Title :
Structural optimization of two-stage thermoelectric generator for wide temperature range application
Author :
Yang, Tianqi ; Xiao, Jinsheng ; Zhao, Wenyu ; Zhang, Qingjie
Author_Institution :
Sch. of Automotive Eng., Wuhan Univ. of Technol., Wuhan, China
Abstract :
A 3-D finite element model of two-stage thermoelectric generator based on low-temperature thermoelectric material bismuth-telluride and medium-temperature thermoelectric material skutterudites is established. Based on the formal model, structural optimization of the two-stage thermoelectric generator is carried out. Results show that, reasonable design of the structure of two-stage thermoelectric generator can take full advantage of the characteristics of thermoelectric materials and effectively improve the performance of power generation. If contact resistance and all heat losses are neglected, the conversion efficiency of the two-stage thermoelectric generator can reach a value of 17.02%.
Keywords :
finite element analysis; heat losses; optimisation; thermoelectric conversion; 3D finite element model; heat losses; low-temperature thermoelectric material bismuth-telluride; medium-temperature thermoelectric material skutterudite; power generation; structural optimization; two-stage thermoelectric generator; wide temperature range application; Conductivity; Finite element methods; Generators; Materials; Mathematical model; Optimization; Power generation; conversion efficiency; design optimization; finite element; thermoelectric generator; thermoelectric unicouple;
Conference_Titel :
Electric Information and Control Engineering (ICEICE), 2011 International Conference on
Conference_Location :
Wuhan
Print_ISBN :
978-1-4244-8036-4
DOI :
10.1109/ICEICE.2011.5777179
