Performance comparison and optimization of thermoelectric generator systems with/without stepped-configuration

Xingzhuang Zhu, Zhengxing Zuo, Wei Wang, Boru Jia, Ruiheng Liu, Qian Yin and Min Zhang

Energy, 2025, vol. 335, issue C

Abstract: In view of the poor performance of traditional thermoelectric generator(TTEG), this paper presents a stepped-configuration thermoelectric generator(STEG) integrating thermoelectric modules(TEM) through direct or indirect contact with the hot medium. TEG is divided into a series of control bodies along the gas flow direction based on the finite volume method, the differential equation of the transient energy conservation equation is established in the control body according to the energy conservation, and the model is verified. The thermoelectric characteristics of TTEG and STEG are compared with the structure parameters of the TEM, the input temperature and flow rate of the hot medium(Tin and min) and the input temperature and flow rate of the cold medium(Twater,in and mwater,in). The results show that conversion efficiency(ηTE) is the key factor to determine system efficiency(ηsys). The height(HTE) corresponding to the maximum ηTE decreases gradually with Tin and min. The filling factor(FF) corresponding to the maximum ηTE and ηsys are 0.2–0.3 and 0.4–0.7. Compared with the original structure, heat exchanger efficiency(ηHE) of the optimized structure is slightly reduced, ηTE is obviously rised, and ηsys is enhanced. When Tin is 1173 K and min is 2 g/s, the maximum ηsys of TTEG and STEG are 2.70% and 3.34%, respectively. The current uniformity coefficient(β) drops with Tin, and the overall β is improved by 34.3%–44.4% after optimization. This paper proves the superior performance of STEG and provides insights for TEG progress.

Keywords: Stepped-configuration thermoelectric generator; Heat exchanger efficiency; Conversion efficiency; System efficiency; The filling factor (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2025
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:energy:v:335:y:2025:i:c:s0360544225035662

DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2025.137924

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