Simple engineering design for complex thermoelectric generators based on reduced current approach

Wijesekara, Waruna; Rezania, Alireza; Rosendahl, Lasse

doi:10.1016/j.energy.2015.04.058

Cited by 5 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 24 publications

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“…Thermoelectric (TE) materials have attracted increasing attention because of their potential applications in thermoelectric generators (TEG), energy harvesting systems, thermoelectric coolers (TECs) and sensors. 1–5 Based on the mobility of solid internal carriers, TE materials can achieve conversion from the temperature gradient to voltage difference and vice versa. 6 Thus, TE devices do not have any moving parts, meaning they are free of mechanical vibration, which ensures a long lifetime.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Flexible thermoelectric nanodevices based on three-dimensional networks of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) nanowires and graphene

Liu

Zhang

Tian

et al. 2020

High Performance Polymers

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Freestanding poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT) nanowires (NWs) were synthesized using a facile, self-assembled, micellar soft-template method. Thermoelectric properties of the PEDOT NWs under different reaction conditions were measured, and optimal experimental conditions were confirmed. To obtain preferential thermoelectric performance, PEDOT NWs/graphene composite films with various graphene mass fractions were fabricated. The maximum power factor of the hybrids was observed to reach 42.0 μWm−1K−2 with 3 wt% graphene loading, corresponding to a 200% improvement compared with pure PEDOT NWs. The thermoelectric devices were investigated using the PEDOT NWs/graphene hybrids as a p-type leg and PEDOT NWs/nitrogen-doped graphene as an n-type leg. The device, in series, shows a preferable cooling effect with an approximate temperature decrease of 0.5°C after energization. Our work provides a novel means of fabricating n-type PEDOT hybrids and promotes their practical applications as thermoelectric coolers. These findings indicate a new means of developing high-performance, flexible, organic thermoelectric materials and devices.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Flexible thermoelectric nanodevices based on three-dimensional networks of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) nanowires and graphene

Liu

Zhang

Tian

et al. 2020

High Performance Polymers

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show abstract

“…Numerous efforts have been devoted into developing TEG applications [6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15][16][17][18][19][20], mostly focused on but not limited to engine and industrial waste heat recovery. Design calculations were carried out to improve the performance of power output/efficiency, reliability, and costs, and also evaluate the trade-off among these parameters.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

A regenerative concept for thermoelectric power generation

Huang

2017

Applied Energy

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This paper presents a regenerative concept for thermoelectric (TE) based waste heat recovery systems called thermoelectric generators (TEGs). TEG is usually a modified heat exchanger with the addition of thermoelectric modules (TEMs) to recover waste heat for power generation. To utilize heat from high temperature heat sources, current researches have largely been focused on the development of high temperature TE materials. In this study, we describe a regeneration concept in which a precooler is used to lower the temperature of the hot gas and at the same time regenerate hot air from the cold air supply for Bi 2 Te 3-based TEGs, avoiding the use of hightemperature thermoelectric materials. It is found that the regenerative TEGs can achieve a similar power output compared with TEGs using high temperature TE materials such as filledskutterudites (combined filled skutterudites and Bi 2 Te 3 TE materials) through obtaining a higher heat scavenging rate. Thus, the regenerative TEGs also have a similar absolute efficiency, defined according to the total available enthalpy from the hot gas. This could represent a paradigm shift in the TEG research and development, that much lower-cost, reliable, and readily available TE materials and modules can be used for high temperature applications, and will ultimately enable wide spread deployment of TEGs for real world waste heat recovery applications.

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“…In essence, thermoelectric coolers and generators are heat engines thermodynamically similar to conventional vapor power generation or heat pumping cycles, but they use electrons as the working fluid instead of gases or liquids2. Thus, thermoelectric devices have the advantages of being solid-state devices, low maintenance costs and long lifetime3. Currently, the two main focuses in thermoelectrics research are the discovery of new materials with high thermoelectric efficiency45678 and the design and optimization of thermoelectric generators9101112.…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Optimizing the Dopant and Carrier Concentration of Ca5Al2Sb6 for High Thermoelectric Efficiency

Yan

Zhang

Wang

et al. 2016

Sci Rep

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The effects of doping on the transport properties of Ca5Al2Sb6 are investigated using first-principles electronic structure methods and Boltzmann transport theory. The calculated results show that a maximum ZT value of 1.45 is achieved with an optimum carrier concentration at 1000 K. However, experimental studies have shown that the maximum ZT value is no more than 1 at 1000 K. By comparing the calculated Seebeck coefficient with experimental values, we find that the low dopant solubility in this material is not conductive to achieve the optimum carrier concentration, leading a smaller experimental value of the maximum ZT. Interestingly, the calculated dopant formation energies suggest that optimum carrier concentrations can be achieved when the dopants and Sb atoms have similar electronic configurations. Therefore, it might be possible to achieve a maximum ZT value of 1.45 at 1000 K with suitable dopants. These results provide a valuable theoretical guidance for the synthesis of high-performance bulk thermoelectric materials through dopants optimization.

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Simple engineering design for complex thermoelectric generators based on reduced current approach

Cited by 5 publications

References 24 publications

Flexible thermoelectric nanodevices based on three-dimensional networks of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) nanowires and graphene

Flexible thermoelectric nanodevices based on three-dimensional networks of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) nanowires and graphene

A regenerative concept for thermoelectric power generation

Optimizing the Dopant and Carrier Concentration of Ca5Al2Sb6 for High Thermoelectric Efficiency

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