This study investigates the effect of muffler structure on the temperature uniformity of heat exchanger in the Thermoelectric Generator Unit (TGU) on a motorcycle. New muffler structures which are the results of the modification from the original muffler structure. The combined mufflers - heat exchanger models are then simulated numerically in the Ansys software and experimented on the Honda Wave 110 motorcycle engine in a speed range corresponding to the vehicle velocities from 10 km/h to 50 km/h. The simulation and experiment aim to evaluate the velocity uniformity of exhaust flow distribution through the heat exchanger and the temperature uniformity on the heat exchanger, respectively. The results show that using the modified mufflers enhances the uniformity of exhaust flow distribution and the temperature uniformity on cross-sections of the heat exchanger as compared to the original muffler. Based on values of uniformity index mass-weighted average, the uniformity of exhaust flow distribution in modified muffler case increases in a range of 0.4% to 14.1% in comparison with initial muffler case; and the temperature uniformity is improved when the discrepancies in the maximum temperature difference of cross-section decrease up to 93.9%. This study has important implications as a basis for (1) estimating the uniformity of exhaust flow distribution through the heat exchanger and (2) optimizing the muffler structure to enhance thermal conversion efficiency and longevity of the TGU.

thermoelectric generator unit, temperature uniformity, heat exchanger, exhaust flow distribution, muffler structure.

Received: November 28, 2020; Accepted: December 14, 2020; Published: January 22, 2021

How to cite this article: Thong D. Hong, Quan T. P. Nghiem, Tinh V. Mai and Long T. Le, A numerical simulation and experimental study on thermal uniformity of heat exchanger in motorcycle thermoelectric generator unit, JP Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 22(1) (2021), 89-105. DOI: 10.17654/HM022010089

This Open Access Article is Licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License

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