A Comprehensive Review of Strategies and Approaches for Enhancing the Performance of Thermoelectric Module

Abstract

In recent years, thermoelectric (TE) technology has been emerging as a promising alternative and environmentally friendly technology for power generators or cooling devices due to the increasingly serious energy shortage and environmental pollution problems. However, although TE technology has been found for a long time and applied in many professional fields, its low energy conversion efficiency and high cost also hinder its wide application. Thus, it is still urgent to improve the thermoelectric modules. This work comprehensively reviews the status of strategies and approaches for enhancing the performance of thermoelectrics, including material development, structure and geometry improvement, the optimization of a thermal management system, and the thermal structure design. In particular, the influence of contact thermal resistance and the improved optimization methods are discussed. This work covers many fields related to the enhancement of thermoelectrics. It is found that the main challenge of TE technology remains the improvement of materials’ properties, the decrease in costs and commercialization. Therefore, a lot of research needs to be carried out to overcome this challenge and further improve the performance of TE modules. Finally, the future research direction of TE technology is discussed. These discussions provide some practical guidance for the improvement of thermoelectric performance and the promotion of thermoelectric applications.

A Review on Fundamentals, Design and Optimization to High ZT of Thermoelectric Materials for Application to Thermoelectric Technology

“…For the actual realization of thermoelectric technology, materials need to be selective in terms of cost-effectiveness and efficiency, and the properties of the materials need to be pre-examined in light of fundamental concepts to save time and energy for effective utilization in large-scale application. 8 In the last few decades, numerous reviews on TE have been published, including advances in the TE field, 11,[44][45][46][47] novel materials, 47,48 strategies for the enhancement of the ZT of materials, 49,50 devices, 51,52 and TEG applications. 4,53,54 These reviews have focused on the advancement of the TE field, and we noticed that the basic concepts of the TE parameters were not properly addressed in these reports.…”

“…Alloying is the traditional method used for enhancing the ZT of thermoelectric materials. 50,65 In the past decade, the major approach in thermoelectric materials was to decrease the thermal conductivity without changing the electrical conductivity via doping or alloying. Generally, in semiconductors, the thermal conductivity to electrical conductivity ratio was quite high in comparison to metals due to their low electrical conductivity.…”

The Equilibrium Phase Formation and Thermodynamic Properties of Functional Tellurides in the Ag–Fe–Ge–Te System

“…About 60% of the dissipated heat is below 473 K, therefore, recovering the low temperature waste heat plays a crucial role in improving energy efficiency [1]. Low and intermediate temperature thermoelectric materials (TMs) technology promoting high performance and low materials cost play a key role for enabling energy efficiency through waste heat harvest and utilization [1][2][3]. Generally, discovery of new functional materials with unique physicochemical properties and a wider thermal stability ranges is one of the main objectives of inorganic materials research.…”

Performance Improvement of Thermoelectric Air Cooler System by Using Variable-Pulse Current for Building Applications

“…Thermoelectric cooler (TEC) is a device that uses the Peltier effect to convert electrical energy to heat and cooling energy [1]. In comparison to traditional cooling methods [2], the TEC has received a lot of interest in recent years because of its numerous benefits [3], including zero moving component, high reliability, high density of cooling, small and light in weight [4]. When the hot end of the TEC is kept at room temperature, it can reach a maximum temperature differential of approximately -40 • C between the hot and cold ends [5,6].…”