Modelling and Simulation of Solar Powered Thermoelectric Generator for Electric Food Delivery Pick-Up Truck

With the shift towards electric vehicles in the present world scenario, pick-up trucks play a significant role in providing much commercial and private transportation of goods. Focusing on the application of food delivery by electric pick-up trucks, by using solar powered thermoelectric generators, the food temperature and texture can be maintained that increases customer satisfaction. The power generated by the solar panels can be utilized for this purpose without increasing the load on the battery. Also, the additional solar energy that can be used to charge the battery is a way to increase efficiency and decrease the dependency on non-renewable sources. In this basic research, the electric powertrain mathematical model is developed in MATLAB and Simulink. Using the solar panel model the size of the solar panel needed in order to acquire the power needed to run the thermoelectric generator and charge the battery is calculated. The solar module is developed using a photovoltaic array and connected with a battery pack module and the parameters that determine the output of this subsystem are noted. Results revealed that thermoelectric generator needs 150 W power to keep the food hygienic and to compensate for this energy a 20 by 12 solar panel array with a 250 W power output is needed.