Fully Electrical Modeling of Thermoelectric Generators with Contact Thermal Resistance Under Different Operating Conditions

The Seebeck effect is used in thermoelectric generators (TEGs) to supply electronic circuits by converting the waste thermal into electrical energy. This generated electrical power is directly proportional to the temperature difference between the TEG module’s hot and cold sides. Depending on the applications, TEGs can be used either under constant temperature gradient between heat reservoirs or constant heat flow conditions. Moreover, the generated electrical power of a TEG depends not only on these operating conditions, but also on the contact thermal resistance. The influence of the contact thermal resistance on the generated electrical power have already been extensively reported in the literature. However, as reported in Park et al. (Energy Convers Manag 86:233, 2014) and Montecucco and Knox (IEEE Trans Power Electron 30:828, 2015), while designing TEG-powered circuit and systems, a TEG module is mostly modeled with a Thévenin equivalent circuit whose resistance is constant and voltage proportional to the temperature gradient applied to the TEG’s terminals. This widely used simplified electrical TEG model is inaccurate and not suitable under constant heat flow conditions or when the contact thermal resistance is considered. Moreover, it does not provide realistic behaviour corresponding to the physical phenomena taking place in a TEG. Therefore, from the circuit designer’s point of view, faithful and fully electrical TEG models under different operating conditions are needed. Such models are mainly necessary to design and evaluate the power conditioning electronic stages and the maximum power point tracking algorithms of a TEG power supply. In this study, these fully electrical models with the contact thermal resistance taken into account are presented and the analytical expressions of the Thévenin equivalent circuit parameters are provided.     

Thermal Optimization of the Heat Exchanger in an Automotive Exhaust-Based Thermoelectric Generator

Recent advances in thermoelectric technologies have made exhaust-based thermoelectric generators (TEGs) promising to recover waste heat. The thermal performance of the heat exchanger in exhaust-based TEGs is studied in this work. In terms of interface temperature and thermal uniformity, the thermal characteristics of heat exchangers with different internal structures, lengths, and materials are discussed. Following computational fluid dynamics simulations, infrared experiments are carried out on a high-performance production engine with a dynamometer. Simulation and experimental results show that a plate-shaped heat exchanger made of brass with fishbone-shaped internal structure and length of 600 mm achieves a relatively ideal thermal performance, which is practically helpful to enhance the thermal performance of the TEG.     

Efficiency Study of a Commercial Thermoelectric Power Generator (TEG) Under Thermal Cycling

Thermoelectric generators (TEGs) make use of the Seebeck effect in semiconductors for the direct conversion of heat to electrical energy. The possible use of a device consisting of numerous TEG modules for waste heat recovery from an internal combustion (IC) engine could considerably help worldwide efforts towards energy saving. However, commercially available TEGs operate at temperatures much lower than the actual operating temperature range in the exhaust pipe of an automobile, which could cause structural failure of the thermoelectric elements. Furthermore, continuous thermal cycling could lead to reduced efficiency and lifetime of the TEG. In this work we investigate the long-term performance and stability of a commercially available TEG under temperature and power cycling. The module was subjected to sequential hot-side heating (at 200°C) and cooling for long times (3000 h) in order to measure changes in the TEG’s performance. A reduction in Seebeck coefficient and an increase in resistivity were observed. Alternating-current (AC) impedance measurements and scanning electron microscope (SEM) observations were performed on the module, and results are presented and discussed.     

Thermal interface materials for automotive electronic control unit: Trends, technology and R&D challenges

The under-hood automotive ambient is harsh and its impact on electronics used in electronic control unit (ECU) assembly is a concern. The introduction of Euro 6 standard (Latest European Union Legislation) leading to increase in power density of power electronics in ECU has even amplified the device thermal challenge. Heat generated within the unit coupled with ambient temperature makes the system reliability susceptible to thermal degradation which ultimately may result in failure. Previous investigations show that the technology of thermal interface materials (TIMs) is a key to achieving good heat conductions within a package and from a package to heat sinking device. With studies suggesting that current TIMs contribute about 60% interfacial thermal resistance, a review of engineering materials has become imperative to identify TIM that could enhance heat transfer. This paper critically reviews the state-of-the-art in TIMs which may be applicable to automotive ECU. Our review shows that carbon-nanotube (CNT) when used as the structure of TIM or TIM filler could considerably advance thermal management issues by improving heat dissipation from the ECU. This search identifies chemical vapor deposition (CVD) as a low cost process for the commercial production of CNTs. In addition, this review further highlights the capability of CVD to grow nanotubes directly on a desired substrate. Other low temperature techniques of growing CNT on sensitive substrates are also presented in this paper.     

