IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/energy/v229y2021ics0360544221009257.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Experimental investigation on performance improvement of thermoelectric generator based on phase change materials and heat transfer enhancement

Author

Listed:
  • Wang, Yijiang
  • Peng, Yizhu
  • Guo, Kehui
  • Zheng, Xiaofeng
  • Darkwa, Jo
  • Zhong, Hua

Abstract

Thermoelectric application has been widely researched due to its various advantages. Its use has been limited to niche industrial applications and exploratory research development due to the poor economic viability. It is essential to achieve the optimum system performance to improve the economic viability. In view of that, this study aims to improve the system performance by adopting the phase change materials (PCM) and heat transfer enhancement to establish improved thermal conditions. It experimentally investigates the effects of PCM and heat transfer enhancement on the open-circuit voltage and electrical energy of thermoelectric generator (TEG) system. Results indicate that the phase change temperature, thickness and thermal conductivity of PCM have a considerable impact on the electrical energy generated by TEG. An increase in absorption coefficient by surface coating can lead to an increase in electrical energy. However, the total electrical energy under forced convection is not obviously increased comparing with the natural convection case. The results achieved in this study indicate that suitable PCM and heat transfer enhancement measures should be considered according to the working conditions of TEG.

Suggested Citation

  • Wang, Yijiang & Peng, Yizhu & Guo, Kehui & Zheng, Xiaofeng & Darkwa, Jo & Zhong, Hua, 2021. "Experimental investigation on performance improvement of thermoelectric generator based on phase change materials and heat transfer enhancement," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 229(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:energy:v:229:y:2021:i:c:s0360544221009257
    DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2021.120676
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360544221009257
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.energy.2021.120676?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Sajid, Muhammad & Hassan, Ibrahim & Rahman, Aziz, 2017. "An overview of cooling of thermoelectric devices," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 15-22.
    2. Atouei, S. Ahmadi & Rezania, A. & Ranjbar, A.A. & Rosendahl, L.A., 2018. "Protection and thermal management of thermoelectric generator system using phase change materials: An experimental investigation," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 156(C), pages 311-318.
    3. Darkwa, J. & Calautit, J. & Du, D. & Kokogianakis, G., 2019. "A numerical and experimental analysis of an integrated TEG-PCM power enhancement system for photovoltaic cells," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 248(C), pages 688-701.
    4. Li, Guiqiang & Shittu, Samson & Ma, Xiaoli & Zhao, Xudong, 2019. "Comparative analysis of thermoelectric elements optimum geometry between photovoltaic-thermoelectric and solar thermoelectric," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 171(C), pages 599-610.
    5. Pourkiaei, Seyed Mohsen & Ahmadi, Mohammad Hossein & Sadeghzadeh, Milad & Moosavi, Soroush & Pourfayaz, Fathollah & Chen, Lingen & Pour Yazdi, Mohammad Arab & Kumar, Ravinder, 2019. "Thermoelectric cooler and thermoelectric generator devices: A review of present and potential applications, modeling and materials," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 186(C).
    6. Ding, L.C. & Akbarzadeh, A. & Tan, L., 2018. "A review of power generation with thermoelectric system and its alternative with solar ponds," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 81(P1), pages 799-812.
    7. Tang, Xiaofen & Li, Wei & Zhang, Xingxiang & Shi, Haifeng, 2014. "Fabrication and characterization of microencapsulated phase change material with low supercooling for thermal energy storage," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 160-166.
    8. LeBlanc, Saniya & Yee, Shannon K. & Scullin, Matthew L. & Dames, Chris & Goodson, Kenneth E., 2014. "Material and manufacturing cost considerations for thermoelectrics," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 32(C), pages 313-327.
