Thermo-element geometry optimization for high thermoelectric efficiency

Yongjia Wu, Jihui Yang, Shikui Chen and Lei Zuo

Energy, 2018, vol. 147, issue C, 672-680

Abstract: The figure of merit of thermoelectric materials is temperature dependent, and thus the local compatibility factor changes significantly along the thermo-element length. A local optimization method to maximize the efficiency of a function graded thermoelectric generator was proposed and discussed in this paper. By adjusting the cross-sectional area and segment's thickness, the reduced current equaled the compatibility factor of the material at every local thermo-element layer. This method can use the full potential of existing materials by maximizing the efficiency at every local thermo-element segment. For such a TEG working in a temperature range of 300–1100 K, the efficiencies of P-type segmented Bi0.5Sb1.5Te3/BiSbTe/-PbTe/FeNbSb thermo-element and a N-type segmented Bi2Te2.79Se0.21/Bi2Te2.9Se1.1/SnSe/SiGe thermo-element were 25.70% and 21.73%, respectively, much higher than the conventional segmented thermo-elements. The overall efficiency of the device was more than 23.72%, making it a promising technology to harvest energy from medium and high-temperature industrial components. The optimized TEG can be fabricated by SLS/SLM technology.

Keywords: Compatibility factor; Efficiency; Thermoelectric generator; Selective laser melting (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (5)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:eee:energy:v:147:y:2018:i:c:p:672-680

DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2018.01.104

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