Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-8ctnn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-27T01:36:44.505Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Integrated Thermoelectric–Thermal System Resistance Optimization to Maximize Power Output in Thermoelectric Energy Recovery Systems

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  19 May 2014

Terry J. Hendricks*
Terry J. Hendricks**
Affiliation:
National Aeronautics & Space Administration – Jet Propulsion Laboratory Power and Sensors Section, Thermal Energy Conversion Technology Pasadena, CA 91109
Get access

Abstract

Thermoelectric energy recovery is an important technology for recovering waste thermal energy in high-temperature industrial, transportation and military energy systems. Thermoelectric (TE) power systems in these applications require high performance hot-side and cold-side heat exchangers to provide the critical temperature differential and transfer the required thermal energy to create the power output. Hot-side and cold-side heat exchanger performance is typically characterized by hot-side and cold-side thermal resistances, Rh,th and Rc,th, respectively. Heat exchanger performance determines the hot-side temperature, Th, and cold-side temperature, Tc, conditions when operating in energy recovery environments with available temperature differentials characterized by exhaust temperatures, Texh, and ambient temperature, Tamb. This work analytically defined a crucially important design relationship between (P/Pmax) and (Rh,th / Rc,th) in TE power generation systems to determine the optimum ratio of (Rh,th / Rc,th) maximizing TE system power. A sophisticated integrated TE device / heat exchanger analysis was used, which simultaneously integrates hot- and cold-side heat exchanger models with TE device optimization models incorporating temperature-dependent TE material properties for p-type and n-type materials, thermal and electrical contact resistances, and hot side and cold side heat loss factors. This work examined the (P/Pmax) - (Rh,th / Rc,th) relationship for system designs employing single-material and segmented-material TE couple legs with various TE material combinations, including bismuth telluride alloys, skutterudite compounds, and skutterudite / bismuth telluride segmented combinations. This work defined the non-dimensional functional relationships and found the optimum thermal resistance condition: (Rh,th / Rc,th)opt > 10 to 30 created the maximum power output in TE optimized designs for various TE material combinations investigated. The non-dimensional relationships were investigated for various electrical contact resistances, differing thermal loss factors, and at various hot-side/cold-side temperature conditions. This work showed that the non-dimensional functional relationships were invariant under these differing conditions. It was determined that a condition of (Rh,th / Rc,th) = 1 creates power output far below maximum power conditions. The (P/Pmax) - (Rh,th / Rc,th) relationship also dictated certain temperature profile conditions, defined by the parameter, (Th – Tc) / (Texh – Tamb), which were directly associated with design points in this relationship including maximum power points. The value of (Th – Tc) / (Texh – Tamb) was generally less than 0.5 at maximum power conditions in TE energy recovery designs using TE materials investigated here. The wide-ranging ramifications on TE energy recovery systems and their design optimization for industrial and transportation-related applications are discussed.

