Realistic optimal design of thermoelectric battery bank under partial lukewarming

As larger and more complexing structures of thermoelectric generation systems (TEGSs) are appearing in energy applications, the great impacts of the non-uniform temperature distribution of heat sources on the output characteristics of thermoelectric module (TEM) arrays can be envisaged. In this paper, influences of such temperature distributions, especially the partially lukewarm scenarios, are investigated by theoretical analysis and computer test. A versatile electrothermal model which deals with both the nonlinear thermoelectric conversion and the fluid-thermal-electric-circuit coupled multiphysics behaviors in SPICE is particularly suitable for this purpose. Using the quasi 1D model as well as various series-parallel configurations, the operating conditions of concrete TEM arrays under different number of lukewarm areas and patterns are simulated in SPICE. Simulation results show that the influences of partially lukewarm scenarios on TEGS performance are dependent on connection modes of TEM arrays, so that array layout optimization is important. The basic rules of optimization for TEM array configuration are generalized in details. The proposed design method and results can provide a support for the engineering design of large-scale TEGSs.