Title of article :
Analysis of a sandwich-type generator with self-heating thermoelectric elements
Author/Authors :
Kim، نويسنده , , Mikyung and Yang، نويسنده , , Hyein and Wee، نويسنده , , Daehyun، نويسنده ,
Issue Information :
روزنامه با شماره پیاپی سال 2014
Pages :
7
From page :
440
To page :
446
Abstract :
A novel and unique design of thermoelectric generators, in which a heat source is combined with thermoelectric elements, is proposed. By placing heat-generating radioactive isotopes inside the thermoelectric elements, the heat transfer limitation between the generator and the heat source can be eliminated, ensuring simplicity. The inner electrode is sandwiched between identical thermoelectric elements, which naturally allows the inner core to act as the hot side. Analysis shows that conversion efficiency and power density increase as the heat density inside the thermoelectric elements increases and as the thermoelectric performance of the material improves. The theoretical maximum efficiency is shown to be 50%. However, realistic performance under practical constraint is much worse. In realistic cases, the efficiency would be about 3% at best. The power density of the proposed design exhibits a much more reasonable value as high as 3000 W/m2. Although the efficiency is low, the simplicity of the proposed design combined with its reasonable power density may result in some, albeit limited, potential applications. Further investigation must be performed in order to realize such potential.
Keywords :
Thermoelectric generators , Radioactive isotopes , efficiency , power density , heat transfer
Journal title :
Energy Conversion and Management
Serial Year :
2014
Journal title :
Energy Conversion and Management
Record number :
2337659
Link To Document :
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