IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/energy/v89y2015icp106-117.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Thin-film solar thermoelectric generator with enhanced power output: Integrated optimization design to obtain directional heat flow

Author

Listed:
  • Zhu, Wei
  • Deng, Yuan
  • Gao, Min
  • Wang, Yao
  • Cui, Jiaolin
  • Gao, Hongli

Abstract

Thin-film STEGs (solar thermoelectric generators) show promise in effective use of solar energy as a power supply for wireless sensors and microscale devices. This paper reports a simulation procedure that aims to identify desirable heat flow and temperature distribution to improve the performance of thin-film STEGs. The temperature distribution, heat flux, and voltage of a thin-film STEG are simulated using the finite element method, resulting in an optimal design of the substrate, heat conductive layer, and thermoelectric legs of thin-film STEGs. The effect of air convection on the STEG's performance is also studied. Based on the simulation, a thin-film STEG was designed and fabricated, which exhibits an open-circuit voltage of 22 mV. In addition, the experimental results demonstrate that the measured temperature distribution is in good agreement with the simulated result. To minimize the heat loss from the passive region of the device, an improved design was created in an attempt to confine the heat flow within the thermoelectric legs. This improved design resulted in a 21.4% increase of the output voltage.

Suggested Citation

  • Zhu, Wei & Deng, Yuan & Gao, Min & Wang, Yao & Cui, Jiaolin & Gao, Hongli, 2015. "Thin-film solar thermoelectric generator with enhanced power output: Integrated optimization design to obtain directional heat flow," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 89(C), pages 106-117.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:energy:v:89:y:2015:i:c:p:106-117
    DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2015.07.057
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0360544215009524
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.energy.2015.07.057?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. Meng, Fankai & Chen, Lingen & Sun, Fengrui, 2011. "A numerical model and comparative investigation of a thermoelectric generator with multi-irreversibilities," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 36(5), pages 3513-3522.
    2. Chen, Wei-Hsin & Wang, Chien-Chang & Hung, Chen-I. & Yang, Chang-Chung & Juang, Rei-Cheng, 2014. "Modeling and simulation for the design of thermal-concentrated solar thermoelectric generator," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 64(C), pages 287-297.
    3. Rowe, D. M., 1981. "A high performance solar powered thermoelectric generator," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 8(4), pages 269-273, August.
    4. Zhang, Ming & Miao, Lei & Kang, Yi Pu & Tanemura, Sakae & Fisher, Craig A.J. & Xu, Gang & Li, Chun Xin & Fan, Guang Zhu, 2013. "Efficient, low-cost solar thermoelectric cogenerators comprising evacuated tubular solar collectors and thermoelectric modules," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 51-59.
    5. Rama Venkatasubramanian & Edward Siivola & Thomas Colpitts & Brooks O'Quinn, 2001. "Thin-film thermoelectric devices with high room-temperature figures of merit," Nature, Nature, vol. 413(6856), pages 597-602, October.
    6. Tayebi, Lobat & Zamanipour, Zahra & Vashaee, Daryoosh, 2014. "Design optimization of micro-fabricated thermoelectric devices for solar power generation," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 166-173.
    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. 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.
    2. Su, Ning & Zhu, Pengfei & Pan, Yuhui & Li, Fu & Li, Bo, 2020. "3D-printing of shape-controllable thermoelectric devices with enhanced output performance," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 195(C).
    3. Zhe Zhang & Yuqi Zhang & Xiaomei Sui & Wenbin Li & Daochun Xu, 2020. "Performance of Thermoelectric Power-Generation System for Sufficient Recovery and Reuse of Heat Accumulated at Cold Side of TEG with Water-Cooling Energy Exchange Circuit," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-18, October.
    4. Zhe Zhang & Yafeng Wu & Wenbin Li & Daochun Xu, 2020. "Performance of a Solar Thermoelectric Power-Harvesting Device Based on an All-Glass Solar Heat Transfer Pipe and Gravity-Assisted Heat Pipe with Recycling Air Cooling and Water Cooling Circuits," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(4), pages 1-17, February.
    5. Chen, Wei-Hsin & Wu, Po-Hua & Lin, Yu-Li, 2018. "Performance optimization of thermoelectric generators designed by multi-objective genetic algorithm," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 209(C), pages 211-223.
    6. 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.
    7. Tappura, Kirsi, 2018. "A numerical study on the design trade-offs of a thin-film thermoelectric generator for large-area applications," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 120(C), pages 78-87.
    8. Zhu, Wei & Deng, Yuan & Wang, Yao & Shen, Shengfei & Gulfam, Raza, 2016. "High-performance photovoltaic-thermoelectric hybrid power generation system with optimized thermal management," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 100(C), pages 91-101.