Degradation of thermal interface materials for high-temperature power electronics applications

The specific thermal resistance values of several thermal interface materials (TIMs) intended to thermally enhance Cu contact pairs and their degradation under isothermal ageing at 170 °C have been investigated using Cu stack samples consisting of 10 Cu discs and 9 layers of the TIMs. The results obtained indicate that the specific thermal resistance values of the as-prepared Cu stack samples, one with conductive Ag thermal grease, one with Sn–3.5Ag solder joints and one with 25 μm thick Sn foil as TIMs are significantly lower than those of the Cu stack sample without any TIM. However, after the isothermal ageing at 170 °C for 90 days, the specific thermal resistance values of the samples with these TIMs are not substantially different from those of the sample without any TIM. Also reported in this paper is an estimation of testing errors for the specific thermal resistance values, microstructure characterization of the aged samples and effect of the degradation of these TIMs on the thermal performance of a high-temperature half bridge power switch module.     

Impact of Thermal Interface Materials for Thermoelectric Generator Systems

A primary challenge still exists in the field of thermoelectric generators (TEG) for practical applications in which a thermal system of the TEG is a crucial factor in TEG power generation. The material development for TEG has contributed significantly towards advancement in TEG applications over a decade, the need for a thermal system configuration is inevitable considering the applications. The thermal efficiency of TEG depends upon the temperature difference across its modules (between the hot and cold surfaces). Thermal design of the thermoelectric system is important to ensure that there exists a maximum temperature difference across the hot and cold surfaces of the TEG. Thermal Interface Material (TIM) in thermoelectric systems plays a main role in improving the efficiency of thermoelectric systems by reducing the temperature difference between the heat source and the hot surface of the TEG and similarly, the temperature difference between the cold surface of TEG and the heat sink. This review paper predominantly focuses on the thermal interfaces between the TEG modules which reduces the performance of a thermoelectric system. The characteristics of TIM in a TEG system (contact pressure, surface roughness and thermal conductivity) were analyzed with a mathematical model to emphasize the importance of TIM in a TEG system. This paper also highlights the existing challenges for Thermal Interface Materials in TEG applications and concludes with a brief discussion on future directions of TIM in TEG thermal systems.     

Soft and Self-Adhesive Thermal Interface Materials Based on Vertically Aligned,Covalently Bonded Graphene Nanowalls for Efficient Microelectronic Cooling

Urged by the increasing power and packing densities of integrated circuits and electronic devices, efficient dissipation of excess heat from hot spot to heat sink through thermal interface materials (TIMs) is a growing demand to maintain system reliability and performance. In recent years, graphene-based TIMs received considerable interest due to the ultrahigh intrinsic thermal conductivity of graphene. However, the cooling efficiency of such TIMs is still limited by some technical difficulties, such as production-induced defects of graphene, poor alignment of graphene in the matrix, and strong phonon scattering at graphene/graphene or graphene/matrix interfaces. In this study, a 120  µ m-thick freestanding film composed of vertically aligned, covalently bonded graphene nanowalls (GNWs) is grown by mesoplasma chemical vapor deposition. After filling GNWs with silicone, the fabricated adhesive TIMs exhibit a high through-plane thermal conductivity of 20.4 W m⁻¹ K⁻¹ at a low graphene loading of 5.6 wt%. In the TIM performance test, the cooling efficiency of GNW-based TIMs is ≈ 1.5 times higher than that of state-of-the-art commercial TIMs. The TIMs achieve the desired balance between high through-plane thermal conductivity and small bond line thickness, providing superior cooling performance for suppressing the degradation of luminous properties of high-power light-emitting diode chips.     

