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Sample records for application thermoelectric micro

  1. Special Application Thermoelectric Micro Isotope Power Sources

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Heshmatpour, Ben; Lieberman, Al; Khayat, Mo; Leanna, Andrew; Dobry, Ted

    2008-01-01

    Promising design concepts for milliwatt (mW) size micro isotope power sources (MIPS) are being sought for use in various space and terrestrial applications, including a multitude of future NASA scientific missions and a range of military applications. To date, the radioisotope power sources (RPS) used on various space and terrestrial programs have provided power levels ranging from one-half to several hundred watts. In recent years, the increased use of smaller spacecraft and planned new scientific space missions by NASA, special terrestrial and military applications suggest the need for lower power, including mW level, radioisotope power sources. These power sources have the potential to enable such applications as long-lived meteorological or seismological stations distributed across planetary surfaces, surface probes, deep space micro-spacecraft and sub-satellites, terrestrial sensors, transmitters, and micro-electromechanical systems. The power requirements are in the range of 1 mW to several hundred mW. The primary technical requirements for space applications are long life, high reliability, high specific power, and high power density, and those for some special military uses are very high power density, specific power, reliability, low radiological induced degradation, and very low radiation leakage. Thermoelectric conversion is of particular interest because of its technological maturity and proven reliability. This paper summarizes the thermoelectric, thermal, and radioisotope heat source designs and presents the corresponding performance for a number of mW size thermoelectric micro isotope power sources

  2. Thermoelectric generators: A review of applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Champier, Daniel

    2017-01-01

    Highlights: • This paper reviews the state of the art of thermoelectric generators. • The latest thermoelectric modules are introduced. • Waste heat recovery in transport and industry with thermoelectric generators. • Domestic and industrial applications of thermoelectric generators. • Thermoelectric generators in space, micro-generation and solar conversion. - Abstract: In past centuries, men have mainly looked to increase their production of energy in order to develop their industry, means of transport and quality of life. Since the recent energy crisis, researchers and industrials have looked mainly to manage energy in a better way, especially by increasing energy system efficiency. This context explains the growing interest for thermoelectric generators. Today, thermoelectric generators allow lost thermal energy to be recovered, energy to be produced in extreme environments, electric power to be generated in remote areas and microsensors to be powered. Direct solar thermal energy can also be used to produce electricity. This review begins with the basic principles of thermoelectricity and a presentation of existing and future materials. Design and optimization of generators are addressed. Finally in this paper, we developed an exhaustive presentation of thermoelectric generation applications covering electricity generation in extreme environments, waste heat recovery in transport and industry, domestic production in developing and developed countries, micro-generation for sensors and microelectronics and solar thermoelectric generators. Many recent applications are presented, as well as the future applications which are currently being studied in research laboratories or in industry. The main purpose of this paper is to clearly demonstrate that, almost anywhere in industry or in domestic uses, it is worth checking whether a TEG can be added whenever heat is moving from a hot source to a cold source.

  3. High-performance nanostructured thermoelectric generators for micro combined heat and power systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang, Yanliang; Wang, Xiaowei; Cleary, Martin; Schoensee, Luke; Kempf, Nicholas; Richardson, Joseph

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • A TEG is fabricated using high-efficiency nanostructured thermoelectric materials. • The TEG produces high power density of 2.1 W/cm"2 with 5.3% electrical efficiency. • A micro-CHP system is demonstrated by integrating the TEG into a gas-fired boiler. - Graphical Abstract: - Abstract: Micro combined heat and power (micro-CHP) systems are promising pathways to increase power generation efficiencies. Here a new class of micro-CHP system without moving parts is experimentally demonstrated by integrating high-temperature thermoelectric generators (TEGs) and residential gas-fired boilers, thus enabling wide applications. The TEGs fabricated using high-efficiency nanostructured bulk half-Heusler alloys generate ultrahigh power density of 2.1 W/cm"2 with 5.3% electrical efficiency under 500 °C temperature differences between the hot and cold sides. The TEG system harnesses the untapped exergy between the combustion gas and water, and converts thermal energy into electric power with 4% heat-to-electricity efficiency based on the total heat input into the TEGs. The high-performance TEGs open lots of opportunities to transform power generation technologies and improve energy efficiency.

  4. The practical performance forecast and analysis of thermoelectric module from macro to micro

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shen, Limei; Chen, Huanxin; Xiao, Fu; Wang, Shengwei

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • We analyze the practical performance of TEMs to meet specific requirements. • The influence of different input power sources are discussed. • The step-change phenomena of thermoelectric cooling are found and discussed. • The influence ratio of hot side heat exchanger and input power source is compared. - Abstract: The practical operating conditions of thermoelectric products, such as the input power source and the thermal resistance of hot side heat exchanger, are different from the theoretical study. Thus the equations, which are used to estimate the practical maximum cooling performance just according to the datum in datasheet of commercial thermoelectric module (TEM), are given. The nested loop method is adopted to solve the numerical model. This study provides a method to choose a suitable TEM for thermoelectric product to meet the application requirement. It finds that the minimum cold side temperature increase and the voltage for achieving the minimum cold side temperature step decrease with the increase of thermal resistance of hot side heat exchanger, respectively. The maximum temperature difference increase and the voltage for achieving the maximum temperature difference step increase with the increase of thermal resistance of hot side heat exchanger, respectively. According to the dimension, three kinds of thermoelectric module, bulk TEM, miniature TEM and micro TEM, are studied. The novel scale effect are discovered by comparing these TEMs. It found that the step-change phenomenon become more and more obvious with the decrease of the dimension of thermoelectric module. The influence ratio of thermal resistance of hot side heat exchanger on the maximum cooling performance increases and the influence ratio of input power source decreases from macro to micro, respectively. It forecasts that there exists a critical value for the dimension of thermoelectric module, when the dimension of thermoelectric module is smaller than this critical

  5. Micro/Nano Fabricated Solid-State Thermoelectric Generator Devices for Integrated High Voltage Power Sources

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fleurial, J.-P.; Ryan, M. A.; Snyder, G. J.; Huang, C.-K.; Whitacre, J. F.; Patel, J.; Lim, J.; Borshchevsky, A.

    2002-01-01

    Deep space missions have a strong need for compact, high power density, reliable and long life electrical power generation and storage under extreme temperature conditions. Except for electrochemical batteries and solar cells, there are currently no available miniaturized power sources. Conventional power generators devices become inefficient in extreme environments (such as encountered in Mars, Venus or outer planet missions) and rechargeable energy storage devices can only be operated in a narrow temperature range thereby limiting mission duration. The planned development of much smaller spacecrafts incorporating a variety of micro/nanodevices and miniature vehicles will require novel, reliable power technologies. It is also expected that such micro power sources could have a wide range of terrestrial applications, in particular when the limited lifetime and environmental limitations of batteries are key factors. Advanced solid-state thermoelectric combined with radioisotope or waste heat sources and low profile energy storage devices are ideally suited for these applications. The Jet Propulsion Laboratory has been actively pursuing the development of thermoelectric micro/nanodevices that can be fabricated using a combination of electrochemical deposition and integrated circuit processing techniques. Some of the technical challenges associated with these micro/nanodevice concepts, their expected level of performance and experimental fabrication and testing results to date are presented and discussed.

  6. Fabrication of a Micro Cooler using Thermoelectric Thin Film

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Han, S. W.; Choi, H. J.; Kim, D. H.; Kim, W. J.; Kim, B. I.; Kim, K. M.

    2007-01-01

    In general a ThermoElectric Cooler (TEC) consists of a series of P type and N type thermoelectric materials sandwiched between two wafers. When a DC current passes through these materials, three different effects take place; Peltier effect, Joule heating effect and heat transfer by conduction due to temperature difference between hot and cold plates. In this study we have developed a micro TEC using Bi2Te3 (N type) and Bi0.5Sb1.5Te3 (P type) thin films. In order to improve that performance of a micro TEC, we made 10 um height TE legs using special PR only for lift-off. We measured COP (coefficient of performance) and temperature difference between hot and cold connectors with current

  7. A comparison of micro-structured flat-plate and cross-cut heat sinks for thermoelectric generation application

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Rezania, Alireza; Rosendahl, L. A.

    2015-01-01

    . In this study, a micro-structured plate-fin heat sink is compared to a modified design of cross-cut heat sink applied to TEGs over a range of temperatures and thermal conductivities. The particular focus of this study is to explore the net power output from the TEG module. The three-dimensional governing...... equations for the flow and heat transfer are solved using computational fluid dynamics (CFD) in conjunction with the thermoelectric characteristics of the TEG over a wide range of flow inlet velocities. The results show that at small flow inlet velocity, the maximum net power output in TEG with plate......Heat sink configuration has strong impact on net power output from thermoelectric generators (TEGs). A weak cooling strategy can even cause negative net power output from the thermoelectric device. However, the net power output can be significantly improved by optimal design of the heat sink...

  8. Nano-Micro Materials Enabled Thermoelectricity From Window Glasses

    KAUST Repository

    Inayat, Salman Bin

    2012-11-03

    With growing world population and decreasing fossil fuel reserves we need to explore and utilize variety of renewable and clean energy sources to meet the imminent challenge of energy crisis. Solar energy is considered as the leading promising alternate energy source with the pertinent challenge of off sunshine period and uneven worldwide distribution of usable sun light. Although thermoelectricity is considered as a reasonable energy harvester from wasted heat, its mass scale usage is yet to be developed. By transforming window glasses into generators of thermoelectricity, this doctoral work explores engineering aspects of using the temperature gradient between the hot outdoor heated by the sun and the relatively cold indoor of a building for mass scale energy generation. In order to utilize the two counter temperature environments simultaneously, variety of techniques, including: a) insertion of basic metals like copper and nickel wire, b) sputtering of thermoelectric films on side walls of individual glass strips to form the thickness depth of the glass on subsequent curing of the strips, and c) embedding nano-manufactured thermoelectric pillars, have been implemented for innovative integration of thermoelectric materials into window glasses. The practical demonstration of thermoelectric windows has been validated using a finite element model to predict the behavior of thermoelectric window under variety of varying conditions. MEMS based characterization platform has been fabricated for thermoelectric characterization of thin films employing van der Pauw and four probe modules. Enhancement of thermoelectric properties of the nano- manufactured pillars due to nano-structuring, achieved through mechanical alloying of micro-sized thermoelectric powders, has been explored. Modulation of thermoelectric properties of the nano-structured thermoelectric pillars by addition of sulfur to nano-powder matrix has also been investigated in detail. Using the best possible p

  9. Thermoelectric mini cooler coupled with micro thermosiphon for CPU cooling system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu, Di; Zhao, Fu-Yun; Yang, Hong-Xing; Tang, Guang-Fa

    2015-01-01

    In the present study, a thermoelectric mini cooler coupling with a micro thermosiphon cooling system has been proposed for the purpose of CPU cooling. A mathematical model of heat transfer, depending on one-dimensional treatment of thermal and electric power, is firstly established for the thermoelectric module. Analytical results demonstrate the relationship between the maximal COP (Coefficient of Performance) and Q c with the figure of merit. Full-scale experiments have been conducted to investigate the effect of thermoelectric operating voltage, power input of heat source, and thermoelectric module number on the performance of the cooling system. Experimental results indicated that the cooling production increases with promotion of thermoelectric operating voltage. Surface temperature of CPU heat source linearly increases with increasing of power input, and its maximum value reached 70 °C as the prototype CPU power input was equivalent to 84 W. Insulation between air and heat source surface can prevent the condensate water due to low surface temperature. In addition, thermal performance of this cooling system could be enhanced when the total dimension of thermoelectric module matched well with the dimension of CPU. This research could benefit the design of thermal dissipation of electronic chips and CPU units. - Highlights: • A cooling system coupled with thermoelectric module and loop thermosiphon is developed. • Thermoelectric module coupled with loop thermosiphon can achieve high heat-transfer efficiency. • A mathematical model of thermoelectric cooling is built. • An analysis of modeling results for design and experimental data are presented. • Influence of power input and operating voltage on the cooling system are researched

  10. A review of thermoelectric cooling: Materials, modeling and applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhao, Dongliang; Tan, Gang

    2014-01-01

    This study reviews the recent advances of thermoelectric materials, modeling approaches, and applications. Thermoelectric cooling systems have advantages over conventional cooling devices, including compact in size, light in weight, high reliability, no mechanical moving parts, no working fluid, being powered by direct current, and easily switching between cooling and heating modes. In this study, historical development of thermoelectric cooling has been briefly introduced first. Next, the development of thermoelectric materials has been given and the achievements in past decade have been summarized. To improve thermoelectric cooling system's performance, the modeling techniques have been described for both the thermoelement modeling and thermoelectric cooler (TEC) modeling including standard simplified energy equilibrium model, one-dimensional and three-dimensional models, and numerical compact model. Finally, the thermoelectric cooling applications have been reviewed in aspects of domestic refrigeration, electronic cooling, scientific application, and automobile air conditioning and seat temperature control, with summaries for the commercially available thermoelectric modules and thermoelectric refrigerators. It is expected that this study will be beneficial to thermoelectric cooling system design, simulation, and analysis. - Highlights: •Thermoelectric cooling has great prospects with thermoelectric material's advances. •Modeling techniques for both thermoelement and TEC have been reviewed. •Principle thermoelectric cooling applications have been reviewed and summarized

  11. Thermoelectricity: materials and applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Elberg, S.; Mathonnet, P.

    1975-01-01

    After a brief recall of the basic principles of thermoelectricity, the essential characteristics intervening in the different thermoelectric devices operating modes are defined. Properties of the materials the most used nowadays and performances of the apparatus that they allow to realize are indicated. Advantages and drawbacks of the principal applications in the form of electrical generators, refrigerators and heat pumps are pointed out [fr

  12. Critical review of thermoelectrics in modern power generation applications

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Saqr Khalid M.

    2009-01-01

    Full Text Available The thermoelectric complementary effects have been discovered in the nineteenth century. However, their role in engineering applications has been very limited until the first half of the twentieth century, the beginning of space exploration era. Radioisotope thermoelectric generators have been the actual motive for the research community to develop efficient, reliable and advanced thermoelectrics. The efficiency of thermoelectric materials has been doubled several times during the past three decades. Nevertheless, there are numerous challenges to be resolved in order to develop thermoelectric systems for our modern applications. This paper discusses the recent advances in thermoelectric power systems and sheds the light on the main problematic concerns which confront contemporary research efforts in that field.

  13. Laser deposition and direct-writing of thermoelectric misfit cobaltite thin films

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Jikun; Palla-Papavlu, Alexandra; Li, Yulong; Chen, Lidong; Shi, Xun; Döbeli, Max; Stender, Dieter; Populoh, Sascha; Xie, Wenjie; Weidenkaff, Anke; Schneider, Christof W.; Wokaun, Alexander; Lippert, Thomas

    2014-06-01

    A two-step process combining pulsed laser deposition of calcium cobaltite thin films and a subsequent laser induced forward transfer as micro-pixel is demonstrated as a direct writing approach of micro-scale thin film structures for potential applications in thermoelectric micro-devices. To achieve the desired thermo-electric properties of the cobaltite thin film, the laser induced plasma properties have been characterized utilizing plasma mass spectrometry establishing a direct correlation to the corresponding film composition and structure. The introduction of a platinum sacrificial layer when growing the oxide thin film enables a damage-free laser transfer of calcium cobaltite thereby preserving the film composition and crystallinity as well as the shape integrity of the as-transferred pixels. The demonstrated direct writing approach simplifies the fabrication of micro-devices and provides a large degree of flexibility in designing and fabricating fully functional thermoelectric micro-devices.

  14. Development of Perovskite-Type Materials for Thermoelectric Application

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Tingjun Wu

    2018-06-01

    Full Text Available Oxide perovskite materials have a long history of being investigated for thermoelectric applications. Compared to the state-of-the-art tin and lead chalcogenides, these perovskite compounds have advantages of low toxicity, eco-friendliness, and high elemental abundance. However, because of low electrical conductivity and high thermal conductivity, the total thermoelectric performance of oxide perovskites is relatively poor. Variety of methods were used to enhance the TE properties of oxide perovskite materials, such as doping, inducing oxygen vacancy, embedding crystal imperfection, and so on. Recently, hybrid perovskite materials started to draw attention for thermoelectric application. Due to the low thermal conductivity and high Seebeck coefficient feature of hybrid perovskites materials, they can be promising thermoelectric materials and hold the potential for the application of wearable energy generators and cooling devices. This mini-review will build a bridge between oxide perovskites and burgeoning hybrid halide perovskites in the research of thermoelectric properties with an aim to further enhance the relevant performance of perovskite-type materials.

