-parallel

connection of TEG modules;
 Power electronic circuits guarantee each TEG module
output its maximum power;
 Failed modules will not effect the operation of other
modules.
 TEG module and Heat Exchanger
Heatsink

TEG modules

TEG module from Tellurex®

Heat elements

Assembly
Output characteristics (Tellurex®)

 A heat exchanger capable of 100 W electrical power output

has been fabricated and Tested.
 Test Setup & Condition

Our test results

Set 1: Without PE Circuit Set 2: With PE Circuit

 Set 1 is directly connected to a 50 W light bulb;

 Set 2 is connected to a 50 W light bulb via the power electronic circuit.
 Demo and Test Results of the PE Circuit
for Maximum Power Point Tracking
TEG output electric power vs ∆T

50
45 W/O PE circuit
40
with PE circuit
TEG Output Power (W)

35
TEG maximum power
30
25
20
15
10
5 W/O PE circuit With PE circuit
0
30 50 70 90 110 130
∆ T=T (Hot)− T (Cold) (degree C)

 The PE circuit can extract the maximum electrical power from the TE
modules and feed any electric loads regardless of TE module’s heat flux
and load impedance/conditions.
 Some Specifics
• Power Electronic Controls
• Segmentation of Legs
• Mechanical Strength and Module Fabrication
• The DOE Sponsored Application
• Heat Transfer Issues
• TEG Design Details
• Performance Calculations
• Summary
 Device level efficiency projections:
Skutterudite+heritage materials

700C

CeFe3.5 Co0.5 Sb12 p-leg n-leg CoSb3

TAGS LAST or PbTe

100C

Option 1: LAST for cold stage of n-leg (525C interface) = 14.80% efficiency
Option 2: PbTe for cold stage of n-leg (438C interface) = ~12.4% efficiency
Option 3: PbTe for cold stage of n-leg (525C interface + TAGS at 500C) = 13.0%
efficiency

SOA: Heritage TAGS & PbTe 450C-100C = 8% efficiency

 Device details & power output
Option 3: PbTe for cold stage of n-leg (525C interface + TAGS at 500C) = 13.0% efficiency

700C

CeFe3.5 Co0.5 Sb12 p-leg n-leg CoSb3

TAGS PbTe
100C
•0.5cm long legs 0.5cm2 each leg
•1 gram (total) for each couple
•2.2 mOhm per couple
•0.127 mV at peak load
•41 amps
•5.2W output
•Assumes 40W/cm2
•200 couples in series at 25V (6” by 6” footprint including gaps) = 1040W
MSU53 Power Output Validation @ JPL
MSU53 Power Output Validation

100 3.03 mΩ 800

90 700 500C
80 600 635C
2.93 mΩ
Potential (mV)

70 500

Power (mW)
700C
60 400
2.74 mΩ 700C
50 300
40 200
30 100
20 0
10 -100
0 -200
0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Current (Amps)

•Resistance is within ~1% of predicted value

•14.57% conversion efficiency!
 Some Specifics
• Power Electronic Controls
• Segmentation of Legs
• Mechanical Strength and Module Fabrication
• The DOE Sponsored Application
• Heat Transfer Issues
• TEG Design Details
• Performance Calculations
• Summary
 Schock

MSU Hot Press

• March 10th 2006; press ordered
• January 4th 2007; press arrived at
MSU
• January 23rd; press up righted and
moved into location
• January 24th – February 2nd;
electrical and water installed
• February 5th – 9th: TTI technician
assists with final installation of
components
• March 7th: Initial hot press run
 Schock, Case
Hot Press Billets
HPMSU-01 HPMSU-02
 Module Fabrication Hogan

Example Modules

7 mm
 Publications
• Characterization of dry milled LAST (Lead-Antimony-Silver-Tellurium)
thermoelectric material, Pilchak, A., Ren, F., Case, E., Timm, E. and Schock,
H., submitted to Philosophical Magazine, Spring 07
• Nanostructured Thermoelectric Materials and High Efficiency Power
Generation Modules, Hogan, T., Downey, A., Short, J. et al., prepared spring
07
• The Young’s modulus and Poisson’s ratio of lead-telluride based
thermoelectric materials as a function of temperature, Ren, F., Case, E.,
Timm, E., Schock, H., Lara-Cuzio, E., Trejo, R., Lin, C.H.,Kanatzidis, M.,
submitted to International Journal of Applied Ceramics Technology, Spring, 07
• Hardness as a function of composition for n-type LAST thermoelectric
materials, F. Ren, E.D. Case, E.J. Timm, and H.J. Schock, Journal of Alloys
and Compounds, (2007) doi:10.1016/jallcom.2007.01.086
• Young’s modulus as a function of composition of n-type lead-antimony-silver-
telluride (LAST) thermoelectric materials, F. Ren, E.D. Case, E.J. Timm, and
H.J. Schock, submitted to Philosophical Magazine, Spring 07
• Weibull analysis of the biaxial fracture strength of a cast p-type LAST-T
thermoelectric material, F. Ren, E.D. Case, E.J. Timm, M.D. Jacobs and H.J.
Schock, Philosophical Magazine Letters, Vol. 86, No. 10, Oct. 2006, 673-682
 Some Specifics
• Power Electronic Controls
• Segmentation of Legs
• Mechanical Strength and Module Fabrication
• The DOE Sponsored Application
• Heat Transfer Issues
• TEG Design Details
• Performance Calculations
• Summary
Cummins ISX 6 cylinder diesel engine
 Thermal Power Split Hybrid – Options
Using the electric power recovered from waste heat

