Investigation for power generation based on single-vertex movement of thermoelectric module

Abstract

Thermoelectric (TE) conversion is a technology that converts heat directly into electricity. This technology has become an effective way to recover industrial waste heat and utilize renewable resources. Power generation of TE module significantly depends on its material performance and geometric configuration. The geometric structure can be changed to improve the module power generation. Various movement schemes are adopted to make each vertex of a rectangular prism leg TE module move with fixed angle and radius. The power generation of deformed module is simulated by finite-element analysis, and the simulated data are summarized into fitting formula, through which the optimal vertex movement is obtained. The results show that the module vertex movement has a significant impact on the module power generation. According to the fitting formula, a new TE structure is obtained which can significantly improve the power generation of module. The maximum output power of module is 0.126 W when the movement angle θ = 225° and radius ρ =0.8 mm. The optimized module has excellent heat absorption performance and the maximum heat absorption is 2.89 W.