High coolingperformances of H‐shape heat sink for thermoelectric energy harvesting system (TEHs) at asphalt pavement

Abstract

Summary There has been an increased recognition in road thermal energy harvesting for the past decades due to the massive waste heat from the asphalt pavement. This study aims to design a thermoelectric energy harvesting system (TEHs) that converts the waste heat from the surface of asphalt pavement into useful electrical energy. The TEHs utilizes the H‐shape element in subterranean cooling in order to achieve a high‐temperature difference (ΔT). In this proposed cooling element method, an aluminum plate was welded in between two 1.25 in. of diameters H‐shape structures, and two cascaded thermoelectric modules (TEM), APH‐127‐10‐25‐S, were placed in between the top plate and bottom plate. The heat transfer analysis for the TEHs is performed using finite element analysis (FEA) simulation and validated with an experimental investigation. Based on simulation results, the H‐shape cooling element has a 75% improvement of ΔT from a single rod cooling element design. Furthermore, using a top plate with 100 × 200 mm dimension, also given an extra 8°C of ΔT than the top plate with a 65 × 200 mm dimension, it appears that the conduction shape factor, S, may have influenced the heat distribution in the cooling element. While, in field testing, the results can corroborate with the simulation where the maximum ΔT has reached a similar ΔT of 23°C, with a maximum relative error of 0.057%. Based on the feasibility studies with an application, the TEHs has effectively fully charged 5 F supercapacitors, within 3 hours, for the use of automatic street lights, which substantiated the significance of TEHs design. The present study represents a new perspective for self‐sustainable TEHs design integrated with high cooling performances of the H‐shape element in subterranean cooling.

Evaluation of the Pavement Geothermal Energy Harvesting Technologies towards Sustainability and Renewable Energy

“…Based on the literature, the heat collector can be either solid or fluid (water circulated inside a PSC system, Figure 10a) with the condition that the selected material should have an acceptable thermal conductivity coefficient. The common solid heat collectors that have been used previously are copper [90][91][92][93][94][95][96][97] and aluminum [94,[98][99][100][101][102][103] plates. However, some studies did not employ heat collectors to obtain energy from the pavement; instead, the TEG module's hot end was directly subjected to the heat source [104][105][106][107].…”

Recent advances in thermoelectric technology to harvest energy from the pavement

“…To connect the thermoelectric energy harvesting system to the energy storage device, a DC-DC boost converter is typically employed. 67 In other areas of research, TEGs have also been used to store energy in waste heat from solar desalination 87 and to store and power wireless sensors in aircraft 88 as well as electrical energy for implantable medical devices. 89…”

Comprehensive performance evaluation and optimization of hybrid power robot based on proton exchange membrane fuel cell

“…With the rapid development of modern industrial technology, automatic welding robot gradually replaces manual welding 1 . Traditional welding robots are not suitable for large‐scale welding due to the limitation of cables.…”

“…With the rapid development of modern industrial technology, automatic welding robot gradually replaces manual welding. 1 Traditional welding robots are not suitable for large-scale welding due to the limitation of cables. Hybrid power system based on proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) and Li-ion battery has the advantages of clean environment, fast response, and long power supply time.…”