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Experimental studies of thermoelectric power generation in dynamic temperature environments

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  • Attia, Peter M.
  • Lewis, Matthew R.
  • Bomberger, Cory C.
  • Prasad, Ajay K.
  • Zide, Joshua M.O.

Abstract

We show that thermoelectrics can generate power from environments experiencing temporal temperature fluctuations; this source of power is useful for low-power devices in remote locations. We design and characterize devices that employ a thermoelectric module sandwiched between two heat exchangers with significantly different thermal masses and examine the effects of heat exchanger size and material selection, period of oscillation of the environmental temperature fluctuations, and radiative heat transfer on the thermoelectric power output. We report maximum experimental power generation on the order of milliwatts using standard bismuth telluride thermoelectric modules in devices with a size of about 10 cm3.

Suggested Citation

  • Attia, Peter M. & Lewis, Matthew R. & Bomberger, Cory C. & Prasad, Ajay K. & Zide, Joshua M.O., 2013. "Experimental studies of thermoelectric power generation in dynamic temperature environments," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 60(C), pages 453-456.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:energy:v:60:y:2013:i:c:p:453-456
    DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2013.08.046
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

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    2. Falcão Carneiro, J. & Gomes de Almeida, F., 2016. "Model of a thermal driven volumetric pump for energy harvesting in an underwater glider," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 28-42.
    3. Cottrill, Anton L. & Zhang, Ge & Liu, Albert Tianxiang & Bakytbekov, Azamat & Silmore, Kevin S. & Koman, Volodymyr B. & Shamim, Atif & Strano, Michael S., 2019. "Persistent energy harvesting in the harsh desert environment using a thermal resonance device: Design, testing, and analysis," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 235(C), pages 1514-1523.
    4. Li, Saiwei & Sun, Zhiqiang, 2015. "Harvesting vortex energy in the cylinder wake with a pivoting vane," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 88(C), pages 783-792.
    5. Ando Junior, O.H. & Maran, A.L.O. & Henao, N.C., 2018. "A review of the development and applications of thermoelectric microgenerators for energy harvesting," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 91(C), pages 376-393.

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