Optimized Characterization of Thermoelectric Generators for Automotive Application

New developments in the field of thermoelectric materials bring the prospect of consumer devices for recovery of some of the waste heat from internal combustion engines closer to reality. Efficiency improvements are expected due to the development of high-temperature thermoelectric generators (TEG). In contrast to already established radioisotope thermoelectric generators, the temperature difference in automotive systems is not constant, and this imposes a set of specific requirements on the TEG system components. In particular, the behavior of the TEGs and interface materials used to link the heat flow from the heat source through the TEG to the heat sink must be examined. Due to the usage patterns of automobiles, the TEG will be subject to cyclic thermal loads, which leads to module degradation. Additionally, the automotive TEG will be exposed to an inhomogeneous temperature distribution, leading to inhomogeneous mechanical loads and reduced system efficiency. Therefore, a characterization rig is required to allow determination of the electrical, thermal, and mechanical properties of such high-temperature TEG systems. This paper describes a measurement setup using controlled adjustment of cold-side and warm-side temperatures as well as controlled feed-in of electrical power for evaluation of TEGs for application in vehicles with combustion engines. The temperature profile in the setup can be varied to simulate any vehicle usage pattern, such as the European standard driving cycle, allowing the power yield of the TEGs to be evaluated for the chosen cycle. The spatially resolved temperature distribution of a TEG system can be examined by thermal imaging. Hotspots or cracks on thermocouples of the TEGs and the thermal resistance of thermal interface materials can also be examined using this technology. The construction of the setup is briefly explained, followed by detailed discussion of the experimental results.     

Thermal contact resistance of cured gel polymeric thermal interface material

This paper reports the experimental results on the contact resistance of curable polymer gel thermal interface materials (TIMs) that have different mechanical properties due to difference in the rheology of the polymers. A semi-analytical model for the prediction of the thermal contact resistance of cured gel TIMs is also introduced in this paper. A novel method of finding the transition from grease type behavior to gel type behavior, which is very important for post reliability stress performance, based on G' (storage shear modulus) and G' (loss shear modulus) measurements is reported. Further, post thermal cycling thermal resistance degradation rate of gel TIMs are related to the ratio of G and G'. Finally, design guidelines for gel TIMs for use in flip-chip packages comprising heat spreaders are proposed.     

Thermal Interface Materials: Historical Perspective, Status, and Future Directions

With the continual increase in cooling demand for microprocessors, there has been an increased focus within the microelectronics industry on developing thermal solutions. Thermal interface materials (TIMs) play a key role in thermally connecting various components of the thermal solution. Review of the progress made in the area of TIMs in the past five years is presented. The focus is on the rheology-based modeling and design of polymeric TIMs due to their widespread use. Review of limited literature on the thermal performance of solders is also provided. Merits and demerits of using nanoparticles and nanotubes for TIM applications are also discussed. I conclude the paper with some directions for the future that I feel are relatively untouched and potentially very beneficial.     

Covalently Bonded Graphene–Carbon Nanotube Hybrid for High‐Performance Thermal Interfaces

The remarkable thermal properties of graphene and carbon nanotubes (CNTs) have been the subject of intensive investigations for the thermal management of integrated circuits. However, the small contact area of CNTs and the large anisotropic heat conduction of graphene have hindered their applications as effective thermal interface materials (TIMs). Here, a covalently bonded graphene–CNT (G‐CNT) hybrid is presented that multiplies the axial heat transfer capability of individual CNTs through their parallel arrangement, while at the same time it provides a large contact area for efficient heat extraction. Through computer simulations, it is demonstrated that the G‐CNT outperforms few‐layer graphene by more than 2 orders of magnitude for the c‐axis heat transfer, while its thermal resistance is 3 orders of magnitude lower than the state‐of‐the‐art TIMs. We show that heat can be removed from the G‐CNT by immersing it in a liquid. The heat transfer characteristics of G‐CNT suggest that it has the potential to revolutionize the design of high‐performance TIMs.     

Rheology based modeling and design of particle laden polymeric thermal interface materials

Most of the research on particle laden polymeric (PLP) thermal interface materials (TIM) have been primarily focused ob understanding the thermal conductivity of these types of TIMs. For thermal design reduction of the thermal resistance is the end goal. Thermal resistance is not only dependent on the thermal conductivity, but also on the bond line thickness (BLT) of these TIMs. This paper introduces a rheology based model for the prediction of the BLT of these TIMs from very low to very high pressures. BLT depends on the yield stress of the particle laden polymer and the applied pressure. The model is based on the concept of finite size scaling of physical properties of particle laden systems at very thin length scale due to percolation phenomenon in these materials. This paper shows that the yield stress of the PLP increases with decreasing thickness of the TIM and therefore it is size dependent. The BLT model combined with the thermal conductivity model can be used for modeling the thermal resistance of these TIMs for factors such as particle volume faction, substrate/die size, pressure and particle diameter.     

