IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/energy/v282y2023ics0360544223022442.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Energy harvesting analysis of wearable thermoelectric generators integrated with human skin

Author

Listed:
  • Pang, Dandan
  • Zhang, Aibing
  • Guo, Yage
  • Wu, Junfeng

Abstract

This paper proposes a novel configuration for wearable thermoelectric generators (W-TEGs) in which the fill material only encloses each thermoelectric leg with a specific size. An analytical model for the presented W-TEG integrated with human skin is developed. Numerical results show that the metabolic heat generation can be neglected, but the maximum power density of W-TEG will be underestimated by 30.72% if the influence of heat exchange induced by blood perfusion is not considered. The matched load resistance, the optimal fill factor and optimal length of thermoelectric legs corresponding to maximum power output of W-TEG are also obtained. The matched load resistance ratio and optimal fill factor of the W-TEG are 1.4090 and 10.01%, respectively, which are quite different from the values of classical thermoelectric generators (TEGs). The study further indicates that the performance of W-TEG can be improved by increasing the contact pressure at skin/W-TEG interface. Additionally, the impact of heat convection at lateral surfaces of thermoelectric legs should be taken into account to accurately estimate the power output of W-TEG. The optimization parameters presented in this paper may pave a way for achieving higher performance of W-TEG with actual applications.

Suggested Citation

  • Pang, Dandan & Zhang, Aibing & Guo, Yage & Wu, Junfeng, 2023. "Energy harvesting analysis of wearable thermoelectric generators integrated with human skin," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 282(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:energy:v:282:y:2023:i:c:s0360544223022442
    DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2023.128850
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360544223022442
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.energy.2023.128850?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. Nozariasbmarz, Amin & Collins, Henry & Dsouza, Kelvin & Polash, Mobarak Hossain & Hosseini, Mahshid & Hyland, Melissa & Liu, Jie & Malhotra, Abhishek & Ortiz, Francisco Matos & Mohaddes, Farzad & Rame, 2020. "Review of wearable thermoelectric energy harvesting: From body temperature to electronic systems," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 258(C).
    2. Wang, Yancheng & Shi, Yaoguang & Mei, Deqing & Chen, Zichen, 2018. "Wearable thermoelectric generator to harvest body heat for powering a miniaturized accelerometer," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 215(C), pages 690-698.
    3. 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).
    4. Zhang, A.B. & Wang, B.L. & Pang, D.D. & He, L.W. & Lou, J. & Wang, J. & Du, J.K., 2018. "Effects of interface layers on the performance of annular thermoelectric generators," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 147(C), pages 612-620.
    5. Zhang, Aibing & Pang, Dandan & Wang, Baolin & Wang, Ji, 2023. "Dynamic responses of wearable thermoelectric generators used for skin waste heat harvesting," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 262(PB).
    6. Cui, Y.J. & Wang, B.L. & Wang, K.F., 2021. "Energy conversion performance optimization and strength evaluation of a wearable thermoelectric generator made of a thermoelectric layer on a flexible substrate," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 229(C).
    7. Shen, Zu-Guo & Wu, Shuang-Ying & Xiao, Lan & Yin, Gang, 2016. "Theoretical modeling of thermoelectric generator with particular emphasis on the effect of side surface heat transfer," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 95(C), pages 367-379.
    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. Diana Enescu, 2024. "Heat Transfer Mechanisms and Contributions of Wearable Thermoelectrics to Personal Thermal Management," Energies, MDPI, vol. 17(2), pages 1-29, January.

