Resistance-capacitance thermal models as alternatives to finite-element numerical models in the simulation of thermoelectric modules for electric power generation

Abstract

This paper demonstrates that resistance–capacitance models provide equal results than models based on finite-element software when predicting the performance of a thermoelectric module under transient-state conditions. Previous papers on this topic fall short as comparing finite-element models with simplified versions of resistance–capacitance models.It was confirmed that resistance–capacitance models replicate results of finite-element models in the simulation of a thermoelectric module under steady-state conditions. Deviations lower than 3 % in electric power and efficiency (ratio of electric power to heat input) are obtained for temperature differences between heat source and heat sink as large as 200 K.Similarly, deviations lower than 3 % are obtained for simulation of a thermoelectric module under transient-state conditions. Resistance-capacitance models not only replicate values, trends and rates of variation predicted by finite-element models under step, linear and sinewave variations in the boundary conditions, but they also do this with negligible computational cost.