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Experimental study of a thin water-film evaporative cooling system to enhance the energy conversion efficiency of a thermoelectric device

Author

Listed:
  • Zheng, Liang Jun
  • Lim, Sungmook
  • Kim, Na Kyong
  • Kang, Dong Hee
  • Youn, Young Jik
  • Lee, Wonoh
  • Kang, Hyun Wook

Abstract

In the study, a new method to enhance the performance of a thermoelectric generator (TEG) device by utilizing the water-film evaporative cooling is proposed. An experimental device was constructed by incorporating a water-film cooling pond with a commercially available TEG. Experiments were performed to investigate the effects of the main operating conditions (ambient temperature Tamb was 25 °C), TEG hot-side temperature (TH = 50–100 °C), ambient relative humidity (RH = 15–90%), and water-film thickness (twater = 1–9 mm) on the TEG output performance. Additionally, the output performance of TEG under different cooling methods was compared. A TEG prototype device was constructed to generate electricity/steam using seawater evaporation cooling without external electrical energy. The results indicated that TEG hot-side temperature and water-film thickness significantly affected output performance. However, the ambient relative humidity did not considerably affect TEG output performance. Given TEG hot-side temperature TH = 100 °C, ambient relative humidity RH = 15%, the TEG prototype device-generated open-circuit voltage of Uopen = 1.55 V, maximum output power of Pmax = 290.32 mW, and a steam generation rate of 9.82 mg/s. The results showed that evaporative cooling is an innovative method to improve the performance of TEG.

Suggested Citation

  • Zheng, Liang Jun & Lim, Sungmook & Kim, Na Kyong & Kang, Dong Hee & Youn, Young Jik & Lee, Wonoh & Kang, Hyun Wook, 2020. "Experimental study of a thin water-film evaporative cooling system to enhance the energy conversion efficiency of a thermoelectric device," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 211(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:energy:v:211:y:2020:i:c:s0360544220321472
    DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2020.119040
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Gao, Yuanzhi & Wu, Dongxu & Dai, Zhaofeng & Wang, Changling & Zhu, Liutao & Zhang, Jili & Xu, Guoying & Zhang, Xiaosong, 2023. "A passive evaporative cooling strategy to enhance the electricity production of hybrid PV-STEG system," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 349(C).
    2. Cengiz, Mazlum & Kayri, İsmail & Aydın, Hüseyin, 2024. "A collated overview on the evaporative cooling applications for photovoltaic modules," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 197(C).
    3. Poddar, V.S. & Ranawade, V.A. & Dhokey, N.B., 2022. "Study of synergy between photovoltaic, thermoelectric and direct evaporative cooling system for improved performance," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 182(C), pages 817-826.
    4. Kashif Irshad, 2021. "Performance Improvement of Thermoelectric Air Cooler System by Using Variable-Pulse Current for Building Applications," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(17), pages 1-13, August.

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