Dynamic Performance Characteristics of a Thermoelectric Generator

Abstract

A thermoelectric generator (TEG) is a device that transforms thermal energy directly into electrical power by exploiting the Seebeck effect. In the current study, the dynamic performance characteristics of a TEG is experimentally studied under different operating conditions. The Influence of input heat rate and the influence of utilizing extended surfaces (fins) on both transient and steady-state performance of a TEG are experimentally investigated. The variation in the temperatures of the TEG hot-and cold-side in addition to the output voltage is taken as a denotation of the performance characteristics. Input heating rate of 15.0 W, 17.5 W, 20.0 W, 22.0W and 25.0 W are applied to the TEG hot-side. Free air convection (FC) is utilized for heat dissipation from the TEG module through the cold-side. From the experimentation, it can be concluded that increasing the input heating rate provides a higher temperature difference between the module sides leading to higher power output. Additionally, using fins to aid heat dissipations improved the TEG performance by lowering the temperature of the cold-side and increasing the temperature difference across the module. The experimental data collected are compared with the data obtainable by the TEG module manufacturer and an excellent concordat is acquired.

Principal parameters of thermoelectric generator module design for effective industrial waste heat recovery

“…Direct thermal-to-electrical energy conversion can be realized using a thermoelectric generator (TEG) that directly generates electrical power when TEG is positioned between a heat source and a heat sink in a phenomenon called the Seebeck effect [3,4]. TEG is a solid-state semiconductor that excites free electrons, small in size, and requires no maintenance [5,6]. Although the current efficiency of the TEG is less than 5% [7], NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory revealed obtaining 20% TEG conversion efficiency [8] while new TEG materials and superlattice configurations have increased the figure-of-merit (ZT) up to 2.4 [9].…”