Thermoelectric generator sandwiched in a crossflow heat exchanger with optimal connectivity between modules

Abstract The design of a thermoelectric generator sandwiched in the wall of a crossflow heat exchanger was optimized. A numerical model has been developed and validated. The objective function was the total power output. The design variables were the number of modules and the current in each control volume of the mesh. We also optimize directly the electrical topology of the system. A genetic algorithm was used to perform the optimizations. Complex optimal electrical topologies were achieved due to the non-uniform temperatures distributions in the heat exchanger.

[1]  G. Strang.  Introduction to Linear Algebra , 1993 .

[2]  Chih Wu.  Analysis of waste-heat thermoelectric power generators , 1996 .

[3]  Louis Gosselin,et al.  Review of utilization of genetic algorithms in heat transfer problems , 2009 .

[4]  Saffa Riffat,et al.  Optimum selection (design) of thermoelectric modules for large capacity heat pump applications , 2004 .

[5]  Jianlin Yu,et al.  A numerical model for thermoelectric generator with the parallel-plate heat exchanger , 2007 .

[6]  C. André,et al.  Extruded Bismuth-Telluride-Based n-Type Alloys for Waste Heat Thermoelectric Recovery Applications , 2009 .

[7]  R. Vullers,et al.  Wearable Thermoelectric Generators for Body-Powered Devices , 2009 .

[8]  K. T. Chau,et al.  Thermoelectric automotive waste heat energy recovery using maximum power point tracking , 2009 .

[9]  Ali Shakouri,et al.  Thermoelectric power generator module of 16×16 Bi2Te3 and 0.6% ErAs:(InGaAs)1−x(InAlAs)x segmented elements , 2009 .

[10]  Fengrui Sun,et al.  Performance optimization of a two-stage semiconductor thermoelectric-generator , 2005 .

[11]  Süleyman Özkaynak,et al.  Effect of irreversibilities on the performance of a thermoelectric generator , 1994 .

[12]  Fengrui Sun,et al.  Effect of heat transfer on the performance of thermoelectric generators , 2002 .

[13]  Osamu Yamashita,et al.  Energy conversion efficiency of a thermoelectric generator under the periodically alternating temperature gradients , 2007 .

[14]  R. Venkatasubramanian,et al.  Thin-film thermoelectric devices with high room-temperature figures of merit , 2001, Nature.

[15]  Gao Min,et al.  Low cost stove-top thermoelectric generator for regions with unreliable electricity supply , 2003 .

[16]  Frank P. Incropera,et al.  Fundamentals of Heat and Mass Transfer , 1981 .

[17]  D. G. Norton,et al.  Catalytic microcombustors with integrated thermoelectric elements for portable power production , 2006 .

[18]  Jianlin Yu,et al.  Experimental study on low-temperature waste heat thermoelectric generator , 2009 .

[19]  Masayuki Niino,et al.  A local selection criterion for the composition of graded thermoelectric generators , 1998 .

[20]  Jianlin Yu,et al.  Analysis of optimum configuration of two-stage thermoelectric modules , 2007 .