  15. Inline chemical process analysis in micro-plants based on thermoelectric flow and impedimetric sensors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jacobs, T; Kutzner, C; Hauptmann, P; Kropp, M; Lang, W; Brokmann, G; Steinke, A; Kienle, A

    2010-01-01

    In micro-plants, as used in chemical micro-process engineering, an integrated inline analytics is regarded as an important factor for the development and optimization of chemical processes. Up to now, there is a lack of sensitive, robust and low-priced micro-sensors for monitoring mixing and chemical conversion in micro-fluidic channels. In this paper a novel sensor system combining an impedimetric sensor and a novel pressure stable thermoelectric flow sensor for monitoring chemical reactions in micro-plants is presented. The CMOS-technology-based impedimetric sensor mainly consists of two capacitively coupled interdigital electrodes on a silicon chip. The thermoelectric flow sensor consists of a heater in between two thermopiles on a perforated membrane. The pulsed and constant current feeds of the heater were analyzed. Both sensors enable the analysis of chemical conversion by means of changes in the thermal and electrical properties of the liquid. The homogeneously catalyzed synthesis of n-butyl acetate as a chemical model system was studied. Experimental results revealed that in an overpressure regime, relative changes of less than 1% in terms of thermal and electrical properties can be detected. Furthermore, the transition from one to two liquid phases accompanied by the change in slug flow conditions could be reproducibly detected

  16. Thermoelectric cooling of microelectronic circuits and waste heat electrical power generation in a desktop personal computer

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gould, C.A.; Shammas, N.Y.A.; Grainger, S.; Taylor, I.

    2011-01-01

    Thermoelectric cooling and micro-power generation from waste heat within a standard desktop computer has been demonstrated. A thermoelectric test system has been designed and constructed, with typical test results presented for thermoelectric cooling and micro-power generation when the computer is executing a number of different applications. A thermoelectric module, operating as a heat pump, can lower the operating temperature of the computer's microprocessor and graphics processor to temperatures below ambient conditions. A small amount of electrical power, typically in the micro-watt or milli-watt range, can be generated by a thermoelectric module attached to the outside of the computer's standard heat sink assembly, when a secondary heat sink is attached to the other side of the thermoelectric module. Maximum electrical power can be generated by the thermoelectric module when a water cooled heat sink is used as the secondary heat sink, as this produces the greatest temperature difference between both sides of the module.

  17. Investigation of mesoporous structures for thermoelectric applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cojocaru, A.; Carstensen, J.; Foell, H.; Boor, J.; Schmidt, V.

    2011-01-01

    Mesoporous silicon is an attractive material for thermoelectric application. For pore wall thicknesses around <100 nm, phonons can not penetrate the porous layer while electrons still can, due to there smaller mean free path length. The resulting good electrical and bad thermal conductivity is a premise for efficient thermoelectric devices. This paper presents results regarding homogeneity, high porosity, and optimal pore wall thicknesses for porous silicon based thermoelectric devices.

  18. Benchmarking of a novel contactless characterisation method for micro thermoelectric modules (μTEMs)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Hickey, S; Punch, J; Jeffers, N

    2014-01-01

    Significant challenges exist in the thermal control of Photonics Integrated Circuits (PICs) for use in optical communications. Increasing component density coupled with greater functionality is leading to higher device-level heat fluxes, stretching the capabilities of conventional cooling methods using thermoelectric modules (TEMs). A tailored thermal control solution incorporating micro thermoelectric modules (μTEMs) to individually address hotspots within PICs could provide an energy efficient alternative to existing control methods. Performance characterisation is required to establish the suitability of commercially-available μTEMs for the operating conditions in current and next generation PICs. The objective of this paper is to outline a novel method for the characterisation of thermoelectric modules (TEMs), which utilises infra-red (IR) heat transfer and temperature measurement to obviate the need for mechanical stress on the upper surface of low compression tolerance (∼0.5N) μTEMs. The method is benchmarked using a commercially-available macro scale TEM, comparing experimental data to the manufacturer's performance data sheet.

  19. Benchmarking of a novel contactless characterisation method for micro thermoelectric modules (μTEMs)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hickey, S.; Punch, J.; Jeffers, N.

    2014-07-01

    Significant challenges exist in the thermal control of Photonics Integrated Circuits (PICs) for use in optical communications. Increasing component density coupled with greater functionality is leading to higher device-level heat fluxes, stretching the capabilities of conventional cooling methods using thermoelectric modules (TEMs). A tailored thermal control solution incorporating micro thermoelectric modules (μTEMs) to individually address hotspots within PICs could provide an energy efficient alternative to existing control methods. Performance characterisation is required to establish the suitability of commercially-available μTEMs for the operating conditions in current and next generation PICs. The objective of this paper is to outline a novel method for the characterisation of thermoelectric modules (TEMs), which utilises infra-red (IR) heat transfer and temperature measurement to obviate the need for mechanical stress on the upper surface of low compression tolerance (~0.5N) μTEMs. The method is benchmarked using a commercially-available macro scale TEM, comparing experimental data to the manufacturer's performance data sheet.

  20. Model Thermoelectric Generator TEG Small Modular As Micro Electricity Plant At Indonesia Part 1 Design And Material

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Kisman M. Mahmud

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available Thermoelectrically Generator TEG can generate electricity from the temperature difference between hot and cold at the junction thermoelectric module with two different semiconductor materials there will be a flow of current through the junction so as to produce a voltage. This principle uses the Seebeck effect thermoelectric generator as a base. By using these principles this study was conducted to determine the potential of the electric energy of the two Peltier modules which would be an alternative source for micro electricity plant using heat from methylated. The focus of this research is to design a model TEG Thermoelectric Generator Small Modular to produce the kind of material that is optimum for a TEG on the simulation Computer Aided Design CAD with a variety of four different materials that Bi2Te3 Bismuth Telluride PbTe-BiTe CMO-32 -62S Cascade and CMO-32-62S Calcium Manganese Oxide to its cold side using the heat sink fan and simulating heat aluminum plate attached to the hot side of the TEG modules with heat source of methylated. Model simulation results on TEG Small Modular micro electrical plant material obtained CMO-32-62S Cascade thermal material that has a value greater than 3 other material.

  1. Thermoelectric nanomaterials materials design and applications

    CERN Document Server

    Koumoto, Kunihito

    2014-01-01

    Presently, there is an intense race throughout the world to develop good enough thermoelectric materials which can be used in wide scale applications. This book focuses comprehensively on very recent up-to-date breakthroughs in thermoelectrics utilizing nanomaterials and methods based in nanoscience. Importantly, it provides the readers with methodology and concepts utilizing atomic scale and nanoscale materials design (such as superlattice structuring, atomic network structuring and properties control, electron correlation design, low dimensionality, nanostructuring, etc.). Furthermore, also

  2. Review—Micro and Nano-Engineering Enabled New Generation of Thermoelectric Generator Devices and Applications

    KAUST Repository

    Rojas, Jhonathan P.

    2017-01-13

    As we are advancing our world to smart living, a critical challenge is increasingly pressing - increased energy demand. While we need mega power supplies for running data centers and other emerging applications, we also need instant small- scale power supply for trillions of electronics that we are using and will use in the age of Internet of Things (IoT) and Internet of Everything (IoE). Such power supplies must meet some parallel demands: sufficient energy supply in reliable, safe and affordable manner. In that regard, thermoelectric generators emerge as important renewable energy source with great potential to take advantage of the widely-abundant and normally-wasted thermal energy. Thanks to the advancements of nano-engineered materials, thermoelectric generators\\' (TEG) performance and feasibility are gradually improving. However, still innovative engineering solutions are scarce to sufficiently take the TEG performance and functionalities beyond the status-quo. Opportunities exist to integrate them with emerging fields and technologies such as wearable electronics, bio-integrated systems, cybernetics and others. This review will mainly focus on unorthodox but effective engineering solutions to notch up the overall performance of TEGs and broadening their application base. First, nanotechnology\\'s influence in TEGs\\' development will be introduced, followed by a discussion on how the introduction of mechanically reconfigurable devices can shape up the emerging spectrum of novel TEG technologies. (C) The Author(s) 2017. Published by ECS.

  3. Performance evaluation of micro thermoelectric module for hot spot cooling

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Ook Joong; Lee, Kong Hoon

    2008-01-01

    The experimental and numerical study is carried out to investigate the availability of micro TEM for hot spot cooling of an IC chip. It is found that an acrylic plate integrating with copper plate and imbedded micro TEM represents good hot spot cooling of the IC chip when CO2 laser is used to hot spot heating. Effective active local cooling phenomena by the TEM are well investigated by experiment. The measured temperature drop in the hot spot point is compared to numerical result using the TAS program for every case. Numerical result shows good agreement with experiment using some appropriate thermal and thermoelectric properties of TEM and TIM obtained by trial and error. Measurement of thermo-physical properties such as contact thermal resistance and thickness of liquid TIM is difficult but can be estimated by numerical analysis

  4. Thermoelectric microgenerators. Current status and prospects of application

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Strutynska L. T.

    2008-08-01

    Full Text Available Analysis of current status and prospects of using thermoelectric microgenerators, including organic-fueled ones, is performed. Developments of thermoelectric microgenerators presented in this review demonstrate that their increasingly wide use forms a separate, very important line of thermoelectricity – micropower generation with growing potential of practical applications for charging batteries, mobile phones, digital cameras and photocameras, power supply to small radio stations, other portable devices, including medical. The ways of increasing the efficiency of such devices and relevant lines of their wide use in practice are determined.

  5. Nanostructured Thermoelectric Oxides for Energy Harvesting Applications

    KAUST Repository

    Abutaha, Anas I.

    2015-11-24

    As the world strives to adapt to the increasing demand for electrical power, sustainable energy sources are attracting significant interest. Around 60% of energy utilized in the world is wasted as heat. Different industrial processes, home heating, and exhausts in cars, all generate a huge amount of unused waste heat. With such a huge potential, there is also significant interest in discovering inexpensive technologies for power generation from waste heat. As a result, thermoelectric materials have become important for many renewable energy research programs. While significant advancements have been done in improving the thermoelectric properties of the conventional heavy-element based materials (such as Bi2Te3 and PbTe), high-temperature applications of thermoelectrics are still limited to one materials system, namely SiGe, since the traditional thermoelectric materials degrade and oxidize at high temperature. Therefore, oxide thermoelectrics emerge as a promising class of materials since they can operate athigher temperatures and in harsher environments compared to non-oxide thermoelectrics. Furthermore, oxides are abundant and friendly to the environment. Among oxides, crystalline SrTiO3 and ZnO are promising thermoelectric materials. The main objective of this work is therefore to pursue focused investigations of SrTiO3 and ZnO thin films and superlattices grown by pulsed laser deposition (PLD), with the goal of optimizing their thermoelectric properties by following different strategies. First, the effect of laser fluence on the thermoelectric properties of La doped epitaxial SrTiO3 films is discussed. Films grown at higher laser fluences exhibit better thermoelectric performance. Second, the role of crystal orientation in determining the thermoelectric properties of epitaxial Al doped ZnO (AZO) films is explained. Vertically aligned (c-axis) AZO films have superior thermoelectric properties compared to other films with different crystal orientations. Third

  6. Thermoelectric applications as related to biomedical engineering for NASA Johnson Space Center

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kramer, C D

    1997-07-01

    This paper presents current NASA biomedical developments and applications using thermoelectrics. Discussion will include future technology enhancements that would be most beneficial to the application of thermoelectric technology. A great deal of thermoelectric applications have focused on electronic cooling. As with all technological developments within NASA, if the application cannot be related to the average consumer, the technology will not be mass-produced and widely available to the public (a key to research and development expenditures and thermoelectric companies). Included are discussions of thermoelectric applications to cool astronauts during launch and reentry. The earth-based applications, or spin-offs, include such innovations as tank and race car driver cooling, to cooling infants with high temperatures, as well as, the prevention of hair loss during chemotherapy. In order to preserve the scientific value of metabolic samples during long-term space missions, cooling is required to enable scientific studies. Results of one such study should provide a better understanding of osteoporosis and may lead to a possible cure for the disease. In the space environment, noise has to be kept to a minimum. In long-term space applications such as the International Space Station, thermoelectric technology provides the acoustic relief and the reliability for food, as well as, scientific refrigeration/freezers. Applications and future needs are discussed as NASA moves closer to a continued space presence in Mir, International Space Station, and Lunar-Mars Exploration.

  7. Micro scale CHP based on biomass intelligent heat transfer with thermoelectric generators

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Moser, W.; Aigenbauer, S.; Heckmann, M.; Friedl, G. (Austrian Bioenergy Centre GmbH, Wieselburg (Austria)); Hofbauer, H. (Institute of Chemical Engineering, Vienna University of Technology (Austria))

    2007-07-01

    Pellet burners need auxiliary electrical power to provide CO{sub 2} balanced heat in a comfortable and environment friendly way. The idea is to produce this and some extra electricity within the device in order to save resources and to gain operation reliability and independency. An option for micro scale CHP is the usage of thermoelectric generators (TEGs). They allow direct conversion of heat into electrical power. They have the advantage of a long maintenance free durability and noiseless operation without moving parts or any working fluid. The useful heat remains almost unaffected and can still be used for heating. TEGs are predestined for the use in micro scale CHP based on solid biomass. In this paper the first results from the fully integrated prototype are presented. The performance of the TEG was observed for different loads and operating conditions in order to realise an optimised micro scale CHP based on solid biomass. (orig.)

  8. Electrical properties and figures of merit for new chalcogenide-based thermoelectric materials

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Schindler, J L; Hogan, T P; Brazis, P W; Kannewurf, C R; Chung, D Y; Kanatzidis, M G

    1997-07-01

    New Bi-based chalcogenide compounds have been prepared using the polychalcogenide flux technique for crystal growth. These materials exhibit characteristics of good thermoelectric materials. Single crystals of the compound CsBi{sub 4}Te{sub 6} have shown conductivity as high as 2440 S/cm with a p-type thermoelectric power of {approx}+110 {micro}V/K at room temperature. A second compound, {beta}-K{sub 2}Bi{sub 8}Se{sub 13} shows lower conductivity {approx}240 S/cm, but a larger n-type thermopower {approx}{minus}200 {micro}V/K. Thermal transport measurements have been performed on hot-pressed pellets of these materials and the results show comparable or lower thermal conductivities than Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 3}. This improvement may reflect the reduced lattice symmetry of the new chalcogenide thermoelectrics. The thermoelectric figure of merit for CsBi{sub 4}Te{sub 6} reaches ZT {approx} 0.32 at 260 K and for {beta}-K{sub 2}Bi{sub 8}Se{sub 13} ZT {approx} 0.32 at room temperature, indicating that these compounds are viable candidates for thermoelectric refrigeration applications.

  9. Thermoelectric properties control due to doping level and sintering conditions for FGM thermoelectric element

    CERN Document Server

    Kajikawa, T; Shiraishi, K; Ohmori, M; Hirai, T

    1999-01-01

    Thermoelectric performance is determined with three factors, namely, Seebeck coefficient, electrical resistivity and thermal conductivity. For metal and single crystalline semiconductor, those factors have close interrelation each $9 other. However, as the sintered thermoelectric element has various levels of superstructure from macro scale and micro scale in terms of the thermoelectric mechanism, the relationship among them is more complex than that for the $9 melt- grown element, so it is suggested that the control of the temperature dependence of thermoelectric properties is possible to enhance the thermoelectric performance for wide temperature range due to FGM approach. The research $9 objective is to investigate the characteristics of the thermoelectric properties for various doping levels and hot-pressed conditions to make the thermoelectric elements for which the temperature dependence of the performance is $9 controlled due to FGM approach varying the doping levels and sintering conditions. By usage ...

