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Simulation-driven design of a passive liquid cooling system for a thermoelectric generator

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  • Deasy, M.J.
  • Baudin, N.
  • O'Shaughnessy, S.M.
  • Robinson, A.J.

Abstract

Active cooling of thermoelectric generators (TEGs) is problematic since mechanical devices such as pumps and fans draw a high proportion of the limited power generated. Increasing the coolant fluid flow rate is typically a scenario of diminishing gains since the increased TEG power can be more than offset by the increase in power required for the fluid mover. Passive air cooling is an option, however the high air-side thermal resistance results in poor TEG power performance and low thermal efficiency. To address these issues, and others, a passive single phase liquid thermosyphon cooling system for use with TEGs has been designed, computationally simulated and experimentally tested. The novelty of the cooling system centres not only on the hot-side heat exchanger design, but also on the use of an open liquid reservoir as a dual-purposed heat store and air-side heat sink. This results in an effective source-to-sink heat exchange system that is entirely passive while providing effective cooling. This work describes the Simulation-Driven Design approach used to design the system for an example of a single TEG, experimental verification of the simulation results and TEG performance characteristics with the new cooling system.

Suggested Citation

  • Deasy, M.J. & Baudin, N. & O'Shaughnessy, S.M. & Robinson, A.J., 2017. "Simulation-driven design of a passive liquid cooling system for a thermoelectric generator," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 205(C), pages 499-510.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:205:y:2017:i:c:p:499-510
    DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2017.07.127
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    Cited by:

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    2. Elghool, Ali & Basrawi, Firdaus & Ibrahim, Thamir Khalil & Ibrahim, Hassan & Ishak, M. & Hazwan bin Yusof, Mohd & Bagaber, Salem Abdullah, 2020. "Multi-objective optimization to enhance the performance of thermo-electric generator combined with heat pipe-heat sink under forced convection," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 208(C).
    3. Mesalam, Ramy & Williams, Hugo R. & Ambrosi, Richard M. & García-Cañadas, Jorge & Stephenson, Keith, 2018. "Towards a comprehensive model for characterising and assessing thermoelectric modules by impedance spectroscopy," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 226(C), pages 1208-1218.
    4. Merienne, R. & Lynn, J. & McSweeney, E. & O'Shaughnessy, S.M., 2019. "Thermal cycling of thermoelectric generators: The effect of heating rate," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 237(C), pages 671-681.
    5. Björn Pfeiffelmann & Ali Cemal Benim & Franz Joos, 2021. "Water-Cooled Thermoelectric Generators for Improved Net Output Power: A Review," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(24), pages 1-29, December.
    6. Mohammadnia, Ali & Ziapour, Behrooz M. & Sedaghati, Farzad & Rosendahl, Lasse & Rezania, Alireza, 2021. "Fan operating condition effect on performance of self- cooling thermoelectric generator system," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 224(C).
    7. Al-Nimr, Moh’d Ahmad & Tashtoush, Bourhan & Hasan, Alabas, 2020. "A novel hybrid solar ejector cooling system with thermoelectric generators," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 198(C).

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