Examination of a Thermally Viable Structure for an Unconventional Uni-Leg Mg2Si Thermoelectric Power Generator

We have fabricated an unconventional uni-leg structure thermoelectric generator (TEG) element using quad thermoelectric (TE) chips of Sb-doped n-Mg₂Si, which were prepared by a plasma-activated sintering process. The power curve characteristics, the effect of aging up to 500?h, and the thermal gradients at several points on the module were investigated. The observed maximum output power with the heat source at 975?K and the heat sink at 345?K was 341?mW, from which the ??T for the TE chip was calculated to be about 333?K. In aging testing in air ambient, a remarkable feature of the results was that there was no notable change from the initial resistance of the TEG module for as long as 500?h. The thermal distribution for the fabricated uni-leg TEG element was analyzed by finite-element modeling using ANSYS software. To tune the calculation parameters of ANSYS, such as the thermal conductance properties of the corresponding coupled materials in the module, precise measurements of the temperature at various probe points on the module were made. Then, meticulous verification between the measured temperature values and the results calculated by ANSYS was carried out to optimize the parameters.     

Power Generation Characteristics of Mg2Si Uni-Leg Thermoelectric Generator

Mg₂Si thermoelectric (TE) elements were fabricated by a plasma-activated sintering method using a commercial polycrystalline n-type Mg₂Si source produced by the Union Material Co., Ltd. This material typically has a ZT value of ??0.6. A monobloc plasma-activated sintering technique was used to form Ni electrodes on the TE elements. The dimensions of a single element were 4.0?mm?×?4.0?mm?×?10?mm, and these were used to construct a TE module comprising nine elements connected in series. To reduce the electrical and thermal contact resistance of the module, each part of the module, i.e., the elements, terminals, and insulating plates, was joined using a Ag-based brazing alloy. In addition, to maintain the temperature difference between the top and bottom of the module, a thermal insulation board was installed in it. The observed values of open-circuit voltage (V _OC) and output power (P) of a uni-leg structure module were 594?mV and 543?mW, respectively, at a maximum ??T?=?500?K.     

Hybrid Solid Oxide Fuel Cell and Thermoelectric Generator for Maximum Power Output in Micro-CHP Systems

One of the most obvious early market applications for thermoelectric generators (TEG) is decentralized micro combined heat and power (CHP) installations of 0.5 kWe to 5 kWe based on fuel cell technology. Through the use of TEG technology for waste heat recovery it is possible to increase the electricity production in micro-CHP systems by more than 15%, corresponding to system electrical efficiency increases of some 4 to 5 percentage points. This will make fuel cell-based micro-CHP systems very competitive and profitable and will also open opportunities in a number of other potential business and market segments which are not yet quantified. This paper quantifies a micro-CHP system based on a solid oxide fuel cell (SOFC) and a high-performance TE generator. Based on a 3 kW fuel input, the hybrid SOFC implementation boosts electrical output from 945 W to 1085 W, with 1794 W available for heating purposes.     

Thermoelectric Properties of n-Mg2(SiGe)0.8Sn0.2 Solid Solution

Semiconductors - High values of the thermoelectric figure of merit (ZT = 1.5) in Mg2Si–Mg2Sn solid solutions are caused by a low thermal conductivity and a complex band structure, which is...     

Power Conditioner with Variable Switching Control for Thermoelectric Generator Systems

A thermoelectric (TE) power conditioner maintaining high efficiency over a wide input power range has been developed. Variable switching frequency operation is shown to give an improvement in efficient operating range. The input range showing more than 90% conversion efficiency is expanded to more than 25% by introducing a low-power controller circuit and variable switching frequency control. The TE power conditioner showed excellent response against a change in thermoelectric generator (TEG) output and load, making it suitable for automotive applications.     

Analysis of the Microstructure of Mg2Si Thermoelectric Devices

High-performance Mg₂Si thermoelectric devices have been obtained by spark plasma sintering of high-purity, pre-synthesized, all-molten Mg₂Si powder. We studied the effects of source powder particle size on thermoelectric performance. To improve the performance, further investigation of the microstructure of the devices is needed. In this work we studied the microstructure of grain boundaries and interfaces between electrodes and Mg₂Si sintered bodies to increase understanding of Mg₂Si thermoelectric devices.     

