Numerical Investigation of the Effect of Cooling and Heating Conditions on the Performance of Thermoelectric Module

Year 2021, , 493 - 510, 31.01.2021

Seyda Özbektaş , Bilal Sungur , Bahattin Topaloğlu

https://doi.org/10.29130/dubited.742775

Abstract

Today, the need for energy increases, and fossil fuel resources run out rapidly so energy costs also increase rapidly. The most important feature of fossil fuels is that they consist of hydrocarbon and organic substances containing high levels of carbon. This causes great harm to the world and humanity. In the face of this dangerous situation, world states look for new and clean energy sources. As a result, the trend towards renewable energy sources increases rapidly. In this context, TE (thermoelectric) module is an important source to convert heat to electrical energy. The amount of electricity generation from heat depends on the temperature difference between surfaces of the TE module. The electrical power obtained from heat increases with the increase of temperature difference. This work aims to investigate numerically the heat transfer and electricity generation performance of a 〖Bi〗_2 〖Te〗_3-based TE module embedded with cylindrical pin-fin heat sink under the different hot surface and air temperature conditions with different air velocities. The results were evaluated and discussed with parameters such as temperature distribution, power input, power output, voltage output, current output, temperature difference, total thermal resistance, conversion efficiency and Nusselt number according to Reynolds numbers. In all analyses, it was observed that performance of the heat transfer and electricity generation of the TE module increase with the increase in Reynolds number. The highest conversion efficiency was obtained generally at surface temperatures of 200℃, specifically at air temperature of 5℃ and the Reynolds number of 20000. In addition, it was observed that the temperature difference between the surfaces of the TE module is not sufficient alone to give good performance and besides, it is necessary to keep the cold surface at low temperature.

Keywords

Thermoelectric module, Heat sink, Numerical modelling, Electricity generation

Soğutma ve Isıtma Şartlarının Termoelektrik Modülün Performansına Etkisinin Nümerik İncelenmesi

Abstract

Günümüzde enerjiye olan talep artmaktadır ve fosil yakıt kaynakları hızla tükenmektedir, bunun sonucunda enerji maliyetleri de hızla artmaktadır. Fosil yakıtların en önemli özelliği, yüksek karbon seviyeleri içeren hidrokarbon ve organik maddelerden oluşmasıdır. Bu dünya ve insanlık için büyük zarara sebep olmaktadır. Bu tehlikeli durumun karşısında, dünya devletleri yeni ve temiz enerji kaynakları aramaktadırlar. Sonuç olarak, yenilenebilir enerji kaynaklarına yönelim hızla artmaktadır. Bu bağlamda termoelektrik (TE) modül, ısının elektrik enerjisine dönüşümünde önemli bir kaynaktır. Isıdan elektrik üretimi miktarı TE modülün yüzeyleri arasındaki sıcaklık farkına bağlıdır. Sıcaklık farkı arttıkça, ısıdan elde edilen elektriksel güç de artmaktadır. Bu çalışma farklı hava hızları, yüzey sıcaklıkları ve hava sıcaklıkları koşullarında, silindirik iğne kanatlı ısı alıcı gömülü bir Bi_2 Te_3 TE modülünün ısı transferi ve elektrik üretimi performansı nümerik olarak incelemeyi amaçlamaktadır. Sonuçlar Reynolds sayısına göre, sıcaklık dağılımı, güç girdisi, güç çıktısı, gerilim çıktısı, akım çıktısı, sıcaklık farkı, toplam termal direnci, dönüşüm verimliliği ve Nusselt sayısı gibi parametrelerle değerlendirilmiş ve tartışılmıştır. Tüm analizlerde Reynolds sayısındaki artışla birlikte TE modülün ısı transferi ve elektrik üretimi performansının arttığı gözlemlenmiştir. En yüksek dönüşüm verimliliği genel olarak 200℃ yüzey sıcaklıklarında, spesifik olarak 20000 Reynolds sayısı ve 5℃ hava sıcaklığında elde edilmiştir. Ek olarak, TE modülün yüzeyleri arasındaki sıcaklık farkının iyi performans vermek için tek başına yeterli olmadığı bunun yanında soğuk yüzeyinin düşük sıcaklıkta tutulması gerektiği gözlemlenmiştir.

Keywords

Termoelektrik modül, Isı alıcı, Nümerik modelleme, Elektrik üretimi

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