Two-Dimensional Thermal Resistance Analysis of a Waste Heat Recovery System with Thermoelectric Generators

In this study, it is shown that two-dimensional (2D) thermal resistance analysis is a rapid and simple method to predict the power generated from a waste heat recovery system with thermoelectric generators (TEGs). Performance prediction is an important part of system design, generally being simulated by numerical methods with high accuracy but long computational duration. Use of the presented analysis saves much time relative to such numerical methods. The simple 2D model of the waste heat recovery system comprises three parts: a recovery chamber, the TEGs, and a cooling system. A fin-structured duct serves as a heat recovery chamber, to which were attached the hot sides of two TEGs; the cold sides were attached to a cooling system. The TEG module and duct had the same width. In the 2D analysis, unknown temperatures are located at the centroid of each cell into which the system is divided. The relations among the unknown temperatures of the cells are based on the principle of energy conservation and the definition of thermal resistance. The temperatures of the waste hot gas at the inlet and of the ambient fluid are known. With these boundary conditions, the unknown temperatures in the system become solvable, and the power generated by the TEGs can be predicted. Meanwhile, a three-dimensional (3D) model of the system was simulated in FloTHERM 9.2. The 3D numerical solution matched the solution of the 2D analysis within 10%.     

Optimization of thermal interface materials for electronics cooling applications

Thermal interface materials (TIMs) are used in electronics cooling applications to decrease the thermal contact resistance between surfaces in contact. A methodology to determine the optimal volume fraction of filler particles in TIMs for minimizing the thermal contact resistance is presented. The method uses finite element analysis to solve the coupled thermo-mechanical problem. It is shown that there exists an optimal filler volume fraction which depends not only on the distribution of the filler particles in a TIM but also on the thickness of the TIM layer, the contact pressure and the shape and the size of the filler particles. A contact resistance alleviation factor is defined to quantify the effect of these parameters on the contact conductance with the use of TIMs. For the filler and matrix materials considered-platelet-shaped boron nitride filler particles in a silicone matrix-the maximum observed enhancement in contact conductance with the use of TIMs was by a factor of as much as nine.     

Joint-Inspired Liquid and Thermal Conductive Interface for Designing Thermal Interface Materials with High Solid Filling yet Excellent Thixotropy

For advanced thermal interface materials (TIMs), massive inorganic addition for high isotropic thermal conductivities conflicts with suitable rheological viscosity for low contact thermal resistance. Traditional strategies rarely resolve such a contradiction, and it remains an academic and industrial challenge. Herein, inspired by the structure and function of the bone joint, a best-of-both-worlds approach is reported that endows a standard polydimethylsiloxane/alumina (PDMS/Al₂O₃) TIM with simultaneously enhanced rheological mobility and thermal conductivity. It is conducted by employing morphology-controllable gallium-based liquid metal (LM) to the surface of Al₂O₃ by a scalable mechanochemical process. At the typical polymer-LM-Al₂O₃ interface, LM droplets with low cohesive energy can release the freedom for macromolecular chain relaxation and reduce the viscosity, successfully allowing the high-loading TIMs (79 vol.%) to keep the thixotropic state and effectively reducing its contact thermal resistance with a copper substrate by 65%. At the same time, adjacent LMs merge to thermally bridge separate Al₂O₃ particles, which facilitates the interfacial thermal conduction and enhances the thermal conductivity from 5.9 to 6.7 W m⁻¹ K⁻¹. Along with additional electrical insulation, this filler modification strategy is believed to inspire others to develop high-performance polymer-based TIMs for future advanced electronics.     

Heat-Pipe-Associated Localized Thermoelectric Power Generation System

The present study focused on how to improve the maximum power output of a thermoelectric generator (TEG) system and move heat to any suitable space using a TEG associated with a loop thermosyphon (loop-type heat pipe). An experimental study was carried out to investigate the power output, the temperature difference of the thermoelectric module (TEM), and the heat transfer performance associated with the characteristic of the researched heat pipe. Currently, internal combustion engines lose more than 35% of their fuel energy as recyclable heat in the exhaust gas, but it is not easy to recycle waste heat using TEGs because of the limited space in vehicles. There are various advantages to use of TEGs over other power sources, such as the absence of moving parts, a long lifetime, and a compact system configuration. The present study presents a novel TEG concept to transfer heat from the heat source to the sink. This technology can transfer waste heat to any location. This simple and novel design for a TEG can be applied to future hybrid cars. The present TEG system with a heat pipe can transfer heat and generate power of around 1.8 V with T _TEM = 58°C. The heat transfer performance of a loop-type heat pipe with various working fluids was investigated, with water at high heat flux (90 W) and 0.05% TiO₂ nanofluid at low heat flux (30 W to 70 W) showing the best performance in terms of power generation. The heat pipe can transfer the heat to any location where the TEM is installed.     