  10. Nano-Micro Materials Enabled Thermoelectricity From Window Glasses

    KAUST Repository

    Inayat, Salman Bin

    2012-01-01

    of individual glass strips to form the thickness depth of the glass on subsequent curing of the strips, and c) embedding nano-manufactured thermoelectric pillars, have been implemented for innovative integration of thermoelectric materials into window glasses

  11. Advanced thermoelectric materials and systems for automotive applications in the next millennium

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Morelli, D T

    1997-07-01

    A combination of environmental, economic, and technological drivers has led to a reassessment of the potential for using thermoelectric devices in several automotive applications. In order for this technology to achieve its ultimate potential, new materials with enhanced thermoelectric properties are required. Experimental results on the fundamental physical properties of some new thermoelectric materials, including filled skutterudites and 1-1-1 intermetallic semiconductors, are presented.

  12. NATO Advanced Research Workshop on New Materials for Thermoelectric Applications

    CERN Document Server

    Hewson, Alex

    2013-01-01

    Thermoelectric devices could play an important role in making efficient use of our energy resources but their efficiency would need to be increased for their wide scale application. There is a multidisciplinary search for materials with an enhanced thermoelectric responses for use in such devices. This volume covers the latest ideas and developments in this research field, covering topics ranging from the fabrication and characterization of new materials, particularly those with strong electron correlation, use of nanostructured, layered materials and composites, through to theoretical work to gain a deeper understanding of thermoelectric behavior. It should be a useful guide and stimulus to all working in this very topical field.

  13. Integration of dispenser-printed ultra-low-voltage thermoelectric and energy storage devices

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang, Z; Chen, A; Winslow, R; Madan, D; Nill, M; Wright, P K; Juang, R C; Evans, J W

    2012-01-01

    This paper reports on an integrated energy harvesting prototype that consists of dispenser-printed thermoelectric energy harvesting and electrochemical energy storage devices. Parallel-connected thermoelectric devices with low internal resistances were designed, fabricated and characterized. The use of a commercially available dc-to-dc converter was explored to step-up a 27.1 mV input voltage from a printed thermoelectric device to a regulated 2.34 V output at a maximum of 34% conversion efficiency. The regulated power succeeds in charging dispenser-printed, zinc-based micro-batteries with charging efficiencies of up to 67%. The prototype presented in this work demonstrates the feasibility of deploying a printable, cost-effective and perpetual power solution for practical wireless sensor network applications. (paper)

  14. Thermoelectric generation coupling methanol steam reforming characteristic in microreactor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang, Feng; Cao, Yiding; Wang, Guoqiang

    2015-01-01

    Thermoelectric (TE) generator converts heat to electric energy by thermoelectric material. However, heat removal on the cold side of the generator represents a serious challenge. To address this problem and for improved energy conversion, a thermoelectric generation process coupled with methanol steam reforming (SR) for hydrogen production is designed and analyzed in this paper. Experimental study on the cold spot character in a micro-reactor with monolayer catalyst bed is first carried out to understand the endothermic nature of the reforming as the thermoelectric cold side. A novel methanol steam reforming micro-reactor heated by waste heat or methanol catalytic combustion for hydrogen production coupled with a thermoelectric generation module is then simulated. Results show that the cold spot effect exists in the catalyst bed under all conditions, and the associated temperature difference first increases and then decreases with the inlet temperature. In the micro-reactor, the temperature difference between the reforming and heating channel outlets decreases rapidly with an increase in thermoelectric material's conductivity coefficient. However, methanol conversion at the reforming outlet is mainly affected by the reactor inlet temperature; while at the combustion outlet, it is mainly affected by the reactor inlet velocity. Due to the strong endothermic effect of the methanol steam reforming, heat supply of both kinds cannot balance the heat needed at reactor local areas, resulting in the cold spot at the reactor inlet. When the temperature difference between the thermoelectric module's hot and cold sides is 22 K, the generator can achieve an output voltage of 55 mV. The corresponding molar fraction of hydrogen can reach about 62.6%, which corresponds to methanol conversion rate of 72.6%. - Highlights: • Cold spot character of methanol steam reforming was studied through experiment. • Thermoelectric generation Coupling MSR process has been

  15. Nanostructured Thermoelectric Oxides for Energy Harvesting Applications

    KAUST Repository

    Abutaha, Anas I.

    2015-01-01

    of thermoelectrics are still limited to one materials system, namely SiGe, since the traditional thermoelectric materials degrade and oxidize at high temperature. Therefore, oxide thermoelectrics emerge as a promising class of materials since they can operate

  16. On-Chip Sensing of Thermoelectric Thin Film’s Merit

    OpenAIRE

    Xiao, Zhigang; Zhu, Xiaoshan

    2015-01-01

    Thermoelectric thin films have been widely explored for thermal-to-electrical energy conversion or solid-state cooling, because they can remove heat from integrated circuit (IC) chips or micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS) devices without involving any moving mechanical parts. In this paper, we report using silicon diode-based temperature sensors and specific thermoelectric devices to characterize the merit of thermoelectric thin films. The silicon diode temperature sensors and thermoelect...

  17. Experimental study of a plat-flame micro combustor burning DME for thermoelectric power generation

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jiang, L.Q.; Zhao, D.Q.; Guo, C.M.; Wang, X.H. [Key Laboratory of Renewable Energy and Gas Hydrate, CAS, Guangzhou Institute of Energy Conversion of CAS, Guangzhou 510640 (China)

    2011-01-15

    A centimeter magnitude thermoelectric (TE) power generation system based on a plat-flame micro combustor burning DME (dimethyl ether) has been developed. The chamber wall of this micro combustor was made of two parallel sintered porous plates which acted as mixture inlet. The main virtue of this combustor is that it can keep combustor wall at lower temperature for reducing heat loss when sustaining a stable flame. Experimental test results showed it was feasible to obtain stable DME/air premixed flame at lean combustion situations in the micro combustor. The combustion load of this 0.48 cm{sup 3} chamber capacity was 20-200 W at equivalence ratio {phi} = 0.6. Though the flame temperature was above 1000 C, the combustor's wall temperature was near 600 C lower than flame temperature. In the demonstrated TE power generation system which integrated the plat-flame micro combustor, a heat spreader had good effect on uniforming the hot side temperature field of TE modules. Cooled by water and with 150 W input power at {phi} = 0.7, the system produced 10 V output at open circuit and 4 V at 10 {omega} load. The maximum power output was above 2 W, and the maximum overall chemical-electric energy conversion efficiency was 1.25%. (author)

  18. Introduction to thermoelectricity

    CERN Document Server

    Goldsmid, H Julian

    2010-01-01

    Introduction to Thermoelectricity is the latest work by Professor Julian Goldsmid drawing on his 55 years experience in the field. The theory of the thermoelectric and related phenomena is presented in sufficient detail to enable researchers to understand their observations and develop improved thermoelectric materials. The methods for the selection of materials and their improvement are discussed. Thermoelectric materials for use in refrigeration and electrical generation are reviewed. Experimental techniques for the measurement of properties and for the production of thermoelements are described. Special emphasis is placed on nanotechnology which promises to yield great improvements in the efficiency of thermoelectric devices. Chapters are also devoted to transverse thermoelectric effects and thermionic energy conversion, both techniques offering the promise of important applications in the future.

  19. Applications of nuclear-powered thermoelectric generators in space

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rowe, D.M.

    1991-01-01

    The source of electrical power which enables information to be transmitted from the space crafts Voyager 1 and 2 back to Earth after a time period of more than a decade and at a distance of more than a billion miles is known as an RTG (radioisotope thermoelectric generator). It utilises the Seebeck effect in producing electricity from heat. In essence it consists of a large number of semiconductor thermocouples connected electrically in series and thermally in parallel. A temperature difference is maintained across the thermocouples by providing a heat source, which in the case of an RTG is a radioactive isotope, and the heat sink is space. The combination of an energy-conversion system, free of moving parts and a long-life, high energy-density heat source, provides a supply of electrical power typically in the range of tens to hundred of watts and which operates reliably over extended periods of time. An electric power source, based upon thermoelectric conversion by which utilises a nuclear reactor as a heat source, has also been deployed in space and a 100-kW system is being developed to provide electrical power to a variety of commercial and military projects including SDI. Developments in thermoelectrics that have taken place in the western world during the past 30 years are primarily due to United States interest and involvement in the exploration of space. This paper reviews US applications of nuclear-powered thermoelectric generators in space. (author)

  20. Thermoelectric micro converters for cooling and energy-scavenging systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Goncalves, L M; Couto, C; Correia, J H; Alpuim, P

    2008-01-01

    This paper describes the fabrication process of thermoelectric microconverters, based on n-type bismuth telluride (Bi 2 Te 3 ) and p-type antimony telluride (Sb 2 Te 3 ) thin films. The films are fabricated by thermal co-evaporation with thermoelectric properties comparable to those reported for the same materials in bulk form (used in conventional macro-scale Peltier modules). The absolute value of the Seebeck coefficient in the range of 150–250 µV K −1 and an in-plane electrical resistivity of 7–15 µΩ m were obtained. The influence of fabrication parameters on thermoelectric properties is reported. The films were patterned by photolithography and wet-etching techniques, using HNO 3 /HCl-based etchants. The influence of composition and concentration of etchants in the lithographic process is reported. A microcooler was fabricated

  1. Review on Polymers for Thermoelectric Applications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Culebras, Mario; Gómez, Clara M; Cantarero, Andrés

    2014-09-18

    In this review, we report the state-of-the-art of polymers in thermoelectricity. Classically, a number of inorganic compounds have been considered as the best thermoelectric materials. Since the prediction of the improvement of the figure of merit by means of electronic confinement in 1993, it has been improved by a factor of 3-4. In the mean time, organic materials, in particular intrinsically conducting polymers, had been considered as competitors of classical thermoelectrics, since their figure of merit has been improved several orders of magnitude in the last few years. We review here the evolution of the figure of merit or the power factor during the last years, and the best candidates to compete with inorganic materials. We also outline the best polymers to substitute classical thermoelectric materials and the advantages they present in comparison with inorganic systems.

  2. Solid State Microchp Based On Thermophotovoltaic And Thermoelectric Conversion

    OpenAIRE

    Worek, William M.; Brown, Christopher; Trojanowski, Rebecca; Butcher, Thomas; Horne, Edward

    2012-01-01

    MicroCHP involves the coproduction of both heat and electric power in (typically) residential heating systems. A range of different energy conversion technologies are currently receiving attention for this application including Stirling engines, internal combustion engines, fuel cells, and Rankine cycles with steam or organic compounds as working fluids. In this work the use of ThermoPhotoVoltaic (TPV) and ThermoElectric (TE) conversion devices either alone or in combination for power product...

  3. Thermoelectricity for future sustainable energy technologies

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Weidenkaff Anke

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Thermoelectricity is a general term for a number of effects describing the direct interconversion of heat and electricity. Thermoelectric devices are therefore promising, environmental-friendly alternatives to conventional power generators or cooling units. Since the mid-90s, research on thermoelectric properties and their applications has steadily increased. In the course of years, the development of high-temperature resistant TE materials and devices has emerged as one of the main areas of interest focusing both on basic research and practical applications. A wide range of innovative and cost-efficient material classes has been studied and their properties improved. This has also led to advances in synthesis and metrology. The paper starts out with thermoelectric history, basic effects underlying thermoelectric conversion and selected examples of application. The main part focuses on thermoelectric materials including an outline of the design rules, a review on the most common materials and the feasibility of improved future high-temperature thermoelectric converters.

  4. Synthesis and characterization of new ceramic thermoelectrics implemented in a thermoelectric oxide module

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Tomeš, P.; Robert, R.; Trottmann, M.; Bocher, L.; Aguirre, M.H.; Bitschi, A.; Hejtmánek, Jiří; Weidenkaff, A.

    2010-01-01

    Roč. 39, č. 9 (2010), 1696-1703 ISSN 0361-5235 Institutional research plan: CEZ:AV0Z10100521 Keywords : thermoelectric materials * perovskites * power generation * oxide ceramics * micro-IR camera measurement Subject RIV: BM - Solid Matter Physics ; Magnetism Impact factor: 1.421, year: 2010

  5. Review on Polymers for Thermoelectric Applications

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Mario Culebras

    2014-09-01

    Full Text Available In this review, we report the state-of-the-art of polymers in thermoelectricity. Classically, a number of inorganic compounds have been considered as the best thermoelectric materials. Since the prediction of the improvement of the figure of merit by means of electronic confinement in 1993, it has been improved by a factor of 3–4. In the mean time, organic materials, in particular intrinsically conducting polymers, had been considered as competitors of classical thermoelectrics, since their figure of merit has been improved several orders of magnitude in the last few years. We review here the evolution of the figure of merit or the power factor during the last years, and the best candidates to compete with inorganic materials. We also outline the best polymers to substitute classical thermoelectric materials and the advantages they present in comparison with inorganic systems.

  6. Thermoelectric infrared imaging sensors for automotive applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hirota, Masaki; Nakajima, Yasushi; Saito, Masanori; Satou, Fuminori; Uchiyama, Makoto

    2004-07-01

    This paper describes three low-cost thermoelectric infrared imaging sensors having a 1,536, 2,304, and 10,800 element thermoelectric focal plane array (FPA) respectively and two experimental automotive application systems. The FPAs are basically fabricated with a conventional IC process and micromachining technologies and have a low cost potential. Among these sensors, the sensor having 2,304 elements provide high responsivity of 5,500 V/W and a very small size with adopting a vacuum-sealed package integrated with a wide-angle ZnS lens. One experimental system incorporated in the Nissan ASV-2 is a blind spot pedestrian warning system that employs four infrared imaging sensors. This system helps alert the driver to the presence of a pedestrian in a blind spot by detecting the infrared radiation emitted from the person"s body. The system can also prevent the vehicle from moving in the direction of the pedestrian. The other is a rearview camera system with an infrared detection function. This system consists of a visible camera and infrared sensors, and it helps alert the driver to the presence of a pedestrian in a rear blind spot. Various issues that will need to be addressed in order to expand the automotive applications of IR imaging sensors in the future are also summarized. This performance is suitable for consumer electronics as well as automotive applications.

  7. Controlling the transmission line shape of molecular t-stubs and potential thermoelectric applications

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Stadler, Robert; Markussen, Troels

    2011-01-01

    Asymmetric line shapes can occur in the transmission function describing electron transport in the vicinity of a minimum caused by quantum interference effects. Such asymmetry can be used to increase the thermoelectric efficiency of molecular junctions. So far, however, asymmetric line shapes hav...... calculations for a variety of t-stub molecules and also address their suitability for thermoelectric applications....

  8. An additive approach to low temperature zero pressure sintering of bismuth antimony telluride thermoelectric materials

    Science.gov (United States)

    Catlin, Glenn C.; Tripathi, Rajesh; Nunes, Geoffrey; Lynch, Philip B.; Jones, Howard D.; Schmitt, Devin C.

    2017-03-01

    This paper presents an additive-based approach to the formulation of thermoelectric materials suitable for screen printing. Such printing processes are a likely route to such thermoelectric applications as micro-generators for wireless sensor networks and medical devices, but require the development of materials that can be sintered at ambient pressure and low temperatures. Using a rapid screening process, we identify the eutectic combination of antimony and tellurium as an additive for bismuth-antimony-telluride that enables good thermoelectric performance without a high pressure step. An optimized composite of 15 weight percent Sb7.5Te92.5 in Bi0.5Sb1.5Te3 is scaled up and formulated into a screen-printable paste. Samples fabricated from this paste achieve a thermoelectric figure of merit (ZT) of 0.74 using a maximum processing temperature of 748 K and a total thermal processing budget of 12 K-hours.

  9. Thermoelectric behavior of conducting polymers: On the possibility of off-diagonal thermoelectricity

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mateeva, N; Niculescu, H; Schlenoff, J; Testardi, L

    1997-07-01

    Non-cubic materials, when structurally aligned, possess sufficient anisotropy to exhibit thermoelectric effects where the electrical and thermal currents are orthogonal (off-diagonal thermoelectricity). The authors discuss the benefits of this form of thermoelectricity for devices and describe a search for suitable properties in the air-stable conducting polymers polyaniline and polypyrrole. They find the simple and general correlation that the logarithm of the electrical conductivity scales linearly with the Seebeck coefficient on doping but with proportionality in excess of the conventional prediction for thermoelectricity. The correlation is unexpected in its universality and unfavorable for thermoelectric applications. A simple model suggests that mobile charges of both signs exist in these polymers, and this leads to reduced thermoelectric efficiency. They also briefly discuss non air-stable polyacetylene, where ambipolar transport does not appear to occur, and where properties seem more favorable for thermoelectricity.

