DYNAMIC PERFORMANCE CHARACTERISTICS OF A THERMOELECTRIC GENERATOR

Year 2019, Volume: 5 Issue: 5, 385 - 395, 22.09.2019

Ahmed S. El-adl,

https://doi.org/10.18186/thermal.623206

Cited By: 1

Abstract

A thermoelectric
generator (TEG) is a device that transforms thermal energy directly into
electrical power by exploiting the Seebeck effect. In the current study, the
dynamic performance characteristics of a TEG is experimentally studied under
different operating conditions. The Influence of input heat rate and the
influence of utilizing extended surfaces (fins) on both transient and
steady-state performance of a TEG are experimentally investigated. The
variation in the temperatures of the TEG hot-and cold-side in addition to the
output voltage is taken as a denotation of the performance characteristics.
Input heating rate of 15.0 W, 17.5 W, 20.0 W, 22.0W and 25.0 W are applied to
the TEG hot-side. Free air convection (FC) is utilized for heat dissipation
from the TEG module through the cold-side. From the experimentation, it can be
concluded that increasing the input heating rate provides a higher temperature
difference between the module sides leading to higher power output.
Additionally, using fins to aid heat dissipations improved the TEG performance
by lowering the temperature of the cold-side and increasing the temperature
difference across the module. The experimental data collected are compared with
the data obtainable by the TEG module manufacturer and an excellent concordat
is acquired.

Keywords

Thermoelectric Generator (TEG) , Fins , Seebeck Effect

References

• [1] Kim, T., Negash, A., and Cho, G. (2016). Waste heat recovery of a diesel engine using a thermoelectric generator equipped with customized thermoelectric modules. Energy Conversion and Management,124, 280-286.
• [2] Ding, L., Meyerheinrich, N., Tan, L., Rahaoui, K., and Jain, R., Akbarzadeh A. (2017). Thermoelectric power generation from waste heat of natural gas water heater. Energy Procedia, 110, 32-37.
• [3] Shafii, M., Shahmohamadi, M, Faegh, M., and Sadrhosseini, H. (2016). Examination of a novel solar still equipped with evacuated tube collectors and thermoelectric modules. Desalination, 382, 21-27.
• [4] BOBEAN, C. and Valentina, P. (2013). The Study and Modeling of a Thermoelectric Generator Module, The 8th international symposium on advanced topics in electrical engineering.
• [5] Jang, J. and Tsai, Y. (2013). Optimization of thermoelectric generator module spacing and spreader thickness used in a waste heat recovery system, Applied Thermal Engineering, 51, 677-689.
• [6] HoSung, L., (2011). Thermal Design: Heat Sinks, Thermoelectrics, Heat Pipes, Compact Heat Exchangers, and Solar Cells. JOHN WILEY & SONS, INC., New York.
• [7] Barma, M., Riaz, M., Saidur, R. and Long, B. (2015) Estimation of thermoelectric power generation by recovering waste heat from Biomass fired thermal oil heater, Energy Conversion and Management, 98, 303-313.
• [8] Du, H., Su, T., Li, H., Li, S., Hu, M., Liu, B., Ma, H. and Jia, X. (2016). Enhanced low temperature thermoelectric performance and weakly temperature-dependent figure-of-merit values of PbTeePbSe solid solutions. Journal of Alloys and Compounds, 658, 885-890.
• [9] Li, J., Li, D., Qin, X. and Zhang, J. (2017). Enhanced thermoelectric performance of p-type SnSe doped with Zn. Scripta Materialia, 126, 6-10.
• [10] Cao, Z., Koukharenko, E., Tudor, M., Torah R and Beeby, S. (2016). Flexible screen printed thermoelectric generator with enhanced processes and materials. Sensors and Actuators, A238, 196-206.
• [11] Huang, K., Li, B., Yan, Y., Li, Y., Twaha, S. and Zhu J. (2017). A comprehensive study on a novel concentric cylindrical thermoelectric power generation system. Applied Thermal Engineering, 117, 501-510.
• [12] Sarhadi, A., Bjørk, R., Lindeburg, N., Viereck, P. and Pryds, N. (2016). A thermoelectric power generating heat exchanger: Part II – Numerical modeling and optimization. Energy Conversion and Management, 119, 481-487.
• [13] Wang, T., Luan, W., Liu, T., Tu, S. and Yan, J. (2016). Performance enhancement of thermoelectric waste heat recovery system by using metal foam inserts. Energy Conversion and Management, 124, 13-19
• [14] Date, A., Date, A., Dixon, C., Singh, R. and Akbarzadeh, A. (2015). Theoretical and experimental estimation of limiting input heat flux for thermoelectric power generators with passive cooling. Solar Energy, 111, 201-217.
• [15] Montecucco, A., Siviter, J. and Knox, A. (2014). The effect of temperature mismatch on thermoelectric generators electrically connected in series and parallel, Applied Energy, 123, 47-54
• [16] Lesage, F., Sempels, É. and Lalande-Bertrand, N. (2013). A study on heat transfer enhancement using flow channel inserts for thermoelectric power generation, Energy Conversion and Management, 75, 532-541.
• [17] Rezania, A., Rosendahl, L. and Andreasen, S. (2012). Experimental investigation of thermoelectric power generation versus coolant pumping power in a microchannel heat sink, International Communications in Heat and Mass Transfer, 39, 1054-1058.
• [18] TEG (GM250-127-28-10) manufacturer datasheet, http://www.europeanthermodynamics.com.