No abstract

Thermoelectric-power generation poses challenges, which are of fundamental and technological nature. Increasing thermoelectric efficiency for work, the therme of the associated policy, has encountered problems related, for example, to heat recovery and conversion to electricity. It is widely recognized that the augmentation of efficient electromechanical systems as a strategic subject of applied study in light of problems related, for example, to waste heat recuperation and conversion to electricity. This results in an abundant literature on the subject. Recent advances in the technological development of TEGs are based on advances in materials science: new materials and new techniques for the production of specific structures have made it possible to improve device performance through the characterization and optimization of their thermal and electrical transport properties. This paper presents a simulation study on the effect of temperature variation on a thermoelectric generator at the base of BiCuSeO, using the mathematical method of the finite element model.

The production of electricity based on the conversion of the sunlight by photocells crystalline silicon is the most way using on technological and industrial plan. As a consequence, the development of the applications of energy production requires cells with high efficiency and low cost. We propose two models using either one or two exponentials allowing to simulate the characteristic current-voltage of a solar cell. The goal of our work is to present a comparative study between the model theoretical and experimental aiming at the improvement of the solar cell efficiency. We also determine the parameters of the solar cell from the current-voltage curve. Additionally, we provide a justification for using the two exponential models for improving the cell efficiency. The model with two exponential allowing to investigate the phenomena of recombination in zone of diffusion and space charge in the areas quasi-neutrals of the transmitter and the base. This study underlines the insufficiency of the model to exponential generally used by showing that it leads to the design of the ideal solar cells whereas structures characterized by a factor of quality greater outcome with high efficiency.

In this paper, the impact of various buffers of applying components on the effectiveness of CuInGaSe2 solar cells is studied numerically. The SCAPS software is employed to achieve the investigation. The main parameters of the inspected devices are: the photovoltaic conversion effectiveness (η), the filling factor (FF), short-circuit current (Jsc), and open circuit voltage (Voc). These photovoltaic parameters are analyzed vs. the thickness in the various buffer layers under study. The numerical findings revealed that the most significant conversion effectiveness (23.4%) of the CIGS solar cell is obtained with the CdS buffer layer. An attempt is conducted to improve this efficiency by using the SCAPS and by optimizing the two electrical and technological parameters of the three layers (ZnO, CdS, CIGS).

Thermoelectric modules are energy conversion devices which can either convert heat to electricity or operate in reverse as a heat pump. The physics of thermoelectricity can be modeled at several levels: quantum mechanical, statistical mechanical and at a macroscopic level using the transport equations directly. Among the new materials for the ambient temperature, one finds without being exhaustive the families of materials named 'Skutterudites', 'Clathrates' or 'LAST'. According to composition, skutterudites can be of type 'p' or type 'n' but it is these which present the highest merit factors. Thus, ZT = 1.7 at T = 850 K was obtained in the Ba0,08La0,05Yb0,04Co4Sb12 structure case of the n type, while ZT = 1,16 at T 800 K in the Ba0,15Yb0,2In0,2Co4Sb12 structure case of the p type. The target of this analysis is to examine the characteristics of a new Ba0,08La0,05Yb0,04Co4Sb12 thermoelectric material, by MATLAB simulation.