Number Of Thermoelectric Elements Research Articles

Enhanced Energy Harvesting from Thermoelectric Modules: Strategic Manipulation of Element Quantity and Geometry for Optimized Power Output

Rising environmental concerns and increasing electricity generation costs have sparked significant interest in waste heat recovery systems, particularly thermoelectric modules. Given the challenge of breakthroughs in thermoelectric materials, improving module structure has become a key strategy for enhancing efficiency. This study examines the commercially available TGM1-127-1.0-0.8 thermoelectric module through comparative simulation of flat plate and annular configurations. By maintaining consistent conditions across designs—including total volume of thermoelectric material, element geometry, heat source contact area, temperature differential, and connecting copper plate volume—we investigated the relationship between thermoelectric element quantity and module performance. Results demonstrate that the number of thermoelectric elements not only determines the open-circuit voltage but also significantly influences output power. Notably, the output power trend remains consistent across temperature differentials, independent of load resistance variations, suggesting a fundamental relationship between element quantity and module efficiency.

Potential evaluation of an annular thermoelectric cooler driven by a dye-sensitized solar cell

For round shaped cooling space, a dye-sensitized solar cell (DSSC) is used to drive annular thermoelectric cooler (ATEC) to solve the performance deterioration caused by geometric mismatch, in which ATEC considers Seebeck effect, Peltier effect and Thomson effect. Considering all kinds of irreversible losses between DSSC and ATEC, the mathematical formula of performance parameters of hybrid system is derived. The effects of Schottky barrier height, thickness of TiO2 film, thickness of ATEC, number of thermoelectric elements and annular parameter of the ATEC on the cooling capacity and coefficient of performance (COP) of the coupling system are analyzed theoretically. The theoretical calculation results show that the maximum cooling capacity and COP of the hybrid system are 68.75 W/m2 and 0.071, respectively. In addition, it can be found that the positive Thomson effect had a positive influence on the thermoelectric cooling system. The findings of this work have the potential to provide fresh light of solar-driven annular thermoelectric cooler matching with actual round shaped cooled spaces.

Two-stage thermoelectric generators for waste heat recovery from solid oxide fuel cells

A novel hybrid system that couples a solid state two-stage thermoelectric generator (TTEG) to a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) is proposed to harvest the waste heat from SOFC for performance enhancement. The number of thermoelectric elements among the top and bottom stages is optimized to maximize the power output of the TTEG. A relationship between the operating current density of the SOFC and the dimensionless electric current of the optimized TTEG is derived. The operating current density interval that enables the operation of TTEG is determined. The analytical expressions for the power output and efficiency of the hybrid system are theoretically derived by considering the irreversible losses in SOFC, regenerative losses in regenerator, Joule heat and the heat-conduction losses in TTEG, and heat leakage from the SOFC to the environment. The proposed system is found to be more efficient than the stand-alone SOFC, SOFC-single stage TEG hybrid system and several other emerging SOFC-based hybrid systems. Comprehensive parametric studies are conducted to investigate the effects of operating and design parameters on the system performance. The results obtained may provide some theoretical bases for the design and operation of a real SOFC/TTEG hybrid system.

Thermodynamic modeling and multi-objective optimization of two stage thermoelectric generator in electrically series and parallel configuration

Two-stage exo-reversible thermoelectric generator considering internal irreversibilties is developed in electrically series and electrically parallel configurations in matrix laboratory simulink environment based on finite time thermodynamic analysis. Simultaneous optimization of proposed system for maximizing power output, thermal efficiency and minimizing entropy generation is employed based on second version of non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm, where working electrical current, number of thermoelectric elements in top and bottom stage, temperature of hot side and cold side are considered as design variables. The present work explores optimal values of above performance parameters and design variables with the comparison of two-stage thermoelectric generator in two modes. For triple and dual objective functions, Pareto frontier is obtained and using four decision variable techniques viz. Fuzzy Bellman–Zadeh, Shannon’s entropy, LINMAP and TOPSIS best optimal solution is selected. With the current study, it has been proved that triple-objective optimization gives much lower difference between ideal and obtained solution, termed as deviation index, as compared to the dual objective optimization.

Multi-objective and multi-parameter optimization of two-stage thermoelectric generator in electrically series and parallel configurations through NSGA-II

Appropriate consideration of input parameters of a thermoelectric generator (TEG) is essential to design devices with superior performance criteria such as high thermal efficiency and power output. In this view, multi-objective evolutionary algorithm namely non-dominated sorting genetic algorithm-II (NSGA-II) is applied to two-stage exoreversible TEG in electrically series and electrically parallel configurations in matrix laboratory (MATLAB) simulink environment. Simultaneous optimization of proposed system for maximizing power output (P), thermal efficiency (η) and ecological function (E) is done with considering working electric current(I), number of thermoelectric elements in top ‘n’ and bottom stage ‘m’, temperature of hot side Th and cold side Tc as design variables. The present work explores various optimal values of performance parameters/design variables from Pareto frontier of triple and dual objective functions and by using three decision making techniques viz. fuzzy, Shannon and TOPSIS, best solution is selected. With the current study, it has been demonstrated that multi-objective optimization gives much lower difference between ideal and obtained solution, termed as deviation index, as compared to the dual/single objective optimization. The optimal design of TEG achieved by multi-objective optimization formulates an appropriate balance between power, efficiency and ecological function, in order that all the three are improved concurrently.

