Design and development of an engine exhaust-based heat

exchanger for waste heat recovery using phase change

material and Thermo-electric generators.
(names of authors, guides etc.)

Abstract
Keywords

Waste heat recovery, The poor thermal efficiency of Internal combustion engines
Thermal energy storage, has a significant role in the environmental impact of the use
Phase change materials, of fossil fuels. Exhaust gases carry a third of this energy
Thermo-electric which goes to waste. This investigation explores waste heat
generators, IC Engines recovery from exhaust gases of ICEs through Thermal
energy storage system. Phase change materials offer a good
application in thermal storage due to latent heat and the
solid-liquid transition type offers a good balance between
energy storage and manageability for the case of ICEs.
Thermoelectric generators provide an effective and easy
way to convert the stored thermal energy into useable forms.
The PCM provides a workable temperature for the TEGs.
When used in together, these have the potential to create a
1. Introduction
compact, feasible and effective waste heat recovery system.
Regardless of endeavours to
enhance fuel consumption
reduction in Internal Combustion
Engines (ICE), about 60–70% of the fuel energy is still dissipated via the coolant and exhaust.
Thermal losses cover about 62%, where exhaust gases and coolant expel 33% and 29% of the fuel
power, respectively [1]. Thermal efficiency remains about 45% in spite of the developments of the
last decade in conventional ICEs technology [2]. Several methods to recover waste heat in ICEs have
been investigated; like Organic Rankine Cycle, thermoelectric generators, turbocharging, exhaust gas
recirculation, exhaust heat exchangers, and six-stroke engines. These innovative approaches have
demonstrated notable increments in thermal efficiency of ICEs, reaching up to 20%. The
effectiveness of these methods is contingent on factors such as heat recovery quality, system design,
component efficiency, and implementation [3]. [3]. However, it's crucial to note that these advanced
technologies come with a substantial cost and are often unable to efficiently store recovered heat for
later use. Recognizing the limitations of existing waste heat recovery methods, a potential solution
lies in the integration of thermal energy storage (TES). TES has emerged as a promising avenue to
address this challenge in a more cost-effective manner. By incorporating TES systems, it becomes
possible to store excess heat generated by Internal Combustion Engines during periods of high
efficiency or low energy demand. This stored thermal energy can then be strategically released
during peak energy demand, contributing to a more optimized and efficient overall energy utilization.
A TES holds potential to offer a solution to this problem in a more cost-effective way.
Fig. 1. Energy losses of internal combustion engine [1].

2. Literature review
TES can be categorized into three primary methods: thermochemical heat storage, sensible heat
storage and latent heat storage [4]. Thermochemical storage depends on the heat which is charged
and discharged according to decomposition and composition of material molecules [5]. This storage
method has high heat storage capacity but poor controllability [6]. Sensible heat storage system
stores the thermal energy by increasing the medium temperature via the heating phenomena [7]. The
material storage capacity largely depends upon the temperature difference and the material quantity
in Sensible storage [8].
The concept of latent heat storage systems is one of the methods of Thermal energy storage. It relies
on storing or releasing of thermal energy during phase transition from one phase into another. These
materials are called phase change materials (PCMs) and have the capacity to store huge amounts of
energy due to high latent heat, approximately isothermal phase transformation and chemical stability
[9]. Because of its various favourable merits, latent heat storage is the most used type of thermal
storage for recovery of waste heat in ICEs.
PCMs can be classified into solid–liquid, solid–solid and liquid–gas based on the state transitions
[10]. Solid-solid PCMs have low volume change but small latent heat [40]. Liquid-gas PCMs reveal
larger latent heat of vaporization, but very high-volume change during phase transformation and
difficulty to contain restricts their application in TES for ICEs [11]. Solid-liquid transition shows
smaller latent heat compared to liquid-gas form, but it also gives a smaller volume change, which is
much more controllable and manageable compared to the Liquid-gas phase change transitions.
Hence, solid-liquid PCMs are the most favourable choice in TES systems [12].
The concept of solid–liquid PCMs is, when subjected to high temperature, the PCM absorbs the heat
till it reaches its melting point. At this point, the PCM stores the thermal energy as latent heat and
starts to melt until it is completely converted into liquid phase. This is the charging phase. When the
temperature decreases, the material releases the previously stored heat to return to the solid phase.
This is when the released thermal energy will be utilized. [13]
There are direct and indirect methods for exhaust heat recovery. In the direct method, the recovered
heat is directly used for the application where the storage system is integrated with the exhaust heat
exchanger [14]. In the indirect method, a separate heat transfer fluid (HTF) is utilized to recover the
exhaust gas heat. The direct method is more compact, simple and cheap, but due to drawbacks of
PCMs such as low thermal conductivity and large volume change during their phase change
processes, the storage tank can prevent PCM from leakage and also increase the heat transfer area
[68].
Thermo-electric generators (TEGs) are devices capable of turning temperature difference into an
electric voltage. They are extremely useful for direct utilization of thermal energy in a compact and
convenient way. Compared to other waste heat recovery technologies, the use of TEGs in a waste
heat recovery system has many desirable attributes such as silence, small size, scalability and
durability. Their key attribute is that they have no moving parts and no chemical reactions therefore
there is little maintenance required due to wear and corrosion [15]. The only limitation of TEGs is its
maximum working temperature above which it is at a risk of being damaged.

