Fabrication of Skutterudite-Based Tubular Thermoelectric Generator

Hanhwi Jang, Jong Bae Kim, Abbey Stanley, Suhyeon Lee, Yeongseon Kim, Sang Hyun Park and Min-Wook Oh
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Hanhwi Jang: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon 34141, Korea
Jong Bae Kim: Flexible Thermoelectric Device Center (FTEDC), Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon 34141, Korea
Abbey Stanley: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Hanbat National University, Daejeon 34158, Korea
Suhyeon Lee: Flexible Thermoelectric Device Center (FTEDC), Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (KAIST), Daejeon 34141, Korea
Yeongseon Kim: Korea Institute of Energy Research, Daejeon 34129, Korea
Sang Hyun Park: Korea Institute of Energy Research, Daejeon 34129, Korea
Min-Wook Oh: Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Hanbat National University, Daejeon 34158, Korea

Energies, 2020, vol. 13, issue 5, 1-11

Abstract: The conversion efficiency of the thermoelectric generator (TEG) is adversely affected by the quality of thermal contact between the module and the heat source. TEGs with the planar substrate are not suitable for the curved heat sources. Several attempts have been made to tackle this issue by fabricating complex tubular-shaped TEGs; however, all efforts have been limited to low-temperature applications. Furthermore, the electrical contact resistance of the module is critical to achieving a high-power output. In this work, we developed the tubular TEG with significantly low specific contact resistance by optimizing the joining process. We show that the modified resistance welding (MRW) performed by spark plasma sintering (SPS) is an efficient joining method for the fabrication of the TE module, with high feasibility and scalability. This research seeks to suggest important design rules to consider when fabricating TEGs.

Keywords: tubular thermoelectric generator (TTEG); skutterudite; joining; specific contact resistance; power density (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q Q0 Q4 Q40 Q41 Q42 Q43 Q47 Q48 Q49 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (2)

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