Development of an Mg2Si Unileg Thermoelectric Module Using Durable Sb-Doped Mg2Si Legs

Mg₂Si unileg structure thermoelectric (TE) modules, which are composed only of n-type Mg₂Si legs, were fabricated using Sb-doped Mg₂Si. The Mg₂Si TE legs used in our module were fabricated by a plasma-activated sintering method using material produced from molten commercial doped polycrystalline Mg₂Si, and, at the same time, nickel electrodes were formed on the Mg₂Si using a monobloc plasma-activated sintering technique. The source material used for our legs has a ZT value of 0.77 at 862 K. The TE modules, which have dimensions of 21 mm × 30 mm × 16 mm, were composed of ten legs that were connected in series electrically using nickel terminals, and the dimensions of a single leg were 4.0 mm  × 4.0 mm × 10 mm. From evaluations of the measured output characteristics of the modules, it appeared that the electrical resistance of the wiring that is used to connect each leg considerably affects the power output of the unileg module. Thus, we attempted to reduce the wiring resistance of the module and fabricated a module using copper terminals. The observed values of the open-circuit voltage and output power of the Sb-doped Mg₂Si unileg module were 496 mV and 1211 mW at ΔT = 531 K (hot side: 873 K; cool side: 342 K).     

Multi-parameter Optimization of a Thermoelectric Power Generator and Its Working Conditions

The global optimal working conditions and optimal couple design for thermoelectric (TE) generators with realistic thermal coupling between the heat reservoirs and the TE couple were studied in the current work. The heat fluxes enforced by the heat reservoirs at the hot and the cold junctions of the TE couple were used in combination with parameter normalization to obtain a single cubic algebraic equation relating the temperature differences between the TE couple junctions and between the heat reservoirs, through the electric load resistance ratio, the reservoir thermal conductance ratio, the reservoir thermal conductance to the TE couple thermal conductance ratio, the Thomson to Seebeck coefficient ratio, and the figure of merit (Z) of the material based on the linear TE transport equations and their solutions. A broad reservoir thermal conductance ranging between 0.01  W/K and 100 W/K and TE element length ranging from 10^-7 m to 10^-3 m were explored to find the global optimal systems. The global optimal parameters related to the working conditions, i.e., reservoir thermal conductance ratio and electric load resistance ratio, and the optimal design parameter related to the TE couple were determined for a given TE material. These results demonstrated that the internal and external electric resistance, the thermal resistance between the reservoirs, the thermal resistance between the reservoir and the TE couple, and the optimal thermoelement length have to be well coordinated to obtain optimal power production.     

Evaluation of High Step-Up Power Electronics Stages in Thermoelectric Generator Systems

To develop practical thermoelectric generator (TEG) systems, especially radioisotope thermoelectric power supplies for deep-space exploration, a power conditioning stage with high step-up gain is indispensable. This stage is used to step up the low output voltage of thermoelectric generators to the required high level. Furthermore, maximum power point tracking control for TEG modules needs to be implemented into the power electronics stages. In this paper, the temperature-dependent electrical characteristics of a thermoelectric generator are analyzed in depth. Three typical high step-up power converters suitable for TEG applications are discussed: an interleaved boost converter, a boost converter with a coupled inductor, and an interleaved boost converter with an auxiliary transformer. A general comparison of the three high step-up converters is conducted to study the step-up gain, conversion efficiency, and input current ripples. The interleaved boost converter with an auxiliary transformer is found to be the most suitable topology for TEG applications, which is verified by experiments.     

接触效应对小型半导体温差发电器性能的影响

针对小型半导体温差(TEG)发电器中接触热阻和接触电阻的影响进行了分析研究.结果表明,接触热阻和接触电阻只在2mm以内的电偶臂长度内有明显影响;在电偶臂长度小于1mm时,输出功率和热电效率均有一个急剧上升的变化阶段;当长度超过5mm后,输出功率和热电效率均趋于定值;在冷热端温度分别为283和383K,Z=0.0024K-1、电偶臂长为2mm、接触热阻比0.2和接触电阻比0.1条件下,热电功率约为4mW/mm2,热电效率约为3.5%,而理想无接触热阻和电阻的热电效率约为4.2%.由此可知,半导体温差发电器中接触热阻和接触电阻的影响不可忽视.     