    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. He, Wei & Zhang, Gan & Zhang, Xingxing & Ji, Jie & Li, Guiqiang & Zhao, Xudong, 2015. "Recent development and application of thermoelectric generator and cooler," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 143(C), pages 1-25.
    2. Feng, Mengqi & Lv, Song & Deng, Jingcai & Guo, Ying & Wu, Yangyang & Shi, Guoqing & Zhang, Mingming, 2023. "An overview of environmental energy harvesting by thermoelectric generators," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 187(C).
    3. 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.
    4. Cui, Tengfei & Xuan, Yimin & Yin, Ershuai & Li, Qiang & Li, Dianhong, 2017. "Experimental investigation on potential of a concentrated photovoltaic-thermoelectric system with phase change materials," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 94-102.
    5. Liu, Zhichun & Zhu, Shiping & Ge, Ya & Shan, Feng & Zeng, Lingping & Liu, Wei, 2017. "Geometry optimization of two-stage thermoelectric generators using simplified conjugate-gradient method," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 190(C), pages 540-552.
    6. Mahmoudinezhad, S. & Rezania, A. & Cotfas, P.A. & Cotfas, D.T. & Rosendahl, L.A., 2019. "Transient behavior of concentrated solar oxide thermoelectric generator," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 168(C), pages 823-832.
    7. Gou, Xiaolong & Ping, Huifeng & Ou, Qiang & Xiao, Heng & Qing, Shaowei, 2015. "A novel thermoelectric generation system with thermal switch," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 160(C), pages 843-852.
    8. Massaguer, E. & Massaguer, A. & Montoro, L. & Gonzalez, J.R., 2014. "Development and validation of a new TRNSYS type for the simulation of thermoelectric generators," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 134(C), pages 65-74.
    9. Al-Nimr, Moh'd A. & Tashtoush, Bourhan M. & Jaradat, Ahmad A., 2015. "Modeling and simulation of thermoelectric device working as a heat pump and an electric generator under Mediterranean climate," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 90(P2), pages 1239-1250.
    10. 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.
    11. Kossyvakis, D.N. & Vossou, C.G. & Provatidis, C.G. & Hristoforou, E.V., 2015. "Computational analysis and performance optimization of a solar thermoelectric generator," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 81(C), pages 150-161.
    12. Zhu, Wei & Deng, Yuan & Wang, Yao & Shen, Shengfei & Gulfam, Raza, 2016. "High-performance photovoltaic-thermoelectric hybrid power generation system with optimized thermal management," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 100(C), pages 91-101.
    13. Song Lv & Zuoqin Qian & Dengyun Hu & Xiaoyuan Li & Wei He, 2020. "A Comprehensive Review of Strategies and Approaches for Enhancing the Performance of Thermoelectric Module," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(12), pages 1-24, June.
    14. Wu, Sijie & Zhang, Houcheng & Ni, Meng, 2016. "Performance assessment of a hybrid system integrating a molten carbonate fuel cell and a thermoelectric generator," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 520-527.
    15. Shen, Zu-Guo & Wu, Shuang-Ying & Xiao, Lan & Chen, Zu-Xiang, 2017. "Proposal and assessment of a solar thermoelectric generation system characterized by Fresnel lens, cavity receiver and heat pipe," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 141(C), pages 215-238.
    16. 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.
    17. Rodrigo, P.M. & Valera, A. & Fernández, E.F. & Almonacid, F.M., 2019. "Performance and economic limits of passively cooled hybrid thermoelectric generator-concentrator photovoltaic modules," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 238(C), pages 1150-1162.
    18. Al-Nimr, Moh’d A. & Tashtoush, Bourhan M. & Khasawneh, Mohammad A. & Al-Keyyam, Ibrahim, 2017. "A hybrid concentrated solar thermal collector/thermo-electric generation system," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 134(C), pages 1001-1012.
    19. Lorenzi, Bruno & Mariani, Paolo & Reale, Andrea & Di Carlo, Aldo & Chen, Gang & Narducci, Dario, 2021. "Practical development of efficient thermoelectric – Photovoltaic hybrid systems based on wide-gap solar cells," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 300(C).
    20. Kossyvakis, D.N. & Vossou, C.G. & Provatidis, C.G. & Hristoforou, E.V., 2015. "Computational and experimental analysis of a commercially available Seebeck module," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 74(C), pages 1-10.

    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:89:y:2015:i:c:p:106-117. 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.