Keywords

thermoelectricitythermoelectricmicroelectro-mechanical (MEMS)
Type
Articles
Information
MRS Online Proceedings Library (OPL) , Volume 1642: Symposium BB – Thermoelectric Materials—From Basic Science to Applications , 2014 , mrsf13-1642-bb02-04
Copyright
Copyright © Materials Research Society 2014 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Transportation Energy Data Book, 2010, Edition 29, U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Vehicles Technology Program. ORNL-6985, Oak Ridge National Laboratory, Oak Ridge, Tennessee. http://cta.ornl.gov/data/index.shtml.Google Scholar
Energy Use, Loss and Opportunities Analysis: U.S. Manufacturing and Mining. 2004, U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Industrial Technologies Program, Energetics, Inc. & E3M, Inc.Google Scholar
Hendricks, T.J. and Choate, W.T., 2006, “Engineering Scoping Study of Thermoelectric Generator Packages for Industrial Waste Heat Recovery,” U.S. Department of Energy, Industrial Technology Program, http://www.eere.energy.gov/industry/imf/analysis.html.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hendricks, T.J., Hogan, T.P., Case, E.D., Cauchy, C.J., Karri, N.K., D'Angelo, J., Wu, C.-I., Morrison, A.Q., Ren, F., 2009. “Advanced Soldier-Based Thermoelectric Power Systems Using Battlefield Heat Sources,” in Energy Harvesting–From Fundamentals to Devices, edited by Radousky, H., Holbery, J., Lewis, L., Schmidt, F. (Mater. Res. Soc. Symp. Proc. Volume 1218E, Warrendale, PA, 2010), Paper ID # 1218-Z07-02. (Proceedings of the Materials Research Society 2009 Fall Meeting, Symposium Z, Paper ID # 1218-Z07-02, Boston, MA, 2009.)Google Scholar
Hendricks, T.J., Karri, N.K., Hogan, T.P., and Cauchy, C.J., 2010, “New Thermoelectric Materials and New System-Level Perspectives Using Battlefield Heat Sources for Battery Recharging,” Proceedings of the 44th Power Sources Conference, Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers Power Sources Publication, Technical Paper #28.2, pp. 609–612.Google Scholar
Crane, D.T., 2011 “An Introduction to System Level Steady-State and Transient Modeling and Optimization of High Power Density Thermoelectric Generator Devices Made of Segmented Thermoelectric Elements”, Journal of Electronic Materials, 40(5), 561–569.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Crane, D.T. and Bell, L.E., 2009, “Design to Maximize Performance of a Thermoelectric Power Generator With a Dynamic Thermal Power Source,” Journal of Energy Resources Technology, 131:012401–1 to 8.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Crane, D.T. and Jackson, G.S., 2004, “Optimization of Cross Flow Heat Exchangers for Thermoelectric Waste Heat Recovery,” International Journal of Energy Conversion and Management, 45(9-10): 1565–1582.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Crane, D.T., LaGrandeur, J.W., and Bell, L.E., 2010, “Progress Report on BSST Led, U.S. DOE Automotive Waste Heat Recovery Program,” Journal of Electronic Materials, 39(9): 2142–2148.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Salvador, J.R., Cho, J.Y., Ye, Z., Moczygemba, J.E., Thompson, A.J., Sharp, J.W., König, J.D., Maloney, R., Thompson, T., Sakamoto, J., Wang, H., Wereszczak, A.A., Meisner, G.P., 2013, “Thermal to Electrical Energy Conversion of Skutterudite-Based Thermoelectric Modules”, Journal of Electronic Materials, 42(7), 1389–1399.10.1007/s11664-012-2261-9CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hendricks, T.J., Karri, N.K., Hogan, T.P. & Cauchy, C.J., 2013, “New Perspectives in Thermoelectric Energy Recovery System Design Optimization”, Journal of Electronic Materials, 42 (7), DOI 10.1007/s11664-012-2406-x, 1725-1736.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hendricks, T.J., 2007, “Thermal System Interactions in Optimizing Advanced Thermoelectric Energy Recovery Systems”, Journal of Energy Resources Technology, 129(3), American Society of Mechanical Engineers, New York, 223–231.Google Scholar
Rowe, D.M., Ed. 2006, Thermoelectrics Handbook Macro to Nano, Chapter 2, CRC Press Taylor and Francis Group, Boca Raton, FL.Google Scholar
Hendricks, T.J. and Crane, D., , T., 2012,“Thermoelectric Energy Recovery Systems: Thermal, Thermoelectric and Structural Considerations”, Book 2, Section 3, Chapter 22, Thermoelectrics and Its Energy Harvesting – Modules, Systems, and Applications in Thermoelectrics, Rowe, D.M., Ed., CRC Press Taylor and Francis Group, Boca Raton, FL.Google Scholar
Hendricks, T.J., 2014, “Energy Harvesting: Thermoelectric and Microsystems Perspectives and Opportunities”, Chapter 3, Energy Harvesting with Functional Materials and Microsystems, Bhaskaran, M., Sriram, S., and Iniewski, K., Eds., CRC Press Taylor & Francis Group, Boca Raton, FL.Google Scholar
Yazawa, K. and Shakouri, A. 2012, “Optimization of Power and Efficiency of Thermoelectric Devices with Asymmetric Thermal Contacts”, Journal of Applied Physics, 111, 024509, DOI 10.1063/1.3679544.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fleurial, J.-P., Caillat, T., and Borshchevsky, A., 1997, “Skutterudites: An Update”, Proceedings of the XVI International Conference on Thermoelectrics, Dresden, Germany.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Biswas, K., Good, M.S., Roberts, K.C., Subramanian, M.A., Hendricks, T.J., 2011, “Thermoelectric and Structural Properties of High-Performance In-Based Skutterudites for High-Temperature Energy Recovery”, Journal of Materials Research-Focus Issue: Advances in Thermoelectric Materials, JMR-2010-0700, Materials Research Society, Warrendale, PA.Google Scholar
Li, H., Tang, X., Zhang, Q., and Uher, C., 2009, “High-Performance InxCeyCo4Sb12 Thermoelectric Materials With In Situ Forming Nanostructured InSb Phase”, Applied Physics Letters, 94, 102144, doi: 10.1063/1.3099804, AIP Publishing.Google Scholar
He, T., Chen, J., Rosenfeld, H.D., and Subramanian, M.A., 2006, “Thermoelectric properties of indium-filled skutterudites”, Chem. Mater. 18, 759.10.1021/cm052055bCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Rowe, D.M., Ed. 2006, Thermoelectrics Handbook Macro to Nano, Chapter 27, CRC Press Taylor and Francis Group, Boca Raton, FL.Google Scholar
Wang, H., Hendricks, T.J., Krishnan, S., Peterson, R.B., 2011, “Experimental Verification of Thermally Activated Power and Cooling System Using Hybrid Thermoelectric, Organic Rankine Cycle and Vapor Compression Cycle”, Proceedings of the 9th Annual International Energy Conversion Engineering Conference, San Diego, CA, Paper #AIAA 2011-5983, American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics.Google Scholar