  10. Performance analysis of a waste heat recovery thermoelectric generation system for automotive application

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu, X.; Deng, Y.D.; Li, Z.; Su, C.Q.

    2015-01-01

    Graphical abstract: A new automotive exhaust-based thermoelectric generator and its “four-TEGs” system are constructed, and the performance characteristics of system are discussed through road test and revolving drum test. - Highlights: • The automotive thermoelectric generator system was constructed and studied. • Road test and revolving drum test were used to measure the output power. • A performance of 201.7 V (open circuit voltage)/944 W obtained. - Abstract: Thermoelectric power generators are one of the promising green energy sources. In this case study, an energy-harvesting system which extracts heat from an automotive exhaust pipe and turns the heat into electricity by using thermoelectric power generators (TEGs) has been constructed. The test bench is developed to analysis the performance of TEG system characteristics, which are undertaken to assess the feasibility of automotive applications. Based on the test bench, a new system called “four-TEGs” system is designed and assembled into prototype vehicle called “Warrior”, through the road test and revolving drum test table, characteristics of the system such as hot-side temperature, cold-side temperature, open circuit voltage and power output are studied, and a maximum power of 944 W was obtained, which completely meets the automotive application. The present study shows the promising potential of using this kind of thermoelectric generator for low-temperature waste heat recovery vehicle

  11. Applications of thermoelectric modules on heat flow detection.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leephakpreeda, Thananchai

    2012-03-01

    This paper presents quantitative analysis and practical scenarios of implementation of the thermoelectric module for heat flow detection. Mathematical models of the thermoelectric effects are derived to describe the heat flow from/to the detected media. It is observed that the amount of the heat flow through the thermoelectric module proportionally induces the conduction heat owing to the temperature difference between the hot side and the cold side of the thermoelectric module. In turn, the Seebeck effect takes place in the thermoelectric module where the temperature difference is converted to the electric voltage. Hence, the heat flow from/to the detected media can be observed from both the amount and the polarity of the voltage across the thermoelectric module. Two experiments are demonstrated for viability of the proposed technique by the measurements of the heat flux through the building wall and thermal radiation from the outdoor environment during daytime. Copyright © 2011 ISA. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

  12. Hydrogenated Nano-/Micro-Crystalline Silicon Thin-Films for Thermoelectrics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Acosta, E.; Wight, N. M.; Smirnov, V.; Buckman, J.; Bennett, N. S.

    2018-06-01

    Thermoelectric technology has not yet been able to reach full-scale market penetration partly because most commercial materials employed are scarce/costly, environmentally unfriendly and in addition provide low conversion efficiency. The necessity to tackle some of these hurdles leads us to investigate the suitability of n-type hydrogenated microcrystalline silicon (μc-Si: H) in the fabrication of thermoelectric devices, produced by plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition (PECVD), which is a mature process of proven scalability. This study reports an approach to optimise the thermoelectric power factor (PF) by varying the dopant concentration by means of post-annealing without impacting film morphology, at least for temperatures below 550°C. Results show an improvement in PF of more than 80%, which is driven by a noticeable increase of carrier mobility and Seebeck coefficient in spite of a reduction in carrier concentration. A PF of 2.08 × 10-4 W/mK2 at room temperature is reported for n-type films of 1 μm thickness, which is in line with the best values reported in recent literature for similar structures.

  13. Hydrogenated Nano-/Micro-Crystalline Silicon Thin-Films for Thermoelectrics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Acosta, E.; Wight, N. M.; Smirnov, V.; Buckman, J.; Bennett, N. S.

    2017-11-01

    Thermoelectric technology has not yet been able to reach full-scale market penetration partly because most commercial materials employed are scarce/costly, environmentally unfriendly and in addition provide low conversion efficiency. The necessity to tackle some of these hurdles leads us to investigate the suitability of n-type hydrogenated microcrystalline silicon (μc-Si: H) in the fabrication of thermoelectric devices, produced by plasma enhanced chemical vapour deposition (PECVD), which is a mature process of proven scalability. This study reports an approach to optimise the thermoelectric power factor (PF) by varying the dopant concentration by means of post-annealing without impacting film morphology, at least for temperatures below 550°C. Results show an improvement in PF of more than 80%, which is driven by a noticeable increase of carrier mobility and Seebeck coefficient in spite of a reduction in carrier concentration. A PF of 2.08 × 10-4 W/mK2 at room temperature is reported for n-type films of 1 μm thickness, which is in line with the best values reported in recent literature for similar structures.

  14. Flexible Thermoelectric Generators on Silicon Fabric

    KAUST Repository

    Sevilla, Galo T.

    2012-11-01

    In this work, the development of a Thermoelectric Generator on Flexible Silicon Fabric is explored to extend silicon electronics for flexible platforms. Low cost, easily deployable plastic based flexible electronics are of great interest for smart textile, wearable electronics and many other exciting applications. However, low thermal budget processing and fundamentally limited electron mobility hinders its potential to be competitive with well established and highly developed silicon technology. The use of silicon in flexible electronics involve expensive and abrasive materials and processes. In this work, high performance flexible thermoelectric energy harvesters are demonstrated from low cost bulk silicon (100) wafers. The fabrication of the micro- harvesters was done using existing silicon processes on silicon (100) and then peeled them off from the original substrate leaving it for reuse. Peeled off silicon has 3.6% thickness of bulk silicon reducing the thermal loss significantly and generating nearly 30% more output power than unpeeled harvesters. The demonstrated generic batch processing shows a pragmatic way of peeling off a whole silicon circuitry after conventional fabrication on bulk silicon wafers for extremely deformable high performance integrated electronics. In summary, by using a novel, low cost process, this work has successfully integrated existing and highly developed fabrication techniques to introduce a flexible energy harvester for sustainable applications.

  15. semiconducting nanostructures: morphology and thermoelectric properties

    Science.gov (United States)

    Culebras, Mario; Torán, Raquel; Gómez, Clara M.; Cantarero, Andrés

    2014-08-01

    Semiconducting metallic oxides, especially perosvkite materials, are great candidates for thermoelectric applications due to several advantages over traditionally metallic alloys such as low production costs and high chemical stability at high temperatures. Nanostructuration can be the key to develop highly efficient thermoelectric materials. In this work, La 1- x Ca x MnO 3 perosvkite nanostructures with Ca as a dopant have been synthesized by the hydrothermal method to be used in thermoelectric applications at room temperature. Several heat treatments have been made in all samples, leading to a change in their morphology and thermoelectric properties. The best thermoelectric efficiency has been obtained for a Ca content of x=0.5. The electrical conductivity and Seebeck coefficient are strongly related to the calcium content.

  16. Crystallization and Thermoelectric Transport in Semiconductor Micro- and Nanostructures Under Extreme Conditions

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gokirmak, Ali [Univ. of Connecticut, Storrs, CT (United States); Silva, Helena [Univ. of Connecticut, Storrs, CT (United States)

    2017-08-30

    This project focused on thermoelectric transport in semiconductor micro and nanostructures where moderate and typical operating voltages and currents lead to extreme thermal gradients and current densities. Models that describe behavior of semiconducting materials typically assume an equilibrium condition or slight deviations from it. In these cases the generation-recombination processes are assumed to have reached a local equilibrium for a given temperature. Hence, free carrier concentrations and their mobilities, band-gap, thermal conductivity, thermoelectric properties, mobility of atoms and mechanical properties of the material, can be described as a function of temperature. In the case of PN junctions under electrical bias, carrier concentrations can change up to ~ 1020 cm-3 and a drift-diffusion approximation is typically used to obtain the carrier concentrations while assuming that the material properties do not change. In non-equilibrium conditions, the assumption that the material properties remain the same may not be valid. While the increased conduction-band electron concentration may not have a drastic effect on the material, large hole concentration is expected to soften the material as ‘a hole’ comes into existence as a broken bond in the lattice. As the hole density approaches 1022 cm-3, the number of bonds holding the lattice together is significantly reduced, making it easier to break additional bonds, reduce band-gap and inhibit phonon transport. As these holes move away from where they were generated, local properties are expected to deviate significantly from the equilibrium case. Hence, temperature alone is not sufficient to describe the behavior of the material. The behavior of the solid material close to a molten region (liquid-solid interfaces) is also expected to deviate from the equilibrium case as a function of hole injection rate, which can be drastically increased or decreased in the presence of an electric field. In the past years

  17. The Effects of Doping and Processing on the Thermoelectric Properties of Platinum Diantimonide Based Materials for Cryogenic Peltier Cooling Applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Waldrop, Spencer Laine

    The study of thermoelectrics is nearly two centuries old. In that time a large number of applications have been discovered for these materials which are capable of transforming thermal energy into electricity or using electrical work to create a thermal gradient. Current use of thermoelectric materials is in very niche applications with contemporary focus being upon their capability to recover waste heat. A relatively undeveloped region for thermoelectric application is focused upon Peltier cooling at low temperatures. Materials based on bismuth telluride semiconductors have been the gold standard for close to room temperature applications for over sixty years. For applications below room temperature, semiconductors based on bismuth antimony reign supreme with few other possible materials. The cause of this diculty in developing new, higher performing materials is due to the interplay of the thermoelectric properties of these materials. The Seebeck coecient, which characterizes the phenomenon of the conversion of heat to electricity, the electrical conductivity, and the thermal conductivity are all interconnected properties of a material which must be optimized to generate a high performance thermoelectric material. While for above room temperature applications many advancements have been made in the creation of highly ecient thermoelectric materials, the below room temperature regime has been stymied by ill-suited properties, low operating temperatures, and a lack of research. The focus of this work has been to investigate and optimize the thermoelectric properties of platinum diantimonide, PtSb2, a nearly zero gap semiconductor. The electronic properties of PtSb2 are very favorable for cryogenic Peltier applications, as it exhibits good conductivity and large Seebeck coecient below 200 K. It is shown that both n- and p-type doping may be applied to this compound to further improve its electronic properties. Through both solid solution formation and processing

  18. Thermoelectric cooling container for medical applications

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Aivazov, A A; Shtern, Y I; Budaguan, B G; Makhrachev, K B; Pastor, M

    1997-07-01

    In this work the thermoelectric cooling container for storing and transportation of the medicine, particularly for insulin, is discussed. In the working volume the temperature is supported on the level of +4 C. The container can work in two operating conditions: with the power supply and without the power supply. Two removable blocks are used for this purpose. One block (thermoelectric) is used for the work with the power supply and another (passive)-for the work without power supply. The thermoelectric block has a 12V power supply, which is used in the automobiles, yachts and other kinds of transport. The temperature in the working volume is supported by the use of the Peltier effect. An electronic device is used in this block and stabilizes temperature on the level of +4 C and indicates information about working conditions. The thermoelectric container has a power supply block for work at 220(110)V. The working temperature in the container can be maintained in the absence of the power supply. In this case the necessary temperature conditions are supported by melting of the crystallized salt. For this purpose the container has a hermetic volume containing this salt and contacting with the working volume.

  19. Preparation and thermoelectric properties of RF co-sputtered CoSb{sub 3} skutteruddite thin films

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ahmed, Aziz [University of Science and Technology, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); Han, Seungwoo [Korea Institute of Machinery and Materials, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of); University of Science and Technology, Daejeon (Korea, Republic of)

    2014-11-15

    Various skutterudites have been under investigation because of their potential application in thermoelectric materials and devices. These studies indicate that bulk materials with a skutterudite type structure show reasonable thermoelectric behaviors at elevated temperatures, which make them suitable for high-temperature thermoelectric applications. The results of thermoelectric-property measurements on skutterudite-phase CoSb{sub 3} thin films are presented in this study in order to extend the bulk material concept to micro-device applications by using thin film deposition technology. Thin films are deposited on oxidized silicon substrates by using the RF co-sputtering method. The film's composition is found to depend strongly on the deposition conditions. The temperature at which the deposited films transition from an amorphous state to a crystalline state has been reported to be about 153 .deg. C. Therefore, some experiments are performed with the substrate temperature kept at 200 .deg. C to obtain polycrystalline films. The crystal structure of the film is evaluated by using x-ray diffraction (XRD) measurements. Energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS) is used to determine the film's composition whereas the surface morphology and the thickness are investigated and measured by using scanning electron microscopy (SEM). Finally, the thermoelectric properties, namely, the electrical resistivity and the Seebeck coefficient, are used to calculate the power factor of the deposited thin films and, their variations with temperature are measured. We report a maximum power factor of 0.41 mW/mK{sup 2} for the film deposited at a 200 .deg. C substrate temperature.

  20. Performance Investigation of an Exhaust Thermoelectric Generator for Military SUV Application

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Rui Quan

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available To analyze the thermoelectric power generation for sports utility vehicle (SUV application, a novel thermoelectric generator (TEG based on low-temperature Bi2Te3 thermoelectric modules (TEMs and a chaos-shaped brass heat exchanger is constructed. The temperature distribution of the TEG is analyzed based on an experimental setup, and the temperature uniformity optimization method is performed by chipping peak off and filling valley is taken to validate the improved output power. An automobile exhaust thermoelectric generator (AETEG using four TEGs connected thermally in parallel and electrically in series is assembled into a prototype military SUV, its temperature distribution, output voltage, output power, system efficiency, inner resistance, and backpressure is analyzed, and several important influencing factors such as vehicle speed, clamping pressure, engine coolant flow rate, and ambient temperature on its output performance are tested. Experimental results demonstrate that higher vehicle speed, larger clamping pressure, faster engine coolant flow rate and lower ambient temperature can enhance the overall output performance, but the ambient temperature and coolant flow rate are less significant. The maximum output power of AETEG is 646.26 W, the corresponding conversion efficiency is 1.03%, and the increased backpressure changes from 1681 Pa to 1807 Pa when the highest vehicle speed is 125 km/h.

  1. Simple experiments with a thermoelectric module

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kraftmakher, Yaakov

    2005-01-01

    The Seebeck and Peltier effects are explored with a commercially available thermoelectric module and a data-acquisition system. Five topics are presented: (i) thermoelectric heating and cooling, (ii) the Seebeck coefficient, (iii) efficiency of a thermoelectric generator, (iv) the maximum temperature difference provided by a thermoelectric cooler and (v) the Peltier coefficient and the coefficient of performance. Using a data-acquisition system, the measurements are carried out in a reasonably short time. It is shown how to deduce quantities important for the theory and applications of thermoelectric devices

  2. Thermoelectricity in liquid crystals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mohd Said, Suhana; Nordin, Abdul Rahman; Abdullah, Norbani; Balamurugan, S.

    2015-09-01

    The thermoelectric effect, also known as the Seebeck effect, describes the conversion of a temperature gradient into electricity. A Figure of Merit (ZT) is used to describe the thermoelectric ability of a material. It is directly dependent on its Seebeck coefficient and electrical conductivity, and inversely dependent on its thermal conductivity. There is usually a compromise between these parameters, which limit the performance of thermoelectric materials. The current achievement for ZT~2.2 falls short of the expected threshold of ZT=3 to allow its viability in commercial applications. In recent times, advances in organic thermoelectrics been significant, improving by over 3 orders of magnitude over a period of about 10 years. Liquid crystals are newly investigated as candidate thermoelectric materials, given their low thermal conductivity, inherent ordering, and in some cases, reasonable electrical conductivity. In this work the thermoelectric behaviour of a discotic liquid crystal, is discussed. The DLC was filled into cells coated with a charge injector, and an alignment of the columnar axis perpendicular to the substrate was allowed to form. This thermoelectric behavior can be correlated to the order-disorder transition. A reasonable thermoelectric power in the liquid crystal temperature regime was noted. In summary, thermoelectric liquid crystals may have the potential to be utilised in flexible devices, as a standalone power source.