3. Objective of present study

In this paper, we will experimentally investigate if the direct method of TES for waste heat recovery
holds significant potential. The system will be placed directly at the exhaust of the IC engine to
extract and store heat from engine exhaust gasses, which otherwise goes to waste. Application of
TEG will be tested for the direct method.
For this experiment, paraffin wax (Thermal conductivity: 0.2-0.35 W/mK, latent heat: 2.1 kJ/Kg)
will be utilized as the PCM due to easy availability and decent latent heat of fusion,

4. Methodology
4.1 Detailed description of setup
The cylindrical setup consists of two coaxial pipes, with the volume between them occupied by the
phase change material. The exhaust gasses will enter the inner pipe at the inlet and leave at the outlet
having lost significant amount of thermal energy to the wax, transferred through the walls of the
inner pipe.
Fig 2. Cylindrical design cross section

Symbols
Km: Thermal heat conductivity of the pipe metal (isotropic)
Kw: Thermal heat conductivity of the paraffin wax (isotropic and same for both phases)
Cp: heat capacity of paraffin wax
L: latent heat of paraffin wax
Ti: Exhaust temperature at inlet
To: Exhaust temperature at outlet
Tg: outer most temperature of exhaust (at inner surface of inner pipe)
Ts1: Temperature distribution along inner pipe
Ts2: Temperature distribution along outer pipe
qr: radial heat flux
qz: axial heat flux
Fig 3. Axial cross section schematic

The gas will lose temperature as it flows from inlet to outlet. Its heat will be transferred to the wax
through the thin pipe surface made of highly conductive material. This heat will be stored in the wax
in the form of raised temperature and latent heat of phase change. Due to the transfer, a temperature
distribution above the ambient will be attained on the outer pipe.
The temperature of the inner pipe will be closer to the temperature of the gas and hence vary along
the length. Due to this variation, the temperature within the wax will also vary along the axial
direction. As the gradient reaches the outer most layer, it will also be affected by the outer pipe. As
the pipe metal is highly conductive, it will not support the same gradient as the wax and will even it
out and smoothen the curve. Both the pipes will have curve smoothening effects. These distributions
will change with time as the wax absorb more energy. This will be a problem of unsteady heat
transfer in 2 dimensions. The cylindrical form of the conductive heat transfer equation will be used
across the wax.

At the ends, the axial temperature distributions will smoothen out. As no heat enters or leaves the
system axially, the temperature gradient at both the end must be zero.
Initially, a phase change boundary will appear in the wax, starting from the bottom left corner. The
wax inside it will have been liquified and that outside it will be solid. At this boundary, latent heat
absorption will occur. The phase change boundary will be an isotherm of the transition temperature.
Fig 4. Phase change depicted

The boundary is an isotherm with temperature equal to the transition temperature of the material. As
this boundary expands, the “heat battery” will charge up. When the entire mass of wax has been
liquified, the wax will continue gradually heating up until it approaches the exhaust temperature.
It is to be noted that once the bottommost layer of wax is melted, further heating will be slow due to
poor thermal conductivity of the wax and the temperature drop of the exhaust across the pipe will
decrease, bringing down the performance of the device. Hence, to make the device more efficient
and effective, the thickness of the wax should be minimized and the length of the pipe should be
maximized.
The time taken for the battery to charge is dependent on the setting of the engine which will vary
unpredictably in practical use. For this experiment, we will run the engine at a constant power
output. Temperature at the inlet and outlet of inner pipe will be measured at regular intervals using
thermocouples and at end points and midpoint of outer surface to understand the evolution of Ts2.
In the discharge phase, we will attempt to charge a phone using the electrical energy generated by the
TEGs through a DC-DC converter to demonstrate the concept.