Engine Coolant Induction

Air Air
Induction Intercooler
Pe@62% = Y kW
Pe@100% = Z kW C
TEG-1
EGR Σ EGR Cooler
30 - 50 kVA
Power Elect

Mixer X % of exhaust to EGR, (100-

X) % of exhaust to turbine.

B-IMG
Additional energy
Radiator

recovery
EGR
I E opportunity
ηINV = 0.96 T
Exhaust Th , qh
ηBIMG =0.93 Cool Exhaust Out
ηmi = 0.89 TEG-2

Excess T/C or clutch

WP
Electrical
Power Coolant
Pump
Trans.
ESS, Batt Powered
+ Ultra-Cap Ancillaries
Wheels
FD
Pm=249+TEG@100% , TEG@62%
Single TEG with exploded view of a module
ISX Engine Operating Conditions for
ESC Duty Cycle Modes
 Some Specifics
• Power Electronic Controls
• Segmentation of Legs
• Mechanical Strength and Module Fabrication
• The DOE Sponsored Application
• Heat Transfer Issues
• TEG Design Details
• Performance Calculations
• Summary
 cold

Issues: hot

Heat Exchanger (HX) cold

• How to fully utilize the hot &

cold temperature sources as RC TC
x
efficiently and compactly as
J J
possible.
Heat Transfer in the TE Couple
• TE cavity: inert gas/insulation
TH
• TE legs RC

Durability and Life J J

• thermal stress
considerations
 HX: Heat Transfer Enhancement

Goal:  high heat transfer rate

 low pressure drop

How to get high heat-transfer rate?

 ribs
 Dimples
 vortex
no rib
generators
 hybrid
(combinations
of ribs,
with rib
dimples, …)
 Guiding Principle for HT Enhancement

 Increase streamwise vorticity / recirculating flow to

increases surface heat transfer

Why?
Brings hotter & higher momentum fluid in the “core” to
the surface.

 Interrupting the streamwise recirculating flow

periodically is needed (i.e., restart boundary layer).

 Induce unsteadiness as another mechanism to

restart boundary layer.
New Concept
hwithrib / hnorib
 Some Specifics
• Power Electronic Controls
• Segmentation of Legs
• Mechanical Strength and Module Fabrication
• The DOE Sponsored Application
• Heat Transfer Issues
• TEG Design Details
• Performance Calculations
• Summary
 TEG for Waste Heat from IC Engines
TEG
Configuration

Inlet Midpoint Outlet

3’

3
Outer
wall
n p … n p … n p
radial
2’
Inner
2 wall
1
Temperature Heat
flux

axial
 1 Cylinder per TEG MP Module Efficiency
(LAST, BiTe (470K) ), T2` = 644K, T3` = 338K

9.2
2
Jp max = -26.3 (A/cm )
9 2
Jn max = 20.4 (A/cm )
An/Ap = 1.29
Module Efficiency (%)

8.8 η = 9.1% An = 0.793 (cm)

max
An = 0.861 (cm)
An = 0.946 (cm)
8.6 An = 1.032 (cm)
An = 1.117 (cm)
An = 1.202 (cm)
An = 1.288 (cm)
8.4 An = 1.373 (cm)
An = 1.459 (cm)
An = 1.544 (cm)
8.2 An = 1.629 (cm)

7.8
-45 -40 -35 -30 -25 -20 -15 -10
2
Jp (A/cm )
Fuel economy of ISX Engine Operating at Cruise
(B62 Point) – Phase I Work
TEG Placed at Head in Exhaust Port
QTEG ⋅ N TEG ⋅ηTEG ⋅η BISG ⋅η INV
% Imp. In BSFC * =
BHP ⋅ 0.746