  3. Thermoelectric Energy Conversion: Materials, Devices, and Systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chen, Gang

    2015-01-01

    This paper will present a discussion of challenges, progresses, and opportunities in thermoelectric energy conversion technology. We will start with an introduction to thermoelectric technology, followed by discussing advances in thermoelectric materials, devices, and systems. Thermoelectric energy conversion exploits the Seebeck effect to convert thermal energy into electricity, or the Peltier effect for heat pumping applications. Thermoelectric devices are scalable, capable of generating power from nano Watts to mega Watts. One key issue is to improve materials thermoelectric figure- of-merit that is linearly proportional to the Seebeck coefficient, the square of the electrical conductivity, and inversely proportional to the thermal conductivity. Improving the figure-of-merit requires good understanding of electron and phonon transport as their properties are often contradictory in trends. Over the past decade, excellent progresses have been made in the understanding of electron and phonon transport in thermoelectric materials, and in improving existing and identify new materials, especially by exploring nanoscale size effects. Taking materials to real world applications, however, faces more challenges in terms of materials stability, device fabrication, thermal management and system design. Progresses and lessons learnt from our effort in fabricating thermoelectric devices will be discussed. We have demonstrated device thermal-to-electrical energy conversion efficiency ∼10% and solar-thermoelectric generator efficiency at 4.6% without optical concentration of sunlight (Figure 1) and ∼8-9% efficiency with optical concentration. Great opportunities exist in advancing materials as well as in using existing materials for energy efficiency improvements and renewable energy utilization, as well as mobile applications. (paper)

  4. Recent Progress on PEDOT-Based Thermoelectric Materials.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wei, Qingshuo; Mukaida, Masakazu; Kirihara, Kazuhiro; Naitoh, Yasuhisa; Ishida, Takao

    2015-02-16

    The thermoelectric properties of poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) (PEDOT)-based materials have attracted attention recently because of their remarkable electrical conductivity, power factor, and figure of merit. In this review, we summarize recent efforts toward improving the thermoelectric properties of PEDOT-based materials. We also discuss thermoelectric measurement techniques and several unsolved problems with the PEDOT system such as the effect of water absorption from the air and the anisotropic thermoelectric properties. In the last part, we describe our work on improving the power output of thermoelectric modules by using PEDOT, and we outline the potential applications of polymer thermoelectric generators.

  5. Prototype Combined Heater/Thermoelectric Power Generator for Remote Applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Champier, D.; Favarel, C.; Bédécarrats, J. P.; Kousksou, T.; Rozis, J. F.

    2013-07-01

    This study presents a prototype thermoelectric generator (TEG) developed for remote applications in villages that are not connected to the electrical power grid. For ecological and economic reasons, there is growing interest in harvesting waste heat from biomass stoves to produce some electricity. Because regular maintenance is not required, TEGs are an attractive choice for small-scale power generation in inaccessible areas. The prototype developed in our laboratory is especially designed to be implemented in stoves that are also used for domestic hot water heating. The aim of this system is to provide a few watts to householders, so they have the ability to charge cellular phones and radios, and to get some light at night. A complete prototype TEG using commercial (bismuth telluride) thermoelectric modules has been built, including system integration with an electric DC/DC converter. The DC/DC converter has a maximum power point tracker (MPPT) driven by an MC9SO8 microcontroller, which optimizes the electrical energy stored in a valve-regulated lead-acid battery. Physical models were used to study the behavior of the thermoelectric system and to optimize the performance of the MPPT. Experiments using a hot gas generator to simulate the exhaust of the combustion chamber of a stove are used to evaluate the system. Additionally, potential uses of such generators are presented.

  6. Opto-thermoelectric nanotweezers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Linhan; Wang, Mingsong; Peng, Xiaolei; Lissek, Emanuel N.; Mao, Zhangming; Scarabelli, Leonardo; Adkins, Emily; Coskun, Sahin; Unalan, Husnu Emrah; Korgel, Brian A.; Liz-Marzán, Luis M.; Florin, Ernst-Ludwig; Zheng, Yuebing

    2018-04-01

    Optical manipulation of plasmonic nanoparticles provides opportunities for fundamental and technical innovation in nanophotonics. Optical heating arising from the photon-to-phonon conversion is considered as an intrinsic loss in metal nanoparticles, which limits their applications. We show here that this drawback can be turned into an advantage, by developing an extremely low-power optical tweezing technique, termed opto-thermoelectric nanotweezers. By optically heating a thermoplasmonic substrate, a light-directed thermoelectric field can be generated due to spatial separation of dissolved ions within the heating laser spot, which allows us to manipulate metal nanoparticles of a wide range of materials, sizes and shapes with single-particle resolution. In combination with dark-field optical imaging, nanoparticles can be selectively trapped and their spectroscopic response can be resolved in situ. With its simple optics, versatile low-power operation, applicability to diverse nanoparticles and tunable working wavelength, opto-thermoelectric nanotweezers will become a powerful tool in colloid science and nanotechnology.

  7. A test system and supervisory control and data acquisition application with programmable logic controller for thermoelectric generators

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ahiska, Rasit; Mamur, Hayati

    2012-01-01

    Highlights: ► A new TEG test measurement system with the PLC has been carried out. ► A new SCADA program has been written and tested for the test measurement system. ► An operator panel has been used for monitoring to the instant TEG data. ► All of the measurement data of TEG have been aggregated in the system. - Abstract: In this study, a new test measurement system and supervisory control and data acquisition application with programmable logic controller has been carried out to be enable the collection of the data of thermoelectric generator for the usage of thermoelectric modules as thermoelectric generator. During the production of the electric energy from the thermoelectric generator, the temperatures of the surfaces of the thermoelectric generator, current–voltage values obtained from output of the thermoelectric generator, hot and cold flows have been measured by the newly established system instantly. All these data have been monitored continuously from the computer and recorded by a supervisory control and data acquisition program. At the same time, in environments where there was no computer, an operator panel with the ability to communicate with the programmable logic controller has been added for the monitoring of the instant thermoelectric generator data. All of the measurement data of the thermoelectric generator have been aggregated in the new test measurement and supervisory control and data acquisition system. The setup test measurement system has been implemented on the thermoelectric generator system with about 10 W. Thermoelectric generators, Altec-GM-1 brand-coded have been examined by the new proposed test measurement system and the values of maximum power and thermoelectric generator efficiency were calculated by the programmable logic controller. When the obtained results were compared with the datasheets, the relative error for the maximum power was around 4% and the value for efficiency was below 3%.

  8. Fabrication of Thermoelectric Devices Using Additive-Subtractive Manufacturing Techniques: Application to Waste-Heat Energy Harvesting

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tewolde, Mahder

    Thermoelectric generators (TEGs) are solid-state devices that convert heat directly into electricity. They are well suited for waste-heat energy harvesting applications as opposed to primary energy generation. Commercially available thermoelectric modules are flat, inflexible and have limited sizes available. State-of-art manufacturing of TEG devices relies on assembling prefabricated parts with soldering, epoxy bonding, and mechanical clamping. Furthermore, efforts to incorporate them onto curved surfaces such as exhaust pipes, pump housings, steam lines, mixing containers, reaction chambers, etc. require custom-built heat exchangers. This is costly and labor-intensive, in addition to presenting challenges in terms of space, thermal coupling, added weight and long-term reliability. Additive manufacturing technologies are beginning to address many of these issues by reducing part count in complex designs and the elimination of sub-assembly requirements. This work investigates the feasibility of utilizing such novel manufacturing routes for improving the manufacturing process of thermoelectric devices. Much of the research in thermoelectricity is primarily focused on improving thermoelectric material properties by developing of novel materials or finding ways to improve existing ones. Secondary to material development is improving the manufacturing process of TEGs to provide significant cost benefits. To improve the device fabrication process, this work explores additive manufacturing technologies to provide an integrated and scalable approach for TE device manufacturing directly onto engineering component surfaces. Additive manufacturing techniques like thermal spray and ink-dispenser printing are developed with the aim of improving the manufacturing process of TEGs. Subtractive manufacturing techniques like laser micromachining are also studied in detail. This includes the laser processing parameters for cutting the thermal spray materials efficiently by

  9. Thermoelectric-figure-of-merit enhancement of silicon-germanium through nanocomposite concept

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wang, Dezhi

    SiGe alloy has been the thermoelectric material element of RTGs (Radioisotope thermoelectric power generators) for more than 20 years because of its good performance at high temperature. It also has a very high potential application in converting exhaust heat into useful electricity, which currently attracts a lot of research interest in the automotive industry where 40% of the energy was rejected as exhaust heat. However, its low conversion efficiency (8%) is a major concern although it is the best in practice. A new concept, namely Si-Ge nanocomposite, was proposed to enhance thermoelectric figure-of-merit. Fast heating pressure sintering was found to be an appropriate synthesizing method and a lab-made direct current-induced hot press system was established. It can reach l200°C within several minutes and many parameters can be controlled. The uniquely designed graphite die assembly can stand l60MPa pressure which is better than the best commercial products (127MPa). Numerous Si-Ge nanocomposite samples were pressed using our DC hot press. Fully dense n-type Si-Ge nanocomposite samples of nanoSi80nanoGe20P were finally obtained. The nanocomposite structure was characterized via XRD, SEM, EDS, and TEM. The proposed nanocomposite structure, dots in a matrix, was observed. Most importantly, the thermoelectric property measurements showed that the Si-Ge nanocomposite of n-type nanoSi80nanoGe20 possessed higher electrical conductivity but lower thermal conductivity, thus a higher ZT than that of n-type nanoSi80microGe20. This result proved that thermoelectric-figure-of-merit enhancement through the nanocomposite concept was the right direction.

  10. Optimized Characterization of Thermoelectric Generators for Automotive Application

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tatarinov, Dimitri; Wallig, Daniel; Bastian, Georg

    2012-06-01

    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.

  11. On one possibility for application of new thermoelectric materials based on Ag2Te

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vassilev, Venceslav; Parvanov, Svetlin; Vachkov, Valeri

    2011-01-01

    The thermoelectric characteristics of Ag 2 Te and Ag 1,84 Cd 0,08 Te (solid solution based on Ag 2 Te) are investigated and analyzed. The main thermoelectric characteristics of the solid solution: α=118 μV/K; σ = 2230 S/cm and = 2,45.10 -2 W/(cm.K) ensure coefficient of thermoelectric efficiency z = 1,27. 10-3 K -1 (at 300 ), which increases this of the Ag 2 Te. A composition for commutation material is developed, which connects the N- and the P-branches of a single thermo element (52 wt. % In + 48 wt. % Sn) with melting temperature of 390 K. The possibility for application of the Ag 1,84 Cd 0,08 Te solid solution as N-branch of a thermo element in combination with the solid solution Bi 0,5 Sb 1,5 Te 3 (P-branch) is investigated. The thermo element guarantees values of z from 0,71.10 -3 to 1,27.10 -3 K -1 in the temperature interval 250 - 350 . The maximum z value is registered at 300 K (z = 1,27.10 -3 K -1 ). Keywords: Silver telluride, Solid solutions, Thermoelectric properties, Thermo element

  12. Electronic cooling using thermoelectric devices

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zebarjadi, M., E-mail: m.zebarjadi@rutgers.edu [Department of Mechanical and Aerospace Engineering, Rutgers University, Piscataway, New Jersey 08854 (United States); Institute of Advanced Materials, Devices, and Nanotechnology, Rutgers University, Piscataway, New Jersey 08854 (United States)

    2015-05-18

    Thermoelectric coolers or Peltier coolers are used to pump heat in the opposite direction of the natural heat flux. These coolers have also been proposed for electronic cooling, wherein the aim is to pump heat in the natural heat flux direction and from hot spots to the colder ambient temperature. In this manuscript, we show that for such applications, one needs to use thermoelectric materials with large thermal conductivity and large power factor, instead of the traditionally used high ZT thermoelectric materials. We further show that with the known thermoelectric materials, the active cooling cannot compete with passive cooling, and one needs to explore a new set of materials to provide a cooling solution better than a regular copper heat sink. We propose a set of materials and directions for exploring possible materials candidates suitable for electronic cooling. Finally, to achieve maximum cooling, we propose to use thermoelectric elements as fins attached to copper blocks.

  13. Ge/SiGe superlattices for nanostructured thermoelectric modules

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chrastina, D.; Cecchi, S.; Hague, J.P.; Frigerio, J.; Samarelli, A.; Ferre–Llin, L.; Paul, D.J.; Müller, E.; Etzelstorfer, T.; Stangl, J.; Isella, G.

    2013-01-01

    Thermoelectrics are presently used in a number of applications for both turning heat into electricity and also for using electricity to produce cooling. Mature Si/SiGe and Ge/SiGe heteroepitaxial growth technology would allow highly efficient thermoelectric materials to be engineered, which would be compatible and integrable with complementary metal oxide silicon micropower circuits used in autonomous systems. A high thermoelectric figure of merit requires that electrical conductivity be maintained while thermal conductivity is reduced; thermoelectric figures of merit can be improved with respect to bulk thermoelectric materials by fabricating low-dimensional structures which enhance the density of states near the Fermi level and through phonon scattering at heterointerfaces. We have grown and characterized Ge-rich Ge/SiGe/Si superlattices for nanofabricated thermoelectric generators. Low-energy plasma-enhanced chemical vapor deposition has been used to obtain nanoscale-heterostructured material which is several microns thick. Crystal quality and strain control have been investigated by means of high resolution X-ray diffraction. High-resolution transmission electron microscopy images confirm the material and interface quality. Electrical conductivity has been characterized by the mobility spectrum technique. - Highlights: ► High-quality Ge/SiGe multiple quantum wells for thermoelectric applications ► Mobility spectra of systems featuring a large number of parallel conduction channels ► Competitive thermoelectric properties measured in single devices

  14. Impact of the substrate on the efficiency of thin film thermoelectric technology

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Alvarez-Quintana, J.

    2015-01-01

    Thermoelectricity is one of the simplest technologies for thermal energy conversion. Moreover, because of their relatively low efficiency, bulk thermoelectric materials are generally used in environments where their solid state nature outweighs their poor efficiency. Nevertheless, low dimensional thermoelectric materials shed a light in order to achieve higher thermoelectric performance than their bulk counterparts via quantum and spatial confinement of energy carriers. The Thermoelectric figure of merit ZT is the basic criterion for estimating the performance of thermoelectric materials. In this work, by way of an extension of the Harman method to thin films onto substrate to evaluate ZT it is shown that the solely presence of a substrate affects significantly the intrinsic value of the ZT independently of the electrical and thermal nature of the substrate. Furthermore, the model unveils that as the thickness ratio between substrate and thin film increases, the parameter ZT sharply tends to zero; this effect opens a serious problem to overcome by the thin film thermoelectric technology, especially at nanoscale. In this sense, challenges in order to engineering planar thermoelectric devices at micro/nanoscale are properly identified. - Highlights: • Extended Harman method to evaluate ZT of thin films onto substrate is presented. • ZT of thermoelectric thin films is strongly affected by substrate's nature. • Thin dielectric substrates are desirable to hold ZT in in-plane configuration. • Film/substrate thickness ratio play important role on the device performance. • Challenges to engineering planar thermoelectric devices are properly identified

  15. Thermoelectric materials - Compromising between high efficiency and materials abundance

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Homm, G.; Klar, P.J. [I. Physikalisches Institut, Justus-Liebig-Universitaet, Heinrich-Buff-Ring 16, 35392 Giessen (Germany)

    2011-09-15

    In the context of CO{sub 2} neutral and regenerative energy production, the field of thermoelectrics has shifted more and more into the focus of scientific research in the last few years. Particularly a lot of research projects were started in the field of energy autarkic sensor technology and the so called energy harvesting, i.e. the recycling of otherwise lost energy. A potentially huge industrial branch for thermoelectric applications is the automotive industry with a main emphasis on generating electricity out of the waste heat of combustion engines with the help of thermoelectric generators or using Peltier cooling to replace conventional air conditioning in the passenger compartment. In addition, many niche applications are possible, e.g. as sensors for measuring the air pressure of tires etc. The applications of thermoelectric devices are very versatile. We analyse the potential of the state-of-the-art thermoelectric materials SiGe, PbTe, Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 3}, FeSi{sub 2} and potentially ZnO with respect to employment in four types of applications, classified by mobile vs stationary and specialized vs. mass application. The selection criteria comprise efficiency, materials availability, costs, environmental friendliness and toxicity. Based on these criteria, a decision matrix for choosing the appropriate material system for a specific application is defined. (copyright 2011 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH and Co. KGaA, Weinheim) (orig.)