4.2 Experimental apparatus

4.2.1 mechanical setup
These pipes are 0.5 mm thick each. Outer is made of steel and inner of aluminum.
Fig 5. Dimensions of setup
As noted earlier, the thickness of the wax is kept small yet workable at just 1/4 th of the outer diameter
and 1/20th of the length.

4.2.2 Electronic setup

Fig 6. Electronic setup

There are two circuits, one to record inlet and outlet temperature at regular intervals during storing
thermal energy and another for recovery of stored heat. In the first circuit, a microcontroller will
collect reading from the thermocouples placed at both the ends at intervals of 1 min. The second
circuit consists of 3 TEGs generating voltage supplying power through a DC-DC power stabilizer
maintaining constant voltage output for use.
Fig 7. Fabricated setup and experiments

4.2.3 Engine specifications

Engine name:
Manufactured by:
PARAMETERS VALUE

Table 1: Engine specifications

Fig 8. Engine setup

5. Experimental results
5.1 Recorded data
5.1.1 Run 1
The engine was run for X mins at Y% engine load, where the inlet temperature was a constant at Z oC
and the outlet temperature of exhaust gases was recorded as listed-
(Time in mins)
TIME TEMP TIME TEMP TIME TEMP TIME TEMP TIME TEMP
1 8 15 22 29
2 9 16 23 30
3 10 17 24 31
4 11 18 25 32
5 12 19 26 33
6 13 20 27 34
7 14 21 28 35
Table 2: Change in Outlet temperature (To ) in oC
The temperature at the outer surface and voltage generated by TEG was measured at intervals of 5
mins-
TIME TEMPERATURE VOLTAGE VOLTAGE GEN.
(MINS) (OC) MEASURED BY SINGLE TEG
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
Table 3: Change in outer surface temperature (Ts2) and corresponding voltage generation for
run 1

5.1.2 Run 2
The engine was run for X mins at Y% engine load, where the inlet temperature was a constant at Z oC
and the outlet temperature of exhaust gases was recorded as listed-
(Time in mins)
TIME TEMP TIME TEMP TIME TEMP TIME TEMP TIME TEMP
1 8 15 22 29
2 9 16 23 30
 3 10 17 24 31
4 11 18 25 32
5 12 19 26 33
6 13 20 27 34
7 14 21 28 35
Table 4: Change in Outlet temperature (To ) in oC
The temperature at the outer surface and voltage generated by TEG was measured at intervals of 5
mins-
TIME TEMPERATURE VOLTAGE VOLTAGE GEN.
(MINS) (OC) MEASURED BY SINGLE TEG)
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
35
Table 5: Change in outer surface temperature (Ts2) and corresponding voltage generation for
run 2

5.2 Plotting data

Fig 10. Outlet temperature vs time for various engine loads

Fig 11. Surface temperature vs time for various engine loads

Fig 12. Voltage generated by TEG vs temperature difference between outer surface and ambient

6. Conclusion
Most of the energy consumed by an ICE is wasted. Heat recovery from the exhaust gases can
improve the overall engine efficiency. Here, we explored the application of Latent heat Phase
Change materials for waste heat recovery from exhaust gases using Thermoelectric generators. We
found the effectiveness of Solid-liquid latent heat PCM in effectively storing thermal energy of
exhaust gases in a manageable manner to be recovered, offering a good balance between energy
storage and manageability, and providing a workable temperature for the TEGs. The effective and
convenient conversion of the stored thermal energy to more useable electric energy by TEGs was
observed.
In conclusion, this waste heat recovery system has potential to significantly extract the waste thermal
energy of IC engine exhaust and convert into useable forms. More research is needed with different
wax thickness, outer and inner diameters and length of setup to understand the impact of these
parameters and maximize the effectiveness for the application.

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