EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION OF THE THERMAL PERFORMANCE IN THERMOELECTRIC GENERATORS

Öz

Thermoelectric modules (TEM) are recognized as one of the viable technologies with great potential for thermal energy management and greenhouse gas emission reduction. Thermoelectric modules (TEM) are composed of semiconductor materials and can heat or cool using electricity. Conversely, they can generate electricity using the temperature difference. Thermoelectric modules are electrically connected in series and thermally connected in parallel. They are divided into two groups as thermoelectric generator and thermoelectric cooler according to their working principles. In this research, an experimental setup was created using a thermoelectric generator (TEG). In the experimental studies, the analysis was carried out using the entire TEG surface. In addition, two different cases (TEG + heat sink and TEG only) were investigated in the experimental study. The hot side of the TEG is connected to the electric heater. The heat sink was placed on the cold side. The temperature was measured using a thermal camera. According to the results obtained, it was shown that the performance of the system increased by 60% for the case with TEG and heat sink.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Heat recovery
• Thermoelectric generator
• Thermal camera.

TERMOELEKTRIK JENERATÖRLERDE ISIL PERFORMANSIN DENEYSEL İNCELENMESİ

Öz

Termoelektrik modüller (TEM), ısıl enerji yönetimi ve sera gazı emisyonunu azaltma konusunda büyük potansiyele sahip ve uygulanabilir teknolojilerden biri olarak kabul edilmektedir. Termoelektrik modüller (TEM) yarıiletken malzemelerden oluşup, elektrik kullanarak ısıtma veya soğutma yapabilirler. Bunun tersi olarak da sıcaklık farkını kullanarak elektrik üretebilirler. Termoelektrik modüller elektriksel olarak seri, termal olaraksa paralel bağlıdırlar. TEM çalışma prensiplerine göre termoelektrik jeneratör ve termoelektrik soğutucu olmak üzere iki gruba ayrılırlar. Bu araştırmada, termoelektrik jeneratör (TEG) kullanarak bir deney düzeneği oluşturulmuştur. Yapılan deneysel çalışmalarda tüm TEG yüzeyi kullanılarak analizler gerçekleştirilmiştir. Buna ek olarak, deneysel çalışmada iki farklı durum için (TEG+ ısı emici ve Sadece TEG) incelenmiştir. TEG’ın sıcak tarafı elektrikli ısıtıcıya bağlanmıştır. Isı emici ise soğuk tarafa yerleştirilmiştir. Termal kamera kullanarak sıcaklık ölçümü yapılmıştır. Elde edilen sonuçlara göre, TEG ve ısı emici olduğu durum için sistemin performansı %60 arttığı gösterilmiştir.

Anahtar Kelimeler

• Isı geri kazanımı
• Termoelektrik Jeneratör
• Termal kamera.

Kaynakça

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