  16. Americium-241 radioisotope thermoelectric generator development for space applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ambrosi, Richard; Williams, Hugo; Samara-Ratna, Piyal

    2013-01-01

    Space nuclear power systems are under development in the UK in collaboration with European partners as part of a European Space Agency (ESA) programme. Radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTG) are an important element of this new capability in Europe. RTG systems being developed in Europe are targeting the 10 W electric to 50 W electric power generation range adopting a modular scalable approach to the design. Radiogenic decay heat from radioisotopes can be converted to electrical power by using appropriate semiconductor based thermoelectric materials. The plan for Europe is to develop radioisotope space nuclear power systems based on both thermoelectric and Stirling power conversion systems. Although primarily focused on delivering up to 50 W of electrical power, the European radioisotope thermoelectric system development programme is targeting americium-241 as a fuel source and is maximizing the use of commercially available thermoelectric manufacturing processes in order to accelerate the development of power conversion systems. The use of americium provides an economic solution at high isotopic purity and is product of a separation process from stored plutonium produced during the reprocessing of civil nuclear fuel. A laboratory prototype that uses electrical heating as a substitute for the radioisotope was developed to validate the designs. This prototype has now been tested. This paper outlines the requirements for a European americium-241 fuelled RTG, describes the most recent updates in system design and provides further insight into recent laboratory prototype test campaigns. (author)

  17. Americium-241 radioisotope thermoelectric generator development for space applications

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ambrosi, Richard; Williams, Hugo; Samara-Ratna, Piyal, E-mail: rma8@le.ac.uk [University of Leicester, (United Kingdom); and others

    2013-07-01

    Space nuclear power systems are under development in the UK in collaboration with European partners as part of a European Space Agency (ESA) programme. Radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RTG) are an important element of this new capability in Europe. RTG systems being developed in Europe are targeting the 10 W electric to 50 W electric power generation range adopting a modular scalable approach to the design. Radiogenic decay heat from radioisotopes can be converted to electrical power by using appropriate semiconductor based thermoelectric materials. The plan for Europe is to develop radioisotope space nuclear power systems based on both thermoelectric and Stirling power conversion systems. Although primarily focused on delivering up to 50 W of electrical power, the European radioisotope thermoelectric system development programme is targeting americium-241 as a fuel source and is maximizing the use of commercially available thermoelectric manufacturing processes in order to accelerate the development of power conversion systems. The use of americium provides an economic solution at high isotopic purity and is product of a separation process from stored plutonium produced during the reprocessing of civil nuclear fuel. A laboratory prototype that uses electrical heating as a substitute for the radioisotope was developed to validate the designs. This prototype has now been tested. This paper outlines the requirements for a European americium-241 fuelled RTG, describes the most recent updates in system design and provides further insight into recent laboratory prototype test campaigns. (author)

  18. High Temperature Integrated Thermoelectric Ststem and Materials

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mike S. H. Chu

    2011-06-06

    The final goal of this project is to produce, by the end of Phase II, an all ceramic high temperature thermoelectric module. Such a module design integrates oxide ceramic n-type, oxide ceramic p-type materials as thermoelectric legs and oxide ceramic conductive material as metalizing connection between n-type and p-type legs. The benefits of this all ceramic module are that it can function at higher temperatures (> 700 C), it is mechanically and functionally more reliable and it can be scaled up to production at lower cost. With this all ceramic module, millions of dollars in savings or in new opportunities recovering waste heat from high temperature processes could be made available. A very attractive application will be to convert exhaust heat from a vehicle to reusable electric energy by a thermoelectric generator (TEG). Phase I activities were focused on evaluating potential n-type and p-type oxide compositions as the thermoelectric legs. More than 40 oxide ceramic powder compositions were made and studied in the laboratory. The compositions were divided into 6 groups representing different material systems. Basic ceramic properties and thermoelectric properties of discs sintered from these powders were measured. Powders with different particles sizes were made to evaluate the effects of particle size reduction on thermoelectric properties. Several powders were submitted to a leading thermoelectric company for complete thermoelectric evaluation. Initial evaluation showed that when samples were sintered by conventional method, they had reasonable values of Seebeck coefficient but very low values of electrical conductivity. Therefore, their power factors (PF) and figure of merits (ZT) were too low to be useful for high temperature thermoelectric applications. An unconventional sintering method, Spark Plasma Sintering (SPS) was determined to produce better thermoelectric properties. Particle size reduction of powders also was found to have some positive benefits

  19. Review—Organic Materials for Thermoelectric Energy Generation

    KAUST Repository

    Cowen, Lewis M.; Atoyo, Jonathan; Carnie, Matthew J.; Baran, Derya; Schroeder, Bob C.

    2017-01-01

    Organic semiconductor materials have been promising alternatives to their inorganic counterparts in several electronic applications such as solar cells, light emitting diodes, field effect transistors as well as thermoelectric generators. Their low cost, light weight and flexibility make them appealing in future applications such as foldable electronics and wearable circuits using printing techniques. In this report, we present a mini-review on the organic materials that have been used for thermoelectric energy generation.

  20. Review—Organic Materials for Thermoelectric Energy Generation

    KAUST Repository

    Cowen, Lewis M.

    2017-01-29

    Organic semiconductor materials have been promising alternatives to their inorganic counterparts in several electronic applications such as solar cells, light emitting diodes, field effect transistors as well as thermoelectric generators. Their low cost, light weight and flexibility make them appealing in future applications such as foldable electronics and wearable circuits using printing techniques. In this report, we present a mini-review on the organic materials that have been used for thermoelectric energy generation.

  1. Dynamic thermoelectricity in uniform bipolar semiconductor

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Volovichev, I.N., E-mail: vin@ire.kharkov.ua

    2016-07-01

    The theory of the dynamic thermoelectric effect has been developed. The effect lies in an electric current flowing in a closed circuit that consists of a uniform bipolar semiconductor, in which a non-uniform temperature distribution in the form of the traveling wave is created. The calculations are performed for the one-dimensional model in the quasi-neutrality approximation. It was shown that the direct thermoelectric current prevails, despite the periodicity of the thermal excitation, the circuit homogeneity and the lack of rectifier properties of the semiconductor system. Several physical reasons underlining the dynamic thermoelectric effect are found. One of them is similar to the Dember photoelectric effect, its contribution to the current flowing is determined by the difference in the electron and hole mobilities, and is completely independent of the carrier Seebeck coefficients. The dependence of the thermoelectric short circuit current magnitude on the semiconductor parameters, as well as on the temperature wave amplitude, length and velocity is studied. It is shown that the magnitude of the thermoelectric current is proportional to the square of the temperature wave amplitude. The dependence of the thermoelectric short circuit current on the temperature wave length and velocity is the nonmonotonic function. The optimum values for the temperature wave length and velocity, at which the dynamic thermoelectric effect is the greatest, have been deduced. It is found that the thermoelectric short circuit current changes its direction with decreasing the temperature wave length under certain conditions. The prospects for the possible applications of the dynamic thermoelectric effect are also discussed.

  2. Design, modeling and utilization of thermoelectrical materials and devices in energy systems

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Chen, Min

    Thermoelectric generators can convert waste heat that abounds in modern societies into electricity in an environmentally-friendly and reliable manner, and many applications of thermoelectric devices can be envisaged. The research of this PhD dissertation focuses thermoelectric generator modeling...... at a device level as well as its applications in energy systems. The purpose is to introduce the use of thermoelectric generator into energy systems, and to indicate the impact of implementing thermoelectric generator on the design and operation of energy systems. For this purpose, this dissertation produces...... numerical models as versatile simulation tools to identify speci c optimum design criteria for thermoelectric generators used in various associated thermal and electrical systems, so that the generation performance can be improved due to the optimum system design....

  3. NANOSTRUCTURING AS A WAY FOR THERMOELECTRIC EFFICIENCY IMPROVEMENT

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    L. V. Bochkov

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available The urgency of thermoelectric energy conversion is proved. Perspectives of nanostructures usage as thermoelectric materials are shown. The authors have systematized and generalized the methods and investigation results of bulk nanostructure thermoelectrics based on Bi-Sb-Te solid solutions. Ways of nanoparticles fabrication and their subsequent sintering into a bulk sample, results of structure study of the received materials are shown by methods of electronic microscopy and X-ray spectroscopy, results of mechanical properties investigation. Methods of manufacturing suggested with the authors’ participation and properties of thermoelectric nanocomposites, fabricated with addition of fullerene, thermally split graphite, graphene and molybdenum disulphide are discussed. Methods for prevention of recrystallization, measurement methods of thermoelectric properties of studied nanothermoelectrics are considered, including electric and thermal conductivities, thermoemf and the figure of merit. Factors that influence on thermoelectric figure of merit, including the tunneling of carriers through interfaces between nanograins, the additional phonon scattering on nanograin borders and the energy filtration of carriers through barriers have been theoretically investigated. Mechanisms and ways for improvement of the figure of merit are determined. Experimental confirmation for thermoelectric figure of merit increase is received. Physical mechanisms of thermoelectric figure of merit increase are shown by perceptivity of nanostructures utilization. The growth of thermoelectric figure of merit means an expansion of areas for rational application of thermoelectric energy generation and thermoelectric cooling.

  4. Investigation of Nanophase Materials for Thermoelectric Applications

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Stokes, Kevin

    2004-01-01

    .... We have also made contributions to new, pressure-dependent thermoelectric transport measurement techniques and chemical techniques for creating ordered nanoparticle assemblies consisting of two different nanoparticle materials.

  5. Laser assisted hybrid additive manufacturing of thermoelectric modules

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Tao; Tewolde, Mahder; Longtin, Jon P.; Hwang, David J.

    2017-02-01

    Thermoelectric generators (TEGs) are an attractive means to produce electricity, particular from waste heat applications. However, TEGs are almost exclusively manufactured as flat, rigid modules of limited size and shape, and therefore an appropriate mounting for intimate contact of TEGs modules onto arbitrary surfaces represents a significant challenge. In this study, we introduce laser assisted additive manufacturing method to produce multi-layered thermoelectric generator device directly on flat and non-flat surfaces for waste heat recovery. The laser assisted processing spans from laser scribing of thermal sprayed thin films, curing of dispensed thermoelectric inks and selective laser sintering to functionalize thermoelectric materials.

  6. Radar micro-doppler signatures processing and applications

    CERN Document Server

    Chen, Victor C; Miceli, William J

    2014-01-01

    Radar Micro-Doppler Signatures: Processing and applications concentrates on the processing and application of radar micro-Doppler signatures in real world situations, providing readers with a good working knowledge on a variety of applications of radar micro-Doppler signatures.

  7. Thermoelectric effects in a rectangular Aharonov-Bohm geometry

    Science.gov (United States)

    Pye, A. J.; Faux, D. A.; Kearney, M. J.

    2016-04-01

    The thermoelectric transport properties of a rectangular Aharonov-Bohm ring at low temperature are investigated using a theoretical approach based on Green's functions. The oscillations in the transmission coefficient as the field is varied can be used to tune the thermoelectric response of the ring. Large magnitude thermopowers are obtainable which, in conjunction with low conductance, can result in a high thermoelectric figure of merit. The effects of single site impurities and more general Anderson disorder are considered explicitly in the context of evaluating their effect on the Fano-type resonances in the transmission coefficient. Importantly, it is shown that even for moderate levels of disorder, the thermoelectric figure of merit can remain significant, increasing the appeal of such structures from the perspective of specialist thermoelectric applications.

  8. Thermoelectric single-photon detector

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kuzanyan, A A; Petrosyan, V A; Kuzanyan, A S

    2012-01-01

    The ability to detect a single photon is the ultimate level of sensitivity in the measurement of optical radiation. Sensors capable of detecting single photons and determining their energy have many scientific and technological applications. Kondo-enhanced Seebeck effect cryogenic detectors are based on thermoelectric heat-to-voltage conversion and voltage readout. We evaluate the prospects of CeB 6 and (La,Ce)B 6 hexaboride crystals for their application as a sensitive element in this type of detectors. We conclude that such detectors can register a single UV photon, have a fast count rate (up to 45 MHz) and a high spectral resolution of 0.1 eV. We calculate the electric potential generated along the thermoelectric sensor upon registering a UV single photon.

  9. Phosphorene nanoribbon as a promising candidate for thermoelectric applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, J.; Liu, H. J.; Cheng, L.; Wei, J.; Liang, J. H.; Fan, D. D.; Shi, J.; Tang, X. F.; Zhang, Q. J.

    2014-01-01

    In this work, the electronic properties of phosphorene nanoribbons with different width and edge configurations are studied by using density functional theory. It is found that the armchair phosphorene nanoribbons are semiconducting while the zigzag nanoribbons are metallic. The band gaps of armchair nanoribbons decrease monotonically with increasing ribbon width. By passivating the edge phosphorus atoms with hydrogen, the zigzag series also become semiconducting, while the armchair series exhibit a larger band gap than their pristine counterpart. The electronic transport properties of these phosphorene nanoribbons are then investigated using Boltzmann theory and relaxation time approximation. We find that all the semiconducting nanoribbons exhibit very large values of Seebeck coefficient and can be further enhanced by hydrogen passivation at the edge. Taking pristine armchair nanoribbons and hydrogen-passivated zigzag naoribbons with width N = 7, 8, 9 as examples, we calculate the lattice thermal conductivity with the help of phonon Boltzmann transport equation and evaluate the width-dependent thermoelectric performance. Due to significantly enhanced Seebeck coefficient and decreased thermal conductivity, we find that at least one type of phosphorene nanoribbons can be optimized to exhibit very high figure of merit (ZT values) at room temperature, which suggests their appealing thermoelectric applications. PMID:25245326

  10. Production and exploitation of thermoelectric air conditioning systems for vehicles

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dudnik, Vladimir [Conditioner Ltd, Gagarin (Russian Federation); Skipidarov, Sergey [SCTB NORD, Moskau (Russian Federation); Rapp, Axel [Quick-Ohm Kupper und Co. GmbH, Wuppertal-Cronenberg (Germany)

    2011-07-01

    In the paper more than 10-year experience of thermoelectric devices batch manufacturing is described for the field of their obvious advantages. This field of application includes thermoelectric air conditioning systems which have shown their competitive advantage when used in vehicles of elevated vibration where compressor equipment application is difficult because of leakage of refrigerant. Energy characteristics of air conditioners for tractors, excavators, tanks, locomotive driver's cabins and cranes are described. Thermoelectric (TE) air conditioners mechanical test data as well as operation experience in vehicles are presented. It is shown that consumption of tellurium, which is a strategic component for thermoelectric materials manufacturing, may be lowered to 40 grams per 1 kW of cooling. (orig.)

  11. Engineering the electronic band structures of novel cubic structured germanium monochalcogenides for thermoelectric applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ul Haq, Bakhtiar; AlFaify, S.; Ahmed, R.; Butt, Faheem K.; Laref, A.; Goumri-Said, Souraya; Tahir, S. A.

    2018-05-01

    Germanium mono-chalcogenides have received considerable attention for being a promising replacement for the relatively toxic and expensive chalcogenides in renewable and sustainable energy applications. In this paper, we explore the potential of the recently discovered novel cubic structured (π-phase) GeS and GeSe for thermoelectric applications in the framework of density functional theory coupled with Boltzmann transport theory. To examine the modifications in their physical properties, the across composition alloying of π-GeS and π-GeSe (such as π-GeS1-xSex for x =0, 0.25, 0.50, 0.75, and 1) has been performed that has shown important effects on the electronic band structures and effective masses of charge carriers. An increase in Se composition in π-GeS1-xSex has induced a downward shift in their conduction bands, resulting in the narrowing of their energy band gaps. The thermoelectric coefficients of π-GeS1-xSex have been accordingly influenced by the evolution of the electronic band structures and effective masses of charge carriers. π-GeS1-xSex features sufficiently larger values of Seebeck coefficients, power factors and figures of merit (ZTs), which experience further improvement with an increase in temperature, revealing their potential for high-temperature applications. The calculated results show that ZT values equivalent to unity can be achieved for π-GeS1-xSex at appropriate n-type doping levels. Our calculations for the formation enthalpies indicate that a π-GeS1-xSex alloying system is energetically stable and could be synthesized experimentally. These intriguing characteristics make π-GeS1-xSex a promising candidate for futuristic thermoelectric applications in energy harvesting devices.

