Advanced Glass Fiber Polymer Composite Laminate Operating as a Thermoelectric Generator: A Structural Device for Micropower Generation and Potential Large-Scale Thermal Energy Harvesting

Abstract

This study demonstrates for the first time a structural glass fiber-reinforced polymer (GFRP) composite laminate with efficient thermal energy harvesting properties as a thermoelectric generator (TEG). This TEG laminate was fabricated by stacking unidirectional glass fiber (GF) laminae coated with p- and n-type single-wall carbon nanotube (SWCNT) inks via a blade coating technique. According to their thermoelectric (TE) response, the p- and n-type GF-SWCNT fabrics exhibited Seebeck coefficients of +23 and −29 μV/K with 60 and 118 μW/m·K2 power factor values, respectively. The in-series p–n interconnection of the TE-enabled GF-SWCNT fabrics and their subsequent impregnation with epoxy resin effectively generated an electrical power output of 2.2 μW directly from a 16-ply GFRP TEG laminate exposed to a temperature difference (ΔT) of 100 K. Both experimental and modeling work validated the TE performance. The structural integrity of the multifunctional GFRP was tested by three-point bending coupled with online monitoring of the steady-state TE current (I sc) at a ΔΤ of 80 K. I sc was found to closely follow all transitions and discontinuities related to structural damage in the stress/strain curve, thus showing its potential to serve the functions of power generation and damage monitoring.

A carbon nanotube-based thermoelectric generator integrated into a smart composite for structural health monitoring

“…Poly(ethyleneimine) (PEI), PEDOT:PSS ink, and Sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate (SDBS) supplied by Agfa (Belgium) were used as dopants and dispersant agent respectively. More information about the materials used can be found in a previous study of ours [29]. For manufacturing of the GFRP laminates, a unidirectional (UD) glass fiber fabric with 320 gr/m 2 density and 0.26 mm ply thickness from Fibermax (Greece) was used.…”

“…In this direction there are already several studies reported. Karalis et al developed multifunctional laminates capable of generating electrical voltage from an in-plane [29] and a through-thickness applied temperature difference [30]. Thermal energy harvesting in honeycomb structures is also recently documented [31].…”

Wearable thermoelectric generator with vertically aligned PEDOT:PSS and carbon nanotubes thermoelements for energy harvesting

“…25,26 So far, a limited number of studies have focused on developing TEGs with SWCNT films. Nonetheless, SWCNT films have been employed solely as n-and p-type thermoelements, including notable contributions from Mytafides et al, 27 Park et al, 28 and Karalis et al 29 While previous studies have demonstrated promising results in terms of harvesting energy from the human body, their performance has been significantly compromised as a result of the deficient design of TEGs, where thermoelements were integrated into the lateral layout with cross-plane heat flow direction, and placed on a substrate. As such, the design and implementation of TEG are challenging, particularly in wearable electronics, where the ΔT lies between the body heat and the ambient temperature and the direction of heat flow is perpendicular to the skin.…”

3R Composites: Knockdown Effect Assessment and Repair Efficiency via Mechanical and NDE Testing

“…The prerequisites for advanced composites, apart from high specific properties, are typically high fracture toughness and good fatigue performance. On the other hand, advanced functionalities include structural health monitoring (SHM) capability [5][6][7], electromagnetic shielding [8], energy harvesting [9][10][11][12], and self-healing capability [13][14][15][16][17][18][19].…”