Study of Complete Thermoelectric Generator Behavior Including Water-to-Ambient Heat Dissipation on the Cold Side

Reduction of the thermal resistances of the heat exchangers of a thermoelectric generation (TEG) system leads to a significant increase in TEG efficiency. For the cold side of a thermoelectric module (TEM), a wide range of heat exchangers have been studied, from simple finned dissipators to more complex water (water–glycol) heat exchangers. As the Nusselt number is much higher in water heat exchangers than in conventional air finned dissipators, the convective thermal resistances are better. However, to conclude which heat exchanger leads to higher efficiencies, it is necessary to include the whole system involved in the heat dissipation, i.e., the TEM-to-water heat exchanger, the water-to-ambient heat exchanger, as well as the required pumps and fans. This paper presents a dynamic computational model able to simulate the complete behavior of a TEG, including both heat exchangers. The model uses the heat transfer and hydraulic equations to compute the TEM-to-water and water-to-ambient thermal resistances, along with the resistance of the hot-side heat exchanger at different operating conditions. Likewise, the model includes all the thermoelectric effects with temperature-dependent properties. The model calculates the net power generation for different configurations, providing a methodology to design and optimize the heat exchange in order to maximize the net power generation for a wide variety of TEGs.     

The Effect of Polydispersivity on the Thermal Conductivity of Particulate Thermal Interface Materials

A critical need in developing thermal interface materials (TIMs) is an understanding of the effect of particle/matrix conductivities, volume loading of the particles, the size distribution, and the random arrangement of the particles in the matrix on the homogenized thermal conductivity. Commonly, TIM systems contain random spatial distributions of particles of a polydisperse (usually bimodal) nature. A detailed analysis of the microstructural characteristics that influence the effective thermal conductivity of TIMs is the goal of this paper. Random microstructural arrangements consisting of lognormal size-distributions of alumina particles in silicone matrix were generated using a drop-fall-shake algorithm. The generated microstructures were statistically characterized using the matrix-exclusion probability function. The filler particle volume loading was varied over a range of 40%–55%. For a given filler volume loading, the effect of polydispersivity in the microstructures was captured by varying the standard deviation(s) of the filler particle size distribution function. For each particle arrangement, the effective thermal conductivity of the microstructures was evaluated through numerical simulations using a network model previously developed by the authors. Counter to expectation, increased polydispersivity was observed to increase the effective conductivity up to a volume loading of 50%. However, at a volume loading of 55%, beyond a limiting standard deviation of 0.9, the effective thermal conductivity decreased with increased standard deviation suggesting that the observed effects are a tradeoff between resistance to transport through the particles versus transport through the interparticle matrix gap in a percolation chain.      

Dense Vertically Aligned Multiwalled Carbon Nanotube Arrays as Thermal Interface Materials

Carbon nanotube (CNT) arrays are being considered as thermal interface materials (TIMs). Using a phase sensitive transient thermo-reflectance technique, we measure the thermal conductance of the two interfaces on each side of a vertically aligned CNT array as well as the CNT array itself. We show that the physically bonded interface by van der Waals adhesion has a conductance ~10⁵W/m²K and is the dominant resistance. We also demonstrate that by bonding the free-end CNT tips to a target surface with the help of a thin layer of indium weld, the conductance can be increased to ~10⁶W/m²K making it attractive as a TIM     

Performance and testing of thermal interface materials

The increasing power and reduced die size of CPUs used in computers increases a need for significantly improved thermal interface materials (TIM). The TIM is used to reduce contact resistance at the CPU-heat sink interface. This work provides a state-of-the-art assessment on ‘thermal interface materials’, including fundamentals, materials used, their performance, and how interface resistance is measured. The performance of new commercial interface materials is given, as well as discussion of the advantages and disadvantages of different materials. The report notes that the recommended interface test method does not necessarily duplicate the installation and operating conditions in an actual computer installation. Recommendations are presented on the design and operation of an apparatus intended to simulate actual computer installation conditions. The innovative Penn State ‘low melting point alloy’ thermal interface material is described and compared to other commercial materials.