    9. Huang, Jiashun & Li, Weiping & Guo, Lijia & Hu, Xi & Hall, Jim W., 2020. "Renewable energy and household economy in rural China," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 155(C), pages 669-676.
    10. Haiping, Chen & Jiguang, Huang & Heng, Zhang & Kai, Liang & Haowen, Liu & Shuangyin, Liang, 2019. "Experimental investigation of a novel low concentrating photovoltaic/thermal–thermoelectric generator hybrid system," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 166(C), pages 83-95.
    11. Li, Guiqiang & Shittu, Samson & Diallo, Thierno M.O. & Yu, Min & Zhao, Xudong & Ji, Jie, 2018. "A review of solar photovoltaic-thermoelectric hybrid system for electricity generation," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 158(C), pages 41-58.
    12. Shittu, Samson & Li, Guiqiang & Zhao, Xudong & Ma, Xiaoli, 2020. "Review of thermoelectric geometry and structure optimization for performance enhancement," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 268(C).
    13. Su, Hetao & Zhou, Fubao & Qi, Haining & Li, Jinshi, 2017. "Design for thermoelectric power generation using subsurface coal fires," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 140(P1), pages 929-940.
    14. Børset, Marit Takla & Wilhelmsen, Øivind & Kjelstrup, Signe & Burheim, Odne Stokke, 2017. "Exploring the potential for waste heat recovery during metal casting with thermoelectric generators: On-site experiments and mathematical modeling," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 865-875.
    15. Zhu, Wei & Tu, Yubin & Deng, Yuan, 2018. "Multi-parameter optimization design of thermoelectric harvester based on phase change material for space generation," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 228(C), pages 873-880.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Huang, Xiao-Yan & Zhou, Ze-Yu & Shu, Zheng-Yu & Cai, Yang & Lv, You & Wang, Wei-Wei & Zhao, Fu-Yun, 2024. "A phase change material based annular thermoelectric energy harvester from ambient temperature fluctuations: Transient modeling and critical characteristics," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 222(C).
    2. Meng, Jing-Hui & Gao, De-Yang & Liu, Yan & Zhang, Kai & Lu, Gui, 2022. "Heat transfer mechanism and structure design of phase change materials to improve thermoelectric device performance," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 245(C).
    3. Luo, Yang & Li, Linlin & Chen, Yiping & Kim, Chang Nyung, 2022. "Influence of geometric parameter and contact resistances on the thermal-electric behavior of a segmented TEG," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 254(PC).
    4. Hong, Bing-Hua & Huang, Xiao-Yan & He, Jian-Wei & Cai, Yang & Wang, Wei-Wei & Zhao, Fu-Yun, 2023. "Round-the-clock performance of solar thermoelectric wall with phase change material in subtropical climate: Critical analysis and parametric investigations," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 272(C).
    5. Maleki, Yaser & Pourfayaz, Fathollah & Mehrpooya, Mehdi, 2022. "Experimental study of a novel hybrid photovoltaic/thermal and thermoelectric generators system with dual phase change materials," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 201(P2), pages 202-215.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. 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).
    2. Ko, Jinyoung & Jeong, Jae-Weon, 2021. "Annual performance evaluation of thermoelectric generator-assisted building-integrated photovoltaic system with phase change material," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 145(C).
    3. Aridi, Rima & Faraj, Jalal & Ali, Samer & Lemenand, Thierry & khaled, Mahmoud, 2022. "A comprehensive review on hybrid heat recovery systems: Classifications, applications, pros and cons, and new systems," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 167(C).
    4. Shakeel, Muhammad & Rehman, Khalid & Ahmad, Salman & Amin, Mohsin & Iqbal, Nadeem & Khan, Arshad, 2021. "A low-cost printed organic thermoelectric generator for low-temperature energy harvesting," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 167(C), pages 853-860.
    5. Peng, Hao & Guo, Wenhua & Feng, Shiyu & Shen, Yijun, 2022. "A novel thermoelectric energy harvester using gallium as phase change material for spacecraft power application," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 322(C).
