3-D finite elements model simulation of thermoelectric generator with cylindrical shell and straight fins

A 3-D finite elements model for a type of thermoelectric generator (TEG) with cylindrical shell and straight fins is established in this paper. This model is simulated in ANSYS Workbench and CFX environment. Results show that increasing the inlet temperature and the inlet velocity of exhaust flow, as well as reducing the inlet temperature of coolant flow can improve the output power of TEM. Changing the inlet velocity of coolant flow has little influence on the output power of TEM, while doing this can make difference on the temperature distribution of coolant flow.