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This work develops a multiphysics thermoelectric generator model for automobile exhaust waste heat recovery, in which the exhaust heat source and water-cooling heat sink are actually modeled. Special emphasis is put on the non-uniformity of temperature difference across thermoelectric units along the streamwise direction, which may affect the performance of exhaust thermoelectric generator systems significantly. The main findings are: (1) The counter flow cooling pattern is recommended, although it cannot elevate the overall output power as compared with the parallel flow counterpart, it reduces the temperature non-uniformity effectively, and hence ensures the system reliability. (2) The temperature non-uniformity strikingly deteriorates the output power of thermoelectric unit along the streamwise direction; meanwhile, an additional lateral heat conduction effect exists within the exhaust channel wall, the both …