Evaluation of Temperature-Dependent Effective Material Properties and Performance of a Thermoelectric Module

Abstract

We devised a novel method to evaluate the temperature-dependent effective properties of a thermoelectric module (TEM): Seebeck coefficient (Sm), internal electrical resistance (Rm), and thermal conductance (Km). After calculation, the effective properties of the module are converted to the average material properties of a p–n thermoelectric pillar pair inside the module: Seebeck coefficient (STE), electrical resistivity (ρTE), and thermal conductivity (kTE). For a commercial thermoelectric module (Altec 1091) chosen to verify the novel method, the measured STE has a maximum value at bath temperature of 110°C; ρTE shows a positive linear trend dependent on the bath temperature, and kTE increases slightly with increasing bath temperature. The results show the method to have satisfactory measurement performance in terms of practicability and reliability; the data for tests near 23°C agree with published values.