Analytical and numerical investigation on a new compact thermoelectric generator

•The mathematical model of maximum efficiency of TEG is deduced.•A new design method of compact TEG is presented.•The dimensional optimization of TEG is presented.•Comparison on the overall performance of three different TEGs is presented. In order to improve the performance and maximize the efficie...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Energy conversion and management 2017-01, Vol.132, p.261-271
Main Authors: Ming, Tingzhen, Yang, Wei, Huang, Xiaoming, Wu, Yongjia, Li, Xiaohua, Liu, Jun
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Computer simulation
Electric potential
Energy conversion
Energy conversion efficiency
Energy efficiency
Generators
Load resistance
Mathematical models
Numerical analysis
Performance enhancement
Specific efficiency
Specific power
Specific voltage
Thermoelectric generators
Thermoelectric power generator (TEG)
Thermoelectricity
Voltage
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Summary:•The mathematical model of maximum efficiency of TEG is deduced.•A new design method of compact TEG is presented.•The dimensional optimization of TEG is presented.•Comparison on the overall performance of three different TEGs is presented. In order to improve the performance and maximize the efficiency of energy conversion of thermoelectric generator (TEG), a mathematical model to predict the maximum energy conversion efficiency of TEG is developed. Then, a new compact thermoelectric generator (C-TEG) and a dimensional optimized TEG (DO-TEG) are proposed in this article. The compact thermoelectric generator is designed via logical intersection angle selection and layout, thus to improve the electric performance per unit volume. Finally, we compared the output electric performance of C-TEG and traditional thermoelectric generator (T-TEG) and that of DO-TEG under design and off-design conditions via numerical simulations. The results indicate that C-TEG has an excellent electric performance whose voltage, power, and efficiency decrease slightly whereas the output voltage, work, and efficiency compared with that of T-TEG have been significantly improved, with the amplitude increasing with the increase of resistant value of external loads.
ISSN:0196-8904
1879-2227
DOI:10.1016/j.enconman.2016.11.043