Evaluation method for assessing heat transfer enhancement effect on performance improvement of thermoelectric generator systems

Yurong Yang, Shixue Wang and Yu Zhu

Applied Energy, 2020, vol. 263, issue C, No S0306261920302002

Abstract: The total power output of a thermoelectric generator system can be increased by enhancing the heat transfer performance of its hot-side heat exchanger. However, heat transfer enhancement is usually accompanied by the consumption of additional pump power. Therefore, it is unclear whether the net power output, that is, the difference between the total power output and the pump power, increases. Developing a comprehensive evaluation method based on the net power output is necessary to determine the heat transfer enhancement effect on performance improvement of the system. In this paper, the concept of net power ratio which integrates the total power output and the pump power consumption was proposed to evaluate the heat transfer enhancement effect on the performance improvement of a thermoelectric generator system. Based on a ring-shaped thermoelectric generator, the analytical solution of the net power ratio was theoretically derived. Compared with the numerical and experimental methods, the proposed net power ratio in a thermoelectric generator system is convenient and time-saving with adequate accuracy for engineering applications. Moreover, the application of net power ratio in a real thermoelectric generator system was investigated by case studies. Results show that both the inlet fluid temperature and the mass flow rate affect the net power ratio. When using net power ratio to evaluate the performance improvement of a thermoelectric generator system, net power should also be considered to obtain optimal working conditions for a thermoelectric generator system.

Keywords: Thermoelectric generator; Heat transfer enhancement; Net power; Evaluation method (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (13)

Downloads: (external link)
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306261920302002
Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:appene:v:263:y:2020:i:c:s0306261920302002

Ordering information: This journal article can be ordered from
http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/405891/bibliographic
http://www.elsevier. ... 405891/bibliographic

DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2020.114688

Access Statistics for this article

Applied Energy is currently edited by J. Yan

More articles in Applied Energy from Elsevier
Bibliographic data for series maintained by Catherine Liu ().