Thermoelectric Generators on Satellites—An Approach for Waste Heat Recovery in Space

Marian Von Lukowicz, Elisabeth Abbe, Tino Schmiel and Martin Tajmar
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Marian Von Lukowicz: Institute of Aerospace Engineering, Technische Universität Dresden, 01062 Dresden, Germany
Elisabeth Abbe: Institute of Aerospace Engineering, Technische Universität Dresden, 01062 Dresden, Germany
Tino Schmiel: Institute of Aerospace Engineering, Technische Universität Dresden, 01062 Dresden, Germany
Martin Tajmar: Institute of Aerospace Engineering, Technische Universität Dresden, 01062 Dresden, Germany

Energies, 2016, vol. 9, issue 7, 1-14

Abstract: Environmental radiation in space (from the Sun, etc.) and operational thermal loads result in heat flows inside the structure of satellites. Today these heat flows remain unused and are collected, transported to a radiator and emitted to space to prevent the satellite from overheating, but they hold a huge potential to generate electrical power independently of solar panels. Thermoelectric generators are a promising approach for such applications because of their solid state characteristics. As they do not have any moving parts, they do not cause any vibrations in the satellite. They are said to be maintenance-free and highly reliable. Due to the expected small heat flows modern devices based on BiTe have to be considered, but these devices have no flight heritage. Furthermore, energy harvesting on space systems is a new approach for increasing the efficiency and reliability. In this paper, different systems studies and applications are discussed based some experimental characterisation of the electrical behaviour and their dependence on thermal cycles and vibration.

Keywords: thermoelectric generator; space power systems; energy harvesting; autonomous systems (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: 2016
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (7)

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