  12. Superlattices in thermoelectric applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sofo, J.O.; Mahan, G.D.; Tennessee Univ., Knoxville, TN

    1994-08-01

    The electrical conductivity, thermopower and the electronic contribution to the thermal conductivity of a superlattice, are calculated with the electric field and the thermal gradient applied parallel to the interfaces. Tunneling between quantum wells is included. The broadening of the lowest subband when the period of the superlattice is decreased produces a reduction of the thermoelectric figure of merit. However, we found that a moderate increase of the figure of merit may be expected for intermediate values of the period, due to the enhancement of the density of states produced by the superlattice structure

  13. Thermoelectric properties of one-dimensional graphene antidot arrays

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yan, Yonghong; Liang, Qi-Feng; Zhao, Hui; Wu, Chang-Qin; Li, Baowen

    2012-01-01

    We investigate the thermoelectric properties of one-dimensional (1D) graphene antidot arrays by nonequilibrium Green's function method. We show that by introducing antidots to the pristine graphene nanoribbon the thermal conductance can be reduced greatly while keeping the power factor still high, thus leading to an enhanced thermoelectric figure of merit (ZT). Our numerical results indicate that ZT values of 1D antidot graphene arrays can be up to unity, which means the 1D graphene antidot arrays may be promising for thermoelectric applications. -- Highlights: ► We study thermoelectric properties of one-dimensional (1D) graphene antidot arrays. ► Thermoelectric figure of merit (ZT) of 1D antidot arrays can exceed unity. ► ZT of 1D antidot arrays is larger than that of two-dimensional arrays.

  14. Proposal for a phase-coherent thermoelectric transistor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Giazotto, F.; Robinson, J. W. A.; Moodera, J. S.; Bergeret, F. S.

    2014-01-01

    Identifying materials and devices which offer efficient thermoelectric effects at low temperature is a major obstacle for the development of thermal management strategies for low-temperature electronic systems. Superconductors cannot offer a solution since their near perfect electron-hole symmetry leads to a negligible thermoelectric response; however, here we demonstrate theoretically a superconducting thermoelectric transistor which offers unparalleled figures of merit of up to ∼45 and Seebeck coefficients as large as a few mV/K at sub-Kelvin temperatures. The device is also phase-tunable meaning its thermoelectric response for power generation can be precisely controlled with a small magnetic field. Our concept is based on a superconductor-normal metal-superconductor interferometer in which the normal metal weak-link is tunnel coupled to a ferromagnetic insulator and a Zeeman split superconductor. Upon application of an external magnetic flux, the interferometer enables phase-coherent manipulation of thermoelectric properties whilst offering efficiencies which approach the Carnot limit

  15. Proposal for a phase-coherent thermoelectric transistor

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Giazotto, F., E-mail: giazotto@sns.it [NEST, Instituto Nanoscienze-CNR and Scuola Normale Superiore, I-56127 Pisa (Italy); Robinson, J. W. A., E-mail: jjr33@cam.ac.uk [Department of Materials Science and Metallurgy, University of Cambridge, 27 Charles Babbage Road, Cambridge CB3 0FS (United Kingdom); Moodera, J. S. [Department of Physics and Francis Bitter Magnet Lab, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139 (United States); Bergeret, F. S., E-mail: sebastian-bergeret@ehu.es [Centro de Física de Materiales (CFM-MPC), Centro Mixto CSIC-UPV/EHU, Manuel de Lardizabal 4, E-20018 San Sebastián (Spain); Donostia International Physics Center (DIPC), Manuel de Lardizabal 5, E-20018 San Sebastián (Spain)

    2014-08-11

    Identifying materials and devices which offer efficient thermoelectric effects at low temperature is a major obstacle for the development of thermal management strategies for low-temperature electronic systems. Superconductors cannot offer a solution since their near perfect electron-hole symmetry leads to a negligible thermoelectric response; however, here we demonstrate theoretically a superconducting thermoelectric transistor which offers unparalleled figures of merit of up to ∼45 and Seebeck coefficients as large as a few mV/K at sub-Kelvin temperatures. The device is also phase-tunable meaning its thermoelectric response for power generation can be precisely controlled with a small magnetic field. Our concept is based on a superconductor-normal metal-superconductor interferometer in which the normal metal weak-link is tunnel coupled to a ferromagnetic insulator and a Zeeman split superconductor. Upon application of an external magnetic flux, the interferometer enables phase-coherent manipulation of thermoelectric properties whilst offering efficiencies which approach the Carnot limit.

  16. Synthesis and Characterization of Thermoelectric Oxides at Macro- and Nano-scales

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ma, Feiyue

    Thermoelectric materials can directly convert a temperature difference into electrical voltage and vice versa. Due to this unique property, thermoelectric materials are widely used in industry and scientific laboratories for temperature sensing and thermal management applications. Waste heat harvesting, another potential application of thermoelectric materials, has long been limited by the low conversion efficiency of the materials. Potential high temperature applications, such as power plant waste heat harvesting and combustion engine exhaust heat recovery, make thermoelectric oxides a very promising class of thermoelectric materials. In this thesis, the synthesis and characterization of thermoelectric oxide materials are explored. In the first part of this thesis, the measurement methodologies and instrumentation processes employed to investigate different thermoelectric properties, such as the Seebeck coefficient and carrier concentration at the bulk scale and the thermal conductivity at the nanoscale, are detailed. Existing scientific and engineering challenges associated with these measurements are also reviewed. To overcome such problems, original parts and methodologies have been designed. Three fully functional systems were ultimately developed for the characterization of macroscale thermoelectric properties as well as localized thermal conductivity. In the second part of the thesis, the synthesis of NaxCo 2O4, a thermoelectric oxide material, is discussed. Modification of both composition and structure were carried out so as to optimize the thermoelectric performance of NaxCo2O4. Nanostructuring methods, such as ball milling, electrospinning, auto-combustion synthesis, and core-shell structure fabrication, have been developed to refine the grain size of NaxCo2O4 in order to reduce its thermal conductivity. However, the structure of the nanostructured materials is very unstable at high temperature and limited improvement on thermoelectric performance is

  17. Green thermoelectrics: Observation and analysis of plant thermoelectric response

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Goupil Christophe

    2016-01-01

    Full Text Available Plants are sensitive to thermal and electrical effects; yet the coupling of both, known as thermoelectricity, and its quantitative measurement in vegetal systems never were reported. We recorded the thermoelectric response of bean sprouts under various thermal conditions and stress. The obtained experimental data unambiguously demonstrate that a temperature difference between the roots and the leaves of a bean sprout induces a thermoelectric voltage between these two points. Basing our analysis of the data on the force-flux formalism of linear response theory, we found that the strength of the vegetal equivalent to the thermoelectric coupling is one order of magnitude larger than that in the best thermoelectric materials. Experimental data also show the importance of the thermal stress variation rate in the plant’s electrophysiological response. therefore, thermoelectric effects are sufficiently important to partake in the complex and intertwined processes of energy and matter transport within plants.

  18. Designing high-Performance layered thermoelectric materials through orbital engineering

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Zhang, Jiawei; Song, Lirong; Madsen, Georg K. H.

    2016-01-01

    Thermoelectric technology, which possesses potential application in recycling industrial waste heat as energy, calls for novel high-performance materials. The systematic exploration of novel thermoelectric materials with excellent electronic transport properties is severely hindered by limited...... insight into the underlying bonding orbitals of atomic structures. Here we propose a simple yet successful strategy to discover and design high-performance layered thermoelectric materials through minimizing the crystal field splitting energy of orbitals to realize high orbital degeneracy. The approach...... naturally leads to design maps for optimizing the thermoelectric power factor through forming solid solutions and biaxial strain. Using this approach, we predict a series of potential thermoelectric candidates from layered CaAl2Si2-type Zintl compounds. Several of them contain nontoxic, low-cost and earth...

  19. Thermoelectric materials -- New directions and approaches. Materials Research Society symposium proceedings, Volume 478

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tritt, T M; Kanatzidis, M G; Lyon, Jr, H B; Mahan, G D [eds.

    1997-07-01

    Thermoelectric materials are utilized in a wide variety of applications related to solid-state refrigeration or small-scale power generation. Thermoelectric cooling is an environmentally friendly method of small-scale cooling in specific applications such as cooling computer chips and laser diodes. Thermoelectric materials are used in a wide range of applications from beverage coolers to power generation for deep-space probes such as the Voyager missions. Over the past thirty years, alloys based on the Bi-Te systems {l{underscore}brace}(Bi{sub 1{minus}x}Sb{sub x}){sub 2} (Te{sub 1{minus}x}Se{sub x}){sub 3}{r{underscore}brace} and Si{sub 1{minus}x}Ge{sub x} systems have been extensively studied and optimized for their use as thermoelectric materials to perform a variety of solid-state thermoelectric refrigeration and power generation tasks. Despite this extensive investigation of the traditional thermoelectric materials, there is still a substantial need and room for improvement, and thus, entirely new classes of compounds will have to be investigated. Over the past two-to-three years, research in the field of thermoelectric materials has been undergoing a rapid rebirth. The enhanced interest in better thermoelectric materials has been driven by the need for much higher performance and new temperature regimes for thermoelectric devices in many applications. The essence of a good thermoelectric is given by the determination of the material's dimensionless figure of merit, ZT = ({alpha}{sup 2}{sigma}/{lambda})T, where {alpha} is the Seebeck coefficient, {sigma} the electrical conductivity and {lambda} the total thermal conductivity. The best thermoelectric materials have a value of ZT = 1. This ZT = 1 has been an upper limit for more than 30 years, yet no theoretical or thermodynamic reason exits for why it can not be larger. The focus of the symposium is embodied in the title, Thermoelectric Materials: New Directions and Approaches. Many of the researchers in the

  20. Thermoelectric System Absorbing Waste Heat from a Steel Ladle

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lu, Baiyi; Meng, Xiangning; Zhu, Miaoyong; Suzuki, Ryosuke O.

    2018-06-01

    China's iron and steel industry has made great progress in energy savings and emission reductions with the application of many waste heat recovery technologies. However, most of the medium and low temperature waste heat and radiant waste heat has not been effectively utilized. This paper proposes a thermoelectric system that generates electricity by absorbing the radiant heat from the surface of steel ladles in a steel plant. The thermoelectric behavior of modules in this system is analyzed by a numerical simulation method. The effects of external resistance and module structure on thermoelectric performance are also discussed in the temperature range of the wall surface of a steel ladle. The results show that the wall temperature has a significant influence on the thermoelectric behavior of the module, so its uniformity and stability should be considered in practical application. The ratio of the optimum external resistance to the internal resistance of the thermoelectric module is in the range of 1.6-2.0, which indicates the importance of external load optimization for a given thermoelectric system. In addition, the output power and the conversion efficiency of the module can be significantly improved by increasing the length of the thermoelectric legs and adopting a double-layer structure. Finally, through the optimization of external resistance and structure, the power output can reach 83-304 W/m2. This system is shown to be a promising approach for energy recovery.

  1. Heat shrink formation of a corrugated thin film thermoelectric generator

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sun, Tianlei; Peavey, Jennifer L.; David Shelby, M.; Ferguson, Scott; O’Connor, Brendan T.

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • Demonstrate and characterize a thermoelectric generator with a corrugated geometry. • Employ a novel heat shrink fabrication approach compatible with low-cost processing. • Use thermal impedance modeling to explore design potential. • Corrugated design shown to be advantageous for low heat-flux density applications. - Abstract: A thin film thermoelectric (TE) generator with a corrugated architecture is demonstrated formed using a heat-shrink fabrication approach. Fabrication of the corrugated TE structure consists of depositing thin film thermoelectric elements onto a planar non-shrink polyimide substrate that is then sandwiched between two uniaxial stretch-oriented co-polyester (PET) films. The heat shrink PET films are adhered to the polyimide in select locations, such that when the structure is placed in a high temperature environment, the outer films shrink resulting in a corrugated core film and thermoelectric elements spanning between the outer PET films. The module has a cross-plane heat transfer architecture similar to a conventional bulk TE module, but with heat transfer in the plane of the thin film thermoelectric elements, which assists in maintaining a significant temperature difference across the thermoelectric junctions. In this demonstration, Ag and Ni films are used as the thermoelectric elements and a Seebeck coefficient of 14 μV K −1 is measured with a maximum power output of 0.22 nW per couple at a temperature difference of 7.0 K. We then theoretically consider the performance of this device architecture with high performance thermoelectric materials in the heat sink limited regime. The results show that the heat-shrink approach is a simple fabrication method that may be advantageous in large-area, low power density applications. The fabrication method is also compatible with simple geometric modification to achieve various form factors and power densities to customize the TE generator for a range of applications

  2. High thermoelectric performance of graphite nanofibers.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tran, Van-Truong; Saint-Martin, Jérôme; Dollfus, Philippe; Volz, Sebastian

    2018-02-22

    Graphite nanofibers (GNFs) have been demonstrated to be a promising material for hydrogen storage and heat management in electronic devices. Here, by means of first-principles and transport simulations, we show that GNFs can also be an excellent material for thermoelectric applications thanks to the interlayer weak van der Waals interaction that induces low thermal conductance and a step-like shape in the electronic transmission with mini-gaps, which are necessary ingredients to achieve high thermoelectric performance. This study unveils that the platelet form of GNFs in which graphite layers are perpendicular to the fiber axis can exhibit outstanding thermoelectric properties with a figure of merit ZT reaching 3.55 in a 0.5 nm diameter fiber and 1.1 in a 1.1 nm diameter one. Interestingly, by introducing 14 C isotope doping, ZT can even be enhanced up to more than 5, and more than 8 if we include the effect of finite phonon mean free path, which demonstrates the amazing thermoelectric potential of GNFs.

  3. Micro-optics for microfluidic analytical applications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yang, Hui; Gijs, Martin A M

    2018-02-19

    This critical review summarizes the developments in the integration of micro-optical elements with microfluidic platforms for facilitating detection and automation of bio-analytical applications. Micro-optical elements, made by a variety of microfabrication techniques, advantageously contribute to the performance of an analytical system, especially when the latter has microfluidic features. Indeed the easy integration of optical control and detection modules with microfluidic technology helps to bridge the gap between the macroscopic world and chip-based analysis, paving the way for automated and high-throughput applications. In our review, we start the discussion with an introduction of microfluidic systems and micro-optical components, as well as aspects of their integration. We continue with a detailed description of different microfluidic and micro-optics technologies and their applications, with an emphasis on the realization of optical waveguides and microlenses. The review continues with specific sections highlighting the advantages of integrated micro-optical components in microfluidic systems for tackling a variety of analytical problems, like cytometry, nucleic acid and protein detection, cell biology, and chemical analysis applications.

  4. From Modules to a Generator: An Integrated Heat Exchanger Concept for Car Applications of a Thermoelectric Generator

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bosch, Henry

    2016-03-01

    A heat exchanger concept for a thermoelectric generator with integrated planar modules for passenger car applications is introduced. The module housings, made of deep drawn stainless steel sheet metal, are brazed onto the exhaust gas channel to achieve an optimal heat transfer on the hot side of the modules. The cooling side consists of winding fluid channels, which are mounted directly onto the cold side of the modules. Only a thin foil separates the cooling media from the modules for an almost direct heat contact on the cooling side. Thermoelectric generators with up to 20 modules made of PbTe and Bi2Te3, respectively, are manufactured and tested on a hot gas generator to investigate electrical power output and performance of the thermoelectric generator. The proof of concept of the light weight heat exchanger design made of sheet metal with integrated modules is positively accomplished.

  5. Thermoelectric materials having porosity

    Science.gov (United States)

    Heremans, Joseph P.; Jaworski, Christopher M.; Jovovic, Vladimir; Harris, Fred

    2014-08-05

    A thermoelectric material and a method of making a thermoelectric material are provided. In certain embodiments, the thermoelectric material comprises at least 10 volume percent porosity. In some embodiments, the thermoelectric material has a zT greater than about 1.2 at a temperature of about 375 K. In some embodiments, the thermoelectric material comprises a topological thermoelectric material. In some embodiments, the thermoelectric material comprises a general composition of (Bi.sub.1-xSb.sub.x).sub.u(Te.sub.1-ySe.sub.y).sub.w, wherein 0.ltoreq.x.ltoreq.1, 0.ltoreq.y.ltoreq.1, 1.8.ltoreq.u.ltoreq.2.2, 2.8.ltoreq.w.ltoreq.3.2. In further embodiments, the thermoelectric material includes a compound having at least one group IV element and at least one group VI element. In certain embodiments, the method includes providing a powder comprising a thermoelectric composition, pressing the powder, and sintering the powder to form the thermoelectric material.

  6. EDITORIAL: Selected papers from the 10th International Workshop on Micro and Nanotechnology for Power Generation and Energy Conversion Applications (PowerMEMS 2010) Selected papers from the 10th International Workshop on Micro and Nanotechnology for Power Generation and Energy Conversion Applications (PowerMEMS 2010)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reynaerts, Dominiek; Vullers, Ruud

    2011-10-01

    collaboration with the staff of IOP Publishing. PowerMEMS 2010 contents Harvesting energy from airflow with a michromachined piezoelectric harvester inside a Helmholtz resonator S P Matova, R Elfrink, R J M Vullers and R van Schaijk Analysis and characterization of triangular electrode structures for electrostatic energy harvestingDaniel Hoffmann, Bernd Folkmer and Yiannos Manoli A smart and self-sufficient frequency tunable vibration energy harvesterC Eichhorn, R Tchagsim, N Wilhelm and P Woias Power output enhancement of a vibration-driven electret generator for wireless sensor applicationsTatsuakira Masaki, Kenji Sakurai, Toru Yokoyama, Masayo Ikuta, Hiroshi Sameshima, Masashi Doi, Tomonori Seki and Masatoshi Oba Harvesting traffic-induced vibrations for structural health monitoring of bridgesT V Galchev, J McCullagh, R L Peterson and K Najafi Dispenser-printed planar thick-film thermoelectric energy generatorsA Chen, D Madan, P K Wright and J W Evans Silicon nanowire arrays as thermoelectric material for a power microgeneratorD Dávila, A Tarancón, M Fernández-Regúlez, C Calaza, M Salleras, A San Paulo and L Fonseca A micro thermal switch with a stiffness-enhanced thermal isolation structureTakashiro Tsukamoto, Masayoshi Esashi and Shuji Tanaka A dielectric liquid contact thermal switch with electrowetting actuationA R McLanahan, C D Richards and R F Richards A self-regulating valve for single-phase liquid cooling of microelectronicsRadu Donose, Michaël De Volder, Jan Peirs and Dominiek Reynaerts A MEMS-enabled 3D zinc-air microbattery with improved discharge characteristics based on a multilayer metallic substructureA Armutlulu, Y Fang, S H Kim, C H Ji, S A Bidstrup Allen and M G Allen Design, fabrication and testing of an air-breathing micro direct methanol fuel cell with compound anode flow fieldLuwen Wang, Yufeng Zhang, Youran Zhao, Zijiang An, Zhiping Zhou and Xiaowei Liu A shadow-mask evaporated pyroMEMS igniterD A de Koninck, D Briand and N F de Rooij Aerodynamic

  7. A design approach for integrating thermoelectric devices using topology optimization

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Soprani, Stefano; Haertel, Jan Hendrik Klaas; Lazarov, Boyan Stefanov

    2016-01-01

    Efficient operation of thermoelectric devices strongly relies on the thermal integration into the energy conversion system in which they operate. Effective thermal integration reduces the temperature differences between the thermoelectric module and its thermal reservoirs, allowing the system...... to operate more efficiently. This work proposes and experimentally demonstrates a topology optimization approach as a design tool for efficient integration of thermoelectric modules into systems with specific design constraints. The approach allows thermal layout optimization of thermoelectric systems...... for different operating conditions and objective functions, such as temperature span, efficiency, and power recoveryrate. As a specific application, the integration of a thermoelectric cooler into the electronics section ofa downhole oil well intervention tool is investigated, with the objective of minimizing...

  8. Thermoelectric self-cooling for power electronics: Increasing the cooling power

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Martinez, Alvaro; Astrain, David; Aranguren, Patricia

    2016-01-01

    Thermoelectric self-cooling was firstly conceived to increase, without electricity consumption, the cooling power of passive cooling systems. This paper studies the combination of heat pipe exchangers and thermoelectric self-cooling, and demonstrates its applicability to the cooling of power electronics. Experimental tests indicate that source-to-ambient thermal resistance reduces by around 30% when thermoelectric self-cooling system is installed, compared to that of the heat pipe exchanger under natural convection. Neither additional electric power nor cooling fluids are required. This thermal resistance reaches 0.346 K/W for a heat flux of 24.1 kW/m"2, being one order of magnitude lower than that obtained in previous designs. In addition, the system adapts to the cooling demand, reducing this thermal resistance for increasing heat. Simulation tests have indicated that simple system modifications allow relevant improvements in the cooling power. Replacement of a thermoelectric module with a thermal bridge leads to 33.54 kW/m"2 of top cooling power. Likewise, thermoelectric modules with shorter legs and higher number of pairs lead to a top cooling power of 44.17 kW/m"2. These results demonstrate the applicability of thermoelectric self-cooling to power electronics. - Highlights: • Cooling power of passive systems increased. • No electric power consumption. • Applicable for the cooling of power electronics. • Up to 44.17 kW/m"2 of cooling power, one order of magnitude higher. • Source-to-ambient thermal resistance reduces by 30%.

  9. Intrinsically High Thermoelectric Performance in AgInSe2 n-Type Diamond-Like Compounds.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Qiu, Pengfei; Qin, Yuting; Zhang, Qihao; Li, Ruoxi; Yang, Jiong; Song, Qingfeng; Tang, Yunshan; Bai, Shengqiang; Shi, Xun; Chen, Lidong

    2018-03-01

    Diamond-like compounds are a promising class of thermoelectric materials, very suitable for real applications. However, almost all high-performance diamond-like thermoelectric materials are p-type semiconductors. The lack of high-performance n-type diamond-like thermoelectric materials greatly restricts the fabrication of diamond-like material-based modules and their real applications. In this work, it is revealed that n-type AgInSe 2 diamond-like compound has intrinsically high thermoelectric performance with a figure of merit ( zT ) of 1.1 at 900 K, comparable to the best p-type diamond-like thermoelectric materials reported before. Such high zT is mainly due to the ultralow lattice thermal conductivity, which is fundamentally limited by the low-frequency Ag-Se "cluster vibrations," as confirmed by ab initio lattice dynamic calculations. Doping Cd at Ag sites significantly improves the thermoelectric performance in the low and medium temperature ranges. By using such high-performance n-type AgInSe 2 -based compounds, the diamond-like thermoelectric module has been fabricated for the first time. An output power of 0.06 W under a temperature difference of 520 K between the two ends of the module is obtained. This work opens a new window for the applications using the diamond-like thermoelectric materials.

  10. Thermoelectric devices and applications for the same

    Science.gov (United States)

    Olsen, Larry C.; DeSteese, John G.; Martin, Peter M.; Johnston, John W.; Peters, Timothy J.

    2016-03-08

    High performance thin film thermoelectric couples and methods of making the same are disclosed. Such couples allow fabrication of at least microwatt to watt-level power supply devices operating at voltages greater than one volt even when activated by only small temperature differences.

  11. Enhanced thermoelectric power in ultrathin topological insulators with magnetic doping

    KAUST Repository

    Tahir, M.

    2014-09-07

    We derive analytical expressions for the magnetic moment and orbital magnetization as well as for the corresponding thermal conductivity and thermoelectric power of a topological insulator film. We demonstrate enhancement of the thermoelectric transport for decreasing film thickness and for application of an exchange field due to the tunable band gap. Combining hybridization and exchange field is particularly suitable for heat to electric energy conversion and thermoelectric cooling.

  12. Enhanced thermoelectric power in ultrathin topological insulators with magnetic doping

    KAUST Repository

    Tahir, M.; Manchon, Aurelien; Schwingenschlö gl, Udo

    2014-01-01

    We derive analytical expressions for the magnetic moment and orbital magnetization as well as for the corresponding thermal conductivity and thermoelectric power of a topological insulator film. We demonstrate enhancement of the thermoelectric transport for decreasing film thickness and for application of an exchange field due to the tunable band gap. Combining hybridization and exchange field is particularly suitable for heat to electric energy conversion and thermoelectric cooling.

  13. The thermoelectric process

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Vining, C B

    1997-07-01

    The efficiency of thermoelectric technology today is limited by the properties of available thermoelectric materials and a wide variety of new approaches to developing better materials have recently been suggested. The key goal is to find a material with a large ZT, the dimensionless thermoelectric figure of merit. However, if an analogy is drawn between thermoelectric technology and gas-cycle engines then selecting different materials for the thermoelements is analogous to selecting a different working gas for the mechanical engine. And an attempt to improve ZT is analogous to an attempt to improve certain thermodynamic properties of the working-gas. An alternative approach is to focus on the thermoelectric process itself (rather than on ZT), which is analogous to considering alternate cycles such as Stirling vs. Brayton vs. Rankine etc., rather than merely considering alternative gases. Focusing on the process is a radically different approach compared to previous studies focusing on ZT. Aspects of the thermoelectric process and alternative approaches to efficient thermoelectric conversion are discussed.

  14. Mg2BIV: Narrow Bandgap Thermoelectric Semiconductors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Il-Ho

    2018-05-01

    Thermoelectric materials can convert thermal energy directly into electric energy and vice versa. The electricity generation from waste heat via thermoelectric devices can be considered as a new energy source. For instance, automotive exhaust gas and all industrial processes generate an enormous amount of waste heat that can be converted to electricity by using thermoelectric devices. Magnesium compound Mg2BIV (BIV = Si, Ge or Sn) has a favorable combination of physical and chemical properties and can be a good base for the development of new efficient thermoelectrics. Because they possess similar properties to those of group BIV elemental semiconductors, they have been recognized as good candidates for thermoelectric applications. Mg2Si, Mg2Ge and Mg2Sn with an antifluorite structure are narrow bandgap semiconductors with indirect band gaps of 0.77 eV, 0.74 eV, and 0.35 eV, respectively. Mg2BIV has been recognized as a promising material for thermoelectric energy conversion at temperatures ranging from 500 K to 800 K. Compared to other thermoelectric materials operating in the similar temperature range, such as PbTe and filled skutterudites, the important aspects of Mg2BIV are non-toxic and earth-abundant elements. Based on classical thermoelectric theory, the material factor β ( m* / m e)3/2μκ L -1 can be utilized as the criterion for thermoelectric material selection, where m* is the density-of-states effective mass, me is the mass of an electron, μ is the carrier mobility, and κL is the lattice thermal conductivity. The β for magnesium silicides is 14, which is very high compared to 0.8 for iron silicides, 1.4 for manganese silicides, and 2.6 for silicon-germanium alloys. In this paper, basic phenomena of thermoelectricity and transport parameters for thermoelectric materials were briefly introduced, and thermoelectric properties of Mg2BIV synthesized by using a solid-state reaction were reviewed. In addition, various Mg2BIV compounds were discussed

  15. Powder metallurgical processing of functionally graded p-Pb1-x Sn x Te materials for thermoelectric applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gelbstein, Y.; Dashevsky, Z.; Dariel, M.P.

    2007-01-01

    Lead tin telluride-based compounds are p-type materials for thermoelectric applications, in the 50-600 deg. C temperature range. The electronic transport properties of PbTe and Pb 1- x Sn x Te materials are strongly dependent on the processing approach. Powder metallurgy is a suitable approach for the preparation of Functionally graded materials (FGMs) but its effects on the electronic properties have to be carefully checked. Powder metallurgical processing may introduce atomic defects and local strains into the material and, thereby, alter the carrier concentration. Such material may be in non-equilibrium conditions at the operating temperature with unstable thermoelectric properties. This effect can be reduced and eliminated by appropriate annealing procedures. In FGMs, annealing up to the stabilization of the thermoelectric properties is mandatory for achieving the desired carrier concentration profile along the sample. The design procedures of the FGMs, as well as the annealing effects on cold compacted and sintered Pb 1- x Sn x Te samples are described in details

  16. Crystalline perfection and mechanical investigations on vertical Bridgman grown Bismuth telluride (Bi_2Te_3) single crystals for thermoelectric applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Krishna, Anuj; Vijayan, N.; Singh, Budhendra; Thukral, Kanika; Maurya, K.K.

    2016-01-01

    High efficiency thermoelectric materials plays a vital role in power generation and refrigeration applications. Bismuth telluride (Bi_2Te_3) is one among them. In the present work single crystal of bismuth telluride was grown using vertical Bridgman technique. The phase of grown crystals was analysed using a powder X-ray diffractometer. Quality of the grown crystal was assessed by using high resolution X-ray diffractometer and observed that it is fairly good. Further mechanical investigations on grown crystal was carried out using nano-indentation technique and various mechanical properties like hardness, stiffness and Young’s modulus were evaluated. Observed results clearly indicate its suitability for thermoelectric applications.

  17. Experimental and analytical study on thermoelectric self cooling of devices

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Martinez, A.; Astrain, D.; Rodriguez, A.

    2011-01-01

    This paper presents and studies the novel concept of thermoelectric self cooling, which can be introduced as the cooling and temperature control of a device using thermoelectric technology without electricity consumption. For this study, it is designed a device endowed with an internal heat source. Subsequently, a commonly used cooling system is attached to the device and the thermal performance is statistically assessed. Afterwards, it is developed and studied a thermoelectric self cooling system appropriate for the device. Experimental and analytical results show that the thermal resistance between the heat source and the environment reduced by 25-30% when the thermoelectric self cooling system is installed, and indicates the promising applicability of this technology to devices that generate large amounts of heat, such as electrical power converters, transformers and control systems. Likewise, it was statistically proved that the thermoelectric self cooling system leads to significant reductions in the temperature difference between the heat source and the environment, and, what is more, this reduction increases as the heat flow generated by the heat source increases, which makes evident the fact that thermoelectric self cooling systems work as temperature controllers. -- Highlights: → Novel concept of thermoelectric self cooling is presented and studied. → No extra electricity is needed. → Thermal resistance between the heat source and the environment reduces by 25-30%. → Increasing reduction in temperature difference between heat source and environment. → Great applicability to any device that generates heat and must be cooled.

  18. Micro manufacturing techniques and applications

    CERN Document Server

    Du, Ruxu; Li, Zifu

    2013-01-01

    Micro/meso-scale manufacturing has been developed in research fields of machining, forming, materials and others, but its potential to industries are yet to be fully realized. The theme of the current volume was to build a bridge joining academic research and industrial needs in micro manufacturing. Among the 12 papers selected for publication are three keynote addresses onmicro and desktop factories for micro/meso-scale manufacturing applicationsand future visions, tissue cutting mechanics and applications for needlecore biopsy and guidance, and micro-texturing onto amorphous carbonmaterials

  19. A Review of SnSe: Growth and Thermoelectric Properties

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nguyen, Van Quang; Kim, Jungdae; Cho, Sunglae

    2018-04-01

    SnSe is a 2D semiconductor with an indirect energy gap of 0.86 - 1 eV; it is widely used in solar cell, optoelectronics, and electronic device applications. Recently, SnSe has been considered as a robust candidate for energy conversion applications due to its high thermoelectric performance ( ZT = 2.6 in p-type and 2.2 in n-type), which is assigned mainly to its anhamornic bonding leading to an ultralow thermal conductivity. In this review, we first discuss the crystalline and electronic structures of SnSe and the source of its p-type characteristic. Then, some typical single crystal and polycrystal growth techniques, as well as an epitaxial thin film growth technique, are outlined. The reported thermoelectric properties of SnSe grown by using each technique are also reviewed. Finally, we will describe some remaining issues concerning the use of SnSe for thermoelectric applications.

  20. Nanostructured silicon for thermoelectric

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stranz, A.; Kähler, J.; Waag, A.; Peiner, E.

    2011-06-01

    Thermoelectric modules convert thermal energy into electrical energy and vice versