TY - JOUR
T1 - A comprehensive analysis of the performance of thermoelectric generators with constant and variable properties
AU - Chen, Wei Hsin
AU - Lin, Yi Xian
AU - Wang, Xiao Dong
AU - Lin, Yu Li
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors acknowledge financial support from the Ministry of Science and Technology under the grant number MOST 107-3113-E-006-010- and the Bureau of Energy, Ministry of Economic Affairs, Taiwan, ROC , for this research.
PY - 2019/5/1
Y1 - 2019/5/1
N2 - Material properties of a thermoelectric generator play a pivotal role in directly converting heat into electricity. To provide a comprehensive study on power generation of thermoelectric generators, four different materials with constant and temperature-dependent properties are investigated numerically. The influences of the temperature difference across the elements, the temperature at the cold side surface, and the temperature oscillation at the hot side surface on the performance of the generators are simulated numerically and analyzed systematically. The predictions indicate that the output power, temperature-difference square rule, and impedance matching of the materials with the variable properties deviate from the theoretical results with constant properties, but their behavior always obeys the self-consistency. At a given temperature difference, a decrease in the cold surface temperature may intensify or abate the performance, depending on the material properties adopted. Oscillating the hot surface temperature may increase or decrease the output power and efficiency. In summary, the practical performance of a thermoelectric generator and its deviation from the theoretical performance depend strongly on the properties adopted. Therefore, the consideration of the variable properties of materials can provide a more realistic outcome compared to the predictions with constant properties.
AB - Material properties of a thermoelectric generator play a pivotal role in directly converting heat into electricity. To provide a comprehensive study on power generation of thermoelectric generators, four different materials with constant and temperature-dependent properties are investigated numerically. The influences of the temperature difference across the elements, the temperature at the cold side surface, and the temperature oscillation at the hot side surface on the performance of the generators are simulated numerically and analyzed systematically. The predictions indicate that the output power, temperature-difference square rule, and impedance matching of the materials with the variable properties deviate from the theoretical results with constant properties, but their behavior always obeys the self-consistency. At a given temperature difference, a decrease in the cold surface temperature may intensify or abate the performance, depending on the material properties adopted. Oscillating the hot surface temperature may increase or decrease the output power and efficiency. In summary, the practical performance of a thermoelectric generator and its deviation from the theoretical performance depend strongly on the properties adopted. Therefore, the consideration of the variable properties of materials can provide a more realistic outcome compared to the predictions with constant properties.
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U2 - 10.1016/j.apenergy.2019.02.083
DO - 10.1016/j.apenergy.2019.02.083
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85062220202
VL - 241
SP - 11
EP - 24
JO - Applied Energy
JF - Applied Energy
SN - 0306-2619
ER -