A Finite Volume Analysis of Thermoelectric Generators |
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| Authors: | Björn Pfeiffelmann Ali Cemal Benim Franz Joos |
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| Affiliation: | 1. Center of Flow Simulation (CFS), Department of Mechanical and Process Engineering, Düsseldorf University of Applied Sciences, Düsseldorf, Germanybjoern.pfeiffelmann@hs-duesseldorf.de;3. Center of Flow Simulation (CFS), Department of Mechanical and Process Engineering, Düsseldorf University of Applied Sciences, Düsseldorf, Germany;4. Department of Mechanical Engineering, Institute of Thermal Power Engineering, Cracow University of Technology, Cracow, Poland;5. Laboratory of Turbomachinery, Department of Mechanical Engineering, Helmut Schmidt University, Hamburg, Germany |
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| Abstract: | ABSTRACTThe electric power produced by a thermoelectric generator (TEG) is strongly influenced by the applied heat sink. While a TEG is aimed at harvesting waste heat, the optimization of the efficiency of the heat sink is a key task for the design of waste heat recovery systems implementing TEG. A TEG model is proposed and implemented in an open source toolbox for field operation and manipulation (OpenFOAM) for the purpose of performing optimizations of the heat sink, using a commercially available TEG as basis. This model includes the multi-physics thermoelectric coupled effects. Conservation principles of energy and current are considered simultaneously. This includes the thermal and electric conduction, Seebeck effect, Peltier effect, Thomson effect, and Joule heating. Particular attention is given to a proper modeling of the boundary conditions. The thermoelectric model is implemented in such a way that it can readily be combined with other physical models in OpenFOAM. The model is validated by comparing the predictions to analytical results, measurements as well as the simulation data of other authors. |
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