    6. He, Y. & Tao, Y.B. & Ye, H., 2023. "Periodic energy transmission and regulation of photovoltaic-phase change material-thermoelectric coupled system under space conditions," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 263(PC).
    7. Duan, Mengfan & Sun, Hongli & Lin, Borong & Wu, Yifan, 2021. "Evaluation on the applicability of thermoelectric air cooling systems for buildings with thermoelectric material optimization," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 221(C).
    8. Luo, Yang & Li, Linlin & Chen, Yiping & Kim, Chang Nyung, 2022. "Influence of geometric parameter and contact resistances on the thermal-electric behavior of a segmented TEG," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 254(PC).
    9. Liu, Haowen & Li, Guiqiang & Zhao, Xudong & Ma, Xiaoli & Shen, Chao, 2023. "Investigation of the impact of the thermoelectric geometry on the cooling performance and thermal—mechanic characteristics in a thermoelectric cooler," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 267(C).
    10. Andrés Villarruel-Jaramillo & Manuel Pérez-García & José M. Cardemil & Rodrigo A. Escobar, 2021. "Review of Polygeneration Schemes with Solar Cooling Technologies and Potential Industrial Applications," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(20), pages 1-30, October.
    11. Zhaochun Shi & Guohua Wang & Chunli Liu & Qiang Lv & Baoli Gong & Yingchao Zhang & Yuying Yan, 2023. "Optimizing the Transient Performance of Thermoelectric Generator with PCM by Taguchi Method," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(2), pages 1-16, January.
    12. Shittu, Samson & Li, Guiqiang & Xuan, Qindong & Zhao, Xudong & Ma, Xiaoli & Cui, Yu, 2020. "Electrical and mechanical analysis of a segmented solar thermoelectric generator under non-uniform heat flux," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 199(C).
    13. Contento, Gaetano & Lorenzi, Bruno & Rizzo, Antonella & Narducci, Dario, 2020. "Simultaneous materials and layout optimization of non-imaging optically concentrated solar thermoelectric generators," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 194(C).
    14. Meng, Jing-Hui & Gao, De-Yang & Liu, Yan & Zhang, Kai & Lu, Gui, 2022. "Heat transfer mechanism and structure design of phase change materials to improve thermoelectric device performance," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 245(C).
    15. Chen, Wei-Hsin & Lin, Yi-Xian & Wang, Xiao-Dong & Lin, Yu-Li, 2019. "A comprehensive analysis of the performance of thermoelectric generators with constant and variable properties," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 241(C), pages 11-24.
    16. Montero, Francisco J. & Kumar, Ramesh & Lamba, Ravita & Escobar, Rodrigo A. & Vashishtha, Manish & Upadhyaya, Sushant & Guzmán, Amador M., 2022. "Hybrid photovoltaic-thermoelectric system: Economic feasibility analysis in the Atacama Desert, Chile," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 239(PB).
    17. Mamur, Hayati & Bhuiyan, M.R.A. & Korkmaz, Fatih & Nil, Mustafa, 2018. "A review on bismuth telluride (Bi2Te3) nanostructure for thermoelectric applications," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 82(P3), pages 4159-4169.
    18. Yang, Huizhu & Li, Mingxuan & Wang, Zehui & Ren, Fengsheng & Yang, Yue & Ma, Bijian & Zhu, Yonggang, 2023. "Performance optimization for a novel two-stage thermoelectric generator with different PCMs embedding modes," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 281(C).
    19. Mirhosseini, Mojtaba & Rezania, Alireza & Rosendahl, Lasse, 2019. "Harvesting waste heat from cement kiln shell by thermoelectric system," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 168(C), pages 358-369.
    20. F. P. Brito & João Silva Peixoto & Jorge Martins & António P. Gonçalves & Loucas Louca & Nikolaos Vlachos & Theodora Kyratsi, 2021. "Analysis and Design of a Silicide-Tetrahedrite Thermoelectric Generator Concept Suitable for Large-Scale Industrial Waste Heat Recovery," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(18), pages 1-21, September.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:energy:v:229:y:2021:i:c:s0360544221009257. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/energy .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.