Study of Thermoelectric Generation Unit for Radiant Waste Heat

Thermoelectric generation technology is a promising technology which converts the industrial process waste heat energy to useful electrical energy. Using thermoelectric generation unit which consists of several thermoelectric generation modules, verification experiments have been held at some industrial process.In this paper, the output power and thermal performance of the thermoelectric generation unit are described in radiant waste heat recovery. The output power of thermoelectric generation unit depends on thermoelectric element size and number. We discuss the optimum performance for various sizes and number of thermoelectric elements in practical thermoelectric generation unit. Also, the comparison of generation performance of thermoelectric generation unit using Bi-Te material and high temperature thermoelectric material is discussed.

Exergy analysis of single-stage and multi stage thermoelectric cooler

Thermoelectric devices are solid-state devices. Semiconductor thermoelectric cooling, based on the Peltier effect, has interesting capabilities compared to conventional cooling systems. In this work second law analysis of thermoelectric coolers has been done with the help of exergy destruction. In the first part, performance of single-stage thermoelectric coolers and multi stage thermoelectric coolers has been compared for same number of thermoelectric elements i.e. 50. The performance parameters considered to compare their performance are rate of refrigeration, coefficient of performance, second law efficiency and exergy destruction. In second part, multi stage thermoelectric coolers have been analyzed for three different combinations of number of elements in two stages of thermoelectric coolers. The result of the analysis shows that the performance of a multi stage thermoelectric cooler which has total 50 elements gives best performance when it has 30 elements in hotter side and 20 elements in colder side out of the three cases considered. The comparison of single-stage thermoelectric cooler and multistage thermoelectric cooler shows that for same number of elements rate of refrigeration (ROR) of single-stage thermoelectric cooler is much higher than that of multi stage thermoelectric cooler. The COP remains same for both of them but the peak value of cop is obtained at much lower value of current supplied in multi stage thermoelectric cooler. Exergy destruction has constant values in single stage as well as multi stage thermoelectric cooler when the two stages have equal number of elements but it decreases with increase in x. The result of comparison of multistage thermoelectric cooler for three values of x i.e. 0.5, 1, 1.5 shows that the COP, ROR and second law efficiency improve and exergy destruction degrades with increase in x and the best performance has been obtained for x = 1.5 out of the three values considered. Copyright © 2013 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Optimum variables selection of thermoelectric generator-driven thermoelectric refrigerator at different source temperature

Based on the finite time thermodynamic model of thermoelectric generator-driven thermoelectric refrigerator with losses of external heat transfer, Joulean heat inside the thermoelectric device and the heat leakage through the thermoelectric couple leg, this paper analysed the effects of generator heat source temperature and refrigerator cooling temperature on the performance of the combined system using the combination of finite time thermodynamics and non-equilibrium thermodynamics. For a fixed total heat transfer surface area of four heat exchangers, the allocations of the heat transfer surface area among the four heat exchangers are optimised for maximising cooling load and the coefficient of performance (COP) at different source temperature of the combined thermoelectric refrigerator device, respectively. For a fixed total number of thermoelectric elements, the ratio of number of thermoelectric elements, i.e. the number of thermoelectric elements of the generator to that of the whole device is also optimised for maximising cooling load and the COP at different source temperature of the combined device, respectively. The change features of four design variables, i.e. the ratio of number of thermoelectric elements, the total heat transfer surface area ratio, the generator heat transfer surface area ratio and the refrigerator heat transfer surface area ratio are obtained, respectively. Moreover, optimum working electrical currents for maximum cooling load and COP at different total number of thermoelectric elements and different total heat transfer area are obtained, respectively.

Performance characteristics of a multi-element thermoelectric generator with radiative heat transfer law

A finite-time thermodynamic model of multi-element thermoelectric generator with radiative heat transfer law Q∝ Δ (T 4) is built by combining finite-time thermodynamics with non-equilibrium thermodynamics. The characteristics of the power output and efficiency versus working electrical current are analysed. The effects of total number of thermoelectric elements and generator heat source temperature on the power output and efficiency are investigated. The results show that for the fixed total number of thermoelectric elements, there are two optimal working electrical currents corresponding to the maximum power output and the maximum efficiency, respectively. The optimal electrical currents decrease with the increase in the number of thermoelectric elements while increase with the increase in the generator heat source temperature. Higher generator heat source temperature can improve the power output more effectively than the efficiency.

Heat transfer effect on optimal performance of two-stage thermoelectric heat pumps

A model of two-stage semiconductor thermoelectric heat pumps with external heat transfer and internal irreversibility is built. Performance of the heat pump with Newton's heat transfer law is analysed and optimized using the combination of finite-time thermodynamics and non-equilibrium thermodynamics. The analytical formula about heating load versus working electrical current, and the coefficient of performance (COP) versus working electrical current are derived. For the fixed total number of thermoelectric elements, the ratio of number of thermo-electric elements of top stage to the total number of thermoelectric elements is also optimized for maximizing the heating load and the COP of the thermoelectric heat pump. The effects of design factors on the performance are analysed.

Power and Efficiency Calculation and Evaluation of Material Properties in Thermoelectric Power Generators

AbstractThermoelectric elements convert a part of thermal power into electrical, developing the Seebeck effect. A number of thermoelectric elements can be connected electrically in parallel and/or in series shaping a thermoelectric generator (TEG) device. The generator efficiency, η, is determined by comparing the amount of electricity produced (PTEG) to the total amount of heat induced (QH). The possible use of such a device for the recovery of wasted heat can considerably help the world effort for energy savings and the reduction of greenhouse gases.A measuring system and a modeling approach which takes into account the thermal contact resistances have been developed, allowing the characterization of TEG devices under various loads and temperature gradients and thus, the evaluation of material properties. The model was applied on investigating the expected gained power and efficiency, at different places of the exhaust pipe of an intermediate size car with the use of conventional thermoelectric elements. Furthermore, the reliability of a TEG module was examined and the repercussion on fuel consumption is discussed.