1 Cylinder into 1 TEG (6TEGs) = 31.9(6)(0.091)(0.96)(0.93) = 6.2%

334.6 ⋅ 0.746

3 Cylinders into 1 TEG (2 TEGs) = 50.2(2)(0.11)(0.96)(0.93) = 4.0%

334.6 ⋅ 0.746

6 Cylinders into 1 TEG (1TEG) = 64.5(1)(0.123)(0.96)(0.93) = 2.8%

334.6 ⋅ 0.746

Note: This does not include improvement in BSFC by utilizing an ISG which has an
efficiency 2x that of current alternators or the higher TEG efficiencies at higher load
operation
 WAVE Diagram of ISX Engine Layout: Secondary
TEG attached to Turbo Exhaust
EGR Flow
TEG located
in EGR Exhaust
Circuit

EGR Valve Additional

TEG added
after
Turbine

Intercooler

VGT
Turbocharger

Intake

Note: Both TEG lengths have been increased from 150cm to 200cm
from Phase I studies
 Animation of Temperature Gradients
TEG in EGR Circuit

Additional
TEG added
after
Turbine
 Some Specifics
• Power Electronic Controls
• Segmentation of Legs
• Mechanical Strength and Module Fabrication
• The DOE Sponsored Application
• Heat Transfer Issues
• TEG Design Details
• Performance Calculations
• Summary
 BSFC % Improvement:
Single TEG EGR Cooler and Dual TEG
Dual TEG: EGR Cooler & After Turbine Single EGR Cooler TEG
4.0

3.5

3.0
% Improvement

2.5

2.0

1.5

1.0

0.5

0.0
A-25 A-100 B-62 B-100 C-100
Operating Point
 Some Specifics
• Power Electronic Controls
• Segmentation of Legs
• Mechanical Strength and Module Fabrication
• The DOE Sponsored Application
• Heat Transfer Issues
• TEG Design Details
• Performance Calculations
• Summary
 Summary
• Systems for material synthesis, powder processing, hot pressing,
leg and module fabrication are operational at MSU
• Facility in place to produce materials required for a 40 watt
module in one week …goal …evaluate new 40 watt module
concepts in about one week
• Thermoelectric performance testing of legs and modules at MSU
is in agreement with others doing similar measurements
• Power conditioning electronics for maximum power tracking and
fault mitigation are being tested
• Improved head exchanger designs are critical to success of TE
effort for waste heat recovery
• Using TEG technology, a 5% improvement in bsfc for and OTR
truck is a reasonable 5 year goal …10% improvement possible
with new TE materials
Thanks for Your Attention
Questions?
Backup Slides
 Collaborations/Interactions
• MSU, JPL, Tellurex, Northwestern, Iowa State
and Cummins Team continue to partner in this
effort
• Office of Naval Research sponsored effort has
provided the basis for new material exploration
and assisted in module fabrication
developments
• Oak Ridge DOE (High Temperature Materials
Laboratory) has provided significant assistance
in material property characterization
Plans for the Rest of the Year

 July ~ Aug, 2007: Modules being fabricated, segmented concepts testing

and powder processing method development ongoing
 Aug ~ Dec. 2007 Evaluation of new TE systems and stoichiometries
 Sept ~ Dec. 2007 Demonstrate power electronics for 100 watt TEG
 Aug ~ Nov, 2007: High efficiency module construction and performance
testing
 Sept ~ Nov, 2007: Design of heat exchanger and numerical simulation of
expected system performance
 Dec, 2007: Preparing quarterly project report
 MSU53: Metallized (end-end) Segmented pSKD+TAGS
leg

5mm
•Test set up for validating power output of pSKD/TAGS segmented leg
 2000
MSU 53 Contact Resistance Measurement
1800
NOTE: 4A with 89% efficiency
1600

1400
pSKD
( )
Resistance µΩ

1200
0.538mΩ cm-
1000 metallization measured
800
4200

4100

Contact Resistance (micro Ohms/cm2)

4000
600 0.797mΩ cm- 3900

measured 3800

400
TAGS ~170
3700

3600

200 3500

3400
µ Ω /cm2
0 3300

3200
0 2000 4000 6000 3700 3900 4100 8000
4300 4500 4700 4900 5100 5300 5500
Distance (microns)

Distance ( µm)

•Contact resistance measured using new 100nm step scanning probe

•Measured resistivity of TAGS & pSKD within +/- 2% of published data
•Contact resistance at segmented interface is low and can be reduced by
reducing thickness of metallurgical bond
 T AG S Sub lim ation at 535C
1.00E-04
unco ated
unco ated
aero gel co ated
h)

aero gel co ated

2
Sublimation rate (g/cm

1.00E-05

1.00E-06
0 100 200 300 40 0 50 0 600 7 00 800
time (hours)
Goal = 2 x 10-6

Aerogel suppressed sublimation by a factor of 10 and is approaching the 10years

of operation goal at 535C