Si-Bi2Te3光热耦合电源器件的结构设计与性能

空间近日等强辐照造成的高温严重影响光伏电池的转化效率,同时造成辐射能量的浪费.以单晶Si光伏电池和Bi2Te3热电电池为基本单元,构建Si-Bi2 Te3光热耦合电源器件模型.采用有限元分析法分析特定辐射条件下Si-Bi2Te3光热耦合电源器件的热分布情况,并结合光伏电池与热电电池的温度特性进一步计算了器件的转化效率.结果显示,Bi2Te3热电池的存在一定程度上降低了Si光伏电池的工作温度,在空间环境下Si-Bi2Te3光热耦合电源器件的转化效率相对于单一的Si光伏电池有2％ ～3％的提高.最后讨论了该器件Si光伏电池和Bi2Te3热电池的功率输出方式.     

接触效应对小型半导体温差发电器性能的影响

针对小型半导体温差(TEG)发电器中接触热阻和接触电阻的影响进行了分析研究.结果表明,接触热阻和接触电阻只在2mm以内的电偶臂长度内有明显影响;在电偶臂长度小于1mm时,输出功率和热电效率均有一个急剧上升的变化阶段;当长度超过5mm后,输出功率和热电效率均趋于定值;在冷热端温度分别为283和383K,Z=0.0024K-1、电偶臂长为2mm、接触热阻比0.2和接触电阻比0.1条件下,热电功率约为4mW/mm2,热电效率约为3.5%,而理想无接触热阻和电阻的热电效率约为4.2%.由此可知,半导体温差发电器中接触热阻和接触电阻的影响不可忽视.     

Synthesis and Characterization of Al-Doped Mg2Si Thermoelectric Materials

Magnesium silicide (Mg₂Si)-based alloys are promising candidates for thermoelectric (TE) energy conversion for the middle to high range of temperature. These materials are very attractive for TE research because of the abundance of their constituent elements in the Earth’s crust. Mg₂Si could replace lead-based TE materials, due to its low cost, nontoxicity, and low density. In this work, the role of aluminum doping (Mg₂Si:Al = 1:x for x = 0.005, 0.01, 0.02, and 0.04 molar ratio) in dense Mg₂Si materials was investigated. The synthesis process was performed by planetary milling under inert atmosphere starting from commercial Mg₂Si pieces and Al powder. After ball milling, the samples were sintered by means of spark plasma sintering to density >95%. The morphology, composition, and crystal structure of the samples were characterized by field-emission scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive spectroscopy, and x-ray diffraction analyses. Moreover, Seebeck coefficient analyses, as well as electrical and thermal conductivity measurements were performed for all samples up to 600°C. The resultant estimated ZT values are comparable to those reported in the literature for these materials. In particular, the maximum ZT achieved was 0.50 for the x = 0.01 Al-doped sample at 600°C.     

Solid-State Synthesis and Thermoelectric Properties of Al-Doped Mg2Si

The electronic transport and thermoelectric properties of Al-doped Mg₂Si (Mg₂Si:Al _m , m?=?0, 0.005, 0.01, 0.02, 0.03) compounds prepared by solid-state synthesis were examined. Mg₂Si was synthesized by solid-state reaction (SSR) at 773?K for 6?h, and Al-doped Mg₂Si powders were obtained by mechanical alloying (MA) for 24?h. Mg₂Si:Al _m were fully consolidated by hot pressing (HP) at 1073?K for 1?h, and all samples showed n-type conduction, indicating that the electrical conduction is due mainly to electrons. The electrical conductivity increased significantly with increasing Al doping content, and the absolute value of the Seebeck coefficient decreased due to the significant increase in electron concentration from 10¹⁶ cm^?3 to 10¹⁹ cm^?3 by Al doping. The thermal conductivity was increased slightly by Al doping, but was not changed significantly by the Al doping content due to the much larger contribution of lattice thermal conductivity over electronic thermal conductivity. Mg₂Si:Al_0.02 showed a maximum thermoelectric figure of merit of 0.47 at 823?K.     

