Oriented mosaic model analysis of anisotropic thermoelectric properties of heterogeneous materials

Thermoelectric properties of heterogeneous materials are discussed in terms of a randomly oriented rectangular plate-like mosaic of anisotropic crystalline grains embedded in a homogeneous host material. Anisotropies in effective thermoelectric parameters and the values of thermoelectric parameters can be related to the mean orientation of the plate-like grains which, in turn, can be related to the orientation factor of Lotgering. They are also functions of various parameters such as dimension ratios , and of electrical resistivities, thermal conductivities, and the Seebeck coefficient, respectively, of grains to those of host medium. Use of f-dependent anisotropies in conjunction with relative magnitudes of electrical and thermal conductivities as well as of the Seebeck coefficient, allows , and to be estimated, which characterize the intergranular medium.