Thermoelectric cooling system for internal combustion engine. Part 1: development of the technical aspects

摘要

In this article we present an analysis of heat balance of an internal combustion engine. This work shows that conversion of thermal energy, transferred from the combustion engine to the coolant, into electrical energy is a very promising research field. The device capable of converting thermal energy into electricity is a thermoelectric generator. Further, we examine the current trends in the development of thermoelectric generators, where the heat source is the cooling fluid of an internal combustion engine. On the basis of the analysis we propose to develop not just a separate thermoelectric generator, but a complete cooling system, which includes the generator as a component. Having done preliminary calculations we determined the composition and developed the concept of a thermoelectric cooling system for internal combustion engines.