Analysis of Thermoelectric Generator Performance by Use of Simulations and Experiments

A method that enables accurate determination of contact resistances in thermoelectric generators and which gives detailed insight into how these reduce module performance is presented in this paper. To understand the importance taking thermal and electrical contact resistances into account in analysis of thermoelectric generators, full-scale modules were studied. Contact resistances were determined by means of non-linear regression analysis on the basis of results from 3D finite element simulations and experiments in a setup in which heat flow, voltage, and current were measured. Statistical evaluation showed that the model and the identified contact resistances enabled excellent prediction of performance over the entire range of operating conditions. It was shown that if contact resistances were not included in the analysis the simulations significantly over-predicted both heat flow and electric power output, and it was concluded that contact resistance should always be included in module simulations. The method presented in this paper gives detailed insight into how thermoelectric modules perform in general, and also enables prediction of potential improvement in module performance by reduction of contact resistances.     

Measurement and Calculation of the Absolute Thermoelectric Power of Rhodium and Iridium

The thermoelectric power of Rh and Ir was redetermined between 100 K and 1400 K. It varies almost linearly from +1.7 μV K⁻¹ to −3.8 μV K⁻¹ for Rh and from +1.5 μV K⁻¹ to −2.2 μV K⁻¹ for Ir. The diffusive part of the thermopower could be calculated from the density of states. It is approximately equal to the temperature dependence of the electrochemical potential of the electrons divided by the electronic charge. This is attributed to the approximate establishment of local equilibrium between electrons and lattice atoms above 400 K—a condition not fulfilled in the phonon-drag regime below 300 K.     

Development of a Thermal Buffering Device to Cope with Temperature Fluctuations for a Thermoelectric Power Generator

To stabilize the heat input to a thermoelectric generator (TEG) and protect it from large temperature fluctuations, a thermal buffering device (TBD) was fabricated and examined using a typical Bi-Te TEG module and a brand-new Mg₂Si TEG module. The TBD comprises two adjoining heat storage containers, each containing different alloys, which can be optimized for the temperature range of the TEG. The combination of two alloys in series diminishes the thermal fluctuations, stabilizing the heat input to the TEG module. This is achieved by having two metallic materials with large enthalpies of fusion that can be placed between the heat source and the TEG. The combination of the two alloys can be optimized for the temperature ranges of Bi-Te, Pb-Te, or Co-Sb. For the Bi-Te TEG, 15Al-85Zn and 30Sn-70Zn alloys were used for the heat source side and the TEG side, respectively. The corresponding alloys for the Mg₂Si TEG were 20Ni-80Al and 7Si-93Al. With the use of a TBD, the Bi-Te TEG exhibited no notable damage even in the rather high temperature range beyond ??573?K. For the Mg₂Si TEG, no operational damage of the Mg₂Si TEG module was observed even with a temperature of 1020?K.     

Evaluation of Power Conditioning Architectures for Energy Production Enhancement in Thermoelectric Generator Systems

A large-scale thermoelectric generator (TEG) system has an unbalanced temperature distribution among the TEG modules, which leads to power mismatch among the modules and decreases the power output of the TEG system. To maximize the power output and minimize the power conversion loss, a centralized–distributed hybrid power conditioning architecture is presented, analyzed, and evaluated for a TEG system. The novel architecture is a combination of a conventional centralized architecture and a fully distributed architecture. By using the proposed architecture, most of the harvested power is processed by the centralized stage while only the mismatched power among the TEG modules is processed by the distributed stages. As a result, accurate and distributed maximum-power-point tracking (MPPT) for each TEG module and single-stage power conversion between the modules and load can be achieved. It offers the benefit of implementing high MPPT efficiency and high conversion efficiency simultaneously. A 50-W TEG system composed of two TEG modules is built and tested. Experimental results show that the proposed hybrid power conditioning architecture generates up to 5% more energy for a temperature difference between the two modules of only 10°C.