Modeling of an Integrated Thermoelectric Generation–Cooling System for Thermoelectric Cooler Waste Heat Recovery

Abstract

This paper focuses on the problem of thermoelectric cooler waste heat recovery and utilization, and proposes taking the waste heat together with the original heat source as the input heat source of the integrated thermoelectric generation–cooling system. By establishing an analytic model of this integrated thermoelectric generation–cooling system, the steady-state and transient thermal effects of this system are analyzed. The steady-state analysis results show that the thermoelectric generator’s actual heat source is about 20% larger than the intrinsic heat source. The transient analysis results prove that the current of thermoelectric power generation and the cold end temperature of the system show a nonlinear change rate with time. The cold end temperature of the system has a maximum value. Under different intrinsic heat sources, this maximum value can be reached between 1 s and 2.5 s.

A Sine Cosine Algorithm-Based Fractional MPPT for Thermoelectric Generation System

“…The overview of the TEG module is shown in Figure 1a. The fundamental element is a thermocouple that contains p-type and n-type semiconductors [1][2][3][4][5][6]25,26]. These conductors were electrically interconnected in series using a metal strip.…”

“…When there was a temperature variation between the hot part and the cold part, a direct current flowed in the load as presented in Figure 1c. The core idea of TEG modules is built according to the Seebeck impact [1][2][3][4]. The open-circuit voltage of a TEG can be estimated by applying the following formula [7,8,26]:…”

“…where tc K indicates the thermal conductivity, teg R is the inner resistance of the TEG, and I is the TEG operating current. The core idea of TEG modules is built according to the Seebeck impact [1][2][3][4]. The open-circuit voltage of a TEG can be estimated by applying the following formula [7,8,26]:…”

“…In recent decades, thermal energy has become one of the renewable energies abundantly available in several industrial and civil sectors, namely, in powering electronic devices, driving electric vehicles, and in pumping applications [1,2]. Thermoelectric generators (TEGs), used in thermal energy conversion systems, are a type of active equipment that transform thermal power into electricity via the Seebeck effect [3,4]. These thermal devices have received increasing focus due to their capability to directly transform waste heat into electricity.…”

Comparative analysis of means to control the thermal regime of a cooling thermoelement while minimizing the set of basic parameters

“…However, control issues related to the complex influence of the current modes of operation of the thermoelectric cooler, structural parameters in the operating temperature range remained unsolved. At the same time, the expansion of the scope of use of thermoelectric coolers expands the requirements for their control [11][12][13]. The choice of a set of interrelated parameters for controlling the thermoelectric cooler is an important task, resolving which could solve the problem of controlling the thermoelectric system for ensuring the thermal regimes of heat-loaded elements.…”