Design of a Clamp for a Thermoelectric Generator Using Bimetallic Thermal Properties

A design team at the Cooper Union for the advancement of Science and Art has developed and patented a robust thermoelectric-based point of use power generation system with no moving parts that is designed to be clamped onto the outer wall of a steam or hot water pipe [1]. Furthermore, in 2013 The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science received patents for The Bimetallic Leaf Spring and Clamping Device which was designed so that it can compensate for the expected positive expansion and contraction of the thermoelectric power generation system. This paper presents different design concepts evaluated during the development of the clamp and theoretical models for determining the coefficient of thermal expansion of the design concepts. Furthermore, the paper presents experimental results from testing different variations of the selected design concept. Finally, a theoretical thermal expansion model with experimentally obtained parameters is presented. The final clamp design compensates for the expansion and contraction of the thermoelectric power generation system.