    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. Cui, Y.J. & Wang, B.L. & Wang, K.F., 2021. "Energy conversion performance optimization and strength evaluation of a wearable thermoelectric generator made of a thermoelectric layer on a flexible substrate," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 229(C).
    2. Sijing Zhu & Zheng Fan & Baoquan Feng & Runze Shi & Zexin Jiang & Ying Peng & Jie Gao & Lei Miao & Kunihito Koumoto, 2022. "Review on Wearable Thermoelectric Generators: From Devices to Applications," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(9), pages 1-27, May.
    3. Chen, Jiangfan & Fang, Zheng & Azam, Ali & Wu, Xiaoping & Zhang, Zutao & Lu, Linhai & Li, Dongyang, 2023. "An energy self-circulation system based on the wearable thermoelectric harvester for ART driver monitoring," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 262(PA).
    4. 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).
    5. Mai, Van-Phung & Yang, Ruey-Jen, 2020. "Boosting power generation from salinity gradient on high-density nanoporous membrane using thermal effect," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 274(C).
    6. Zhu, Yuxiao & Newbrook, Daniel W. & Dai, Peng & de Groot, C.H. Kees & Huang, Ruomeng, 2022. "Artificial neural network enabled accurate geometrical design and optimisation of thermoelectric generator," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 305(C).
    7. Wei Sun & Pengfei Wen & Sijie Zhu & Pengcheng Zhai, 2024. "Geometrical Optimization of Segmented Thermoelectric Generators (TEGs) Based on Neural Network and Multi-Objective Genetic Algorithm," Energies, MDPI, vol. 17(9), pages 1-13, April.
    8. Sun, Yajing & Chen, Gang & Duan, Bo & Li, Guodong & Zhai, Pengcheng, 2019. "An annular thermoelectric couple analytical model by considering temperature-dependent material properties and Thomson effect," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 187(C).
    9. Cui, Y.J. & Wang, B.L. & Wang, K.F. & Wang, G.G. & Zhang, A.B., 2022. "An analytical model to evaluate the fatigue crack effects on the hybrid photovoltaic-thermoelectric device," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 182(C), pages 923-933.
    10. Sargolzaeiaval, Yasaman & Ramesh, Viswanath Padmanabhan & Ozturk, Mehmet C., 2022. "A comprehensive analytical model for thermoelectric body heat harvesting incorporating the impact of human metabolism and physical activity," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 324(C).
    11. Zhang, Aibing & Pang, Dandan & Wang, Baolin & Wang, Ji, 2023. "Dynamic responses of wearable thermoelectric generators used for skin waste heat harvesting," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 262(PB).
    12. Lv, Jin-Ran & Ma, Jin-Lei & Dai, Lu & Yin, Tao & He, Zhi-Zhu, 2022. "A high-performance wearable thermoelectric generator with comprehensive optimization of thermal resistance and voltage boosting conversion," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 312(C).
    13. Yuan, Hengfeng & Qing, Shaowei & Ren, Shangkun & Rezania, Alireza & Rosendahl, Lasse & Wen, Xiankui & Zhong, Jingliang & Gou, Xiaolong & Tang, Shengli & E, Peng, 2023. "Modelling and optimization analysis of a novel hollow flexible-filler-based bulk thermoelectric generator for human body sensor," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 281(C).
    14. Fan, Shifa & Gao, Yuanwen & Rezania, Alireza, 2021. "Thermoelectric performance and stress analysis on wearable thermoelectric generator under bending load," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 173(C), pages 581-595.
    15. Lan, Yuncheng & Lu, Junhui & Wang, Suilin, 2023. "Study of the geometry and structure of a thermoelectric leg with variable material properties and side heat dissipation based on thermodynamic, economic, and environmental analysis," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 282(C).
    16. Wang, Xue & Zong, Yujie & Su, Wenbin & Wang, Chunlei & Wang, Hongchao, 2024. "Output and mechanical performance of thermoelectric generator under transient heat loads," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 222(C).
    17. Xuan, Zhiwei & Ge, Minghui & Zhao, Chenyang & Li, Yanzhe & Wang, Shixue & Zhao, Yulong, 2024. "Effect of nonuniform solar radiation on the performance of solar thermoelectric generators," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 290(C).
    18. 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).
    19. 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).
    20. Wang, Xue & Wang, Hongchao & Su, Wenbing & Chen, Tingting & Tan, Chang & Madre, María A. & Sotelo, Andres & Wang, Chunlei, 2022. "U-type unileg thermoelectric module: A novel structure for high-temperature application with long lifespan," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 238(PB).

    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:282:y:2023:i:c:s0360544223022442. 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.