Exhaust system with thermoelectric generator
The present invention relates to an exhaust system for a combustion engine, more preferably of a road vehicle, with at least one exhaust gas-conducting component having a ring-shaped closed inner wall in circumferential direction, whose inner side is exposed to the exhaust gas. The energetic efficiency of the combustion engine can be improved with at least one thermoelectric generator which converts heat into electric energy and which is arranged on an outer side of the inner wall.
1. An exhaust system for a combustion engine, adapted for use in a road vehicle or another mobile or stationary device, said exhaust system comprising:
at least one exhaust gas-conducting component having an inner wall closed ring-like in a circumferential direction, whose inner side is exposed to the exhaust gas,
a cooling jacket having a first outer wall ring-like concentrically surrounding said inner wall in the circumferential direction in a closed, spaced manner,
at least one thermoelectric generator which converts heat into electric energy and which is disposed between said inner wall and said cooling jacket, and
a spring structure under circumferential preload for applying a radial preload to and for supporting said at least one thermoelectric generator on an outer side of said inner wall or on an inner side of said first outer wall, wherein said spring structure includes regions with different elasticity in the circumferential direction, wherein regions of higher elasticity and regions of lower elasticity alternate in the circumferential direction.
2. The exhaust system according to claim 1 , wherein the thermoelectric generator surrounds the inner wall in the circumferential direction in a closed manner.
3. The exhaust system according to claim 1 , wherein said cooling jacket further includes a second outer wall concentrically disposed about said first outer wall in a closed manner.
4. The exhaust system according to claim 1 , wherein the first outer wall of said cooling jacket contacts said at least one thermoelectric generator.
5. The exhaust system according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one thermoelectric generator contacts an outer side of the inner wall.
6. The exhaust system according to claim 5 , wherein the spring structure in the circumferential direction is configured yielding spring-elastically.
7. The exhaust system according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one thermoelectric generator comprises a multiplicity of individual thermoelectric elements which convert heat into electric energy and which are electrically interconnected and spaced from one another in the circumferential direction.
8. The exhaust system according to claim 1 wherein the thermoelectric elements are positioned on the spring structure in a region of lower elasticity.
9. The exhaust system according to claim 6 , wherein the at least one thermoelectric generator comprises at least one substrate matrix on which a plurality of thermoelectric elements fixed in position relative to one another are arranged.
10. The exhaust system according to claim 9 , wherein the thermoelectric elements are electrically interconnected through contacts running within the substrate matrix.
11. The exhaust system according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one thermoelectric generator comprises an outer contact layer with which it is supported on the spring structure.
12. The exhaust system according to claim 1 , wherein the thermoelectric generator has an inner contact layer with which it contacts the outer side of the inner wall.
13. The exhaust system according to claim 11 , wherein said at least one thermoelectric generator includes plural thermoelectric elements, and wherein said thermoelectric elements are electrically interconnected through electrical contacts running within the outer contact layer.
14. The exhaust system according to claim 1 , wherein the at least one thermoelectric generator is of a modular construction, and wherein a plurality of generator modules are arranged adjacent one another in the circumferential direction and in a main flow direction of the exhaust gas.
15. The exhaust system according to claim 14 , wherein each generator module comprises a plurality of thermoelectric elements.
16. The exhaust system according to claim 14 , wherein each generator module comprises at least one of a substrate matrix and an outer contact layer and an inner contact layer.
17. A thermoelectric generator for installation in an exhaust system according to claim 1 .
18. A method for producing an exhaust system according to claim 1 , wherein the thermoelectric generator arranged between the inner wall and the outer wall is radially preloaded in that the outer wall for reducing its cross section is plastically re-formed.