Abstract
Thermoelectric power generators (TEGs) have been attracted increasing attention recently due to their capability of converting waste heat into useful electric energy without hazardous emissions. This paper develops a theoretical model to analyze the thermoelectric performance of TEGs with cylindrical legs. The influence of heat convection loss between lateral surfaces of thermoelectric legs and ambient environment on the energy conversion efficiency is investigated. For the idealized model, closed-form solutions of optimal electric current, maximum power output and maximum energy conversion efficiency are obtained, a new dimensionless impact factor H is introduced to capture the heat convection effect. The impact factor H depends on the ratio of heat conductivity to heat convection coefficient and geometry size of thermoelectric legs, as well as the temperature ratio of heat sink to hot source. The performance can be evaluated by the figure of merit, impact factor H and temperature gradient across the hot source and heat sink for a well-designed TEG with cylindrical legs. For the case of considering contact resistance, it is found that there exists an optimal leg's height for maximum energy conversion efficiency due to the heat convection on lateral surfaces of thermoelectric leg. The proposed theoretical model in this paper will be very helpful in the designing of actual TEG devices.
Dielectric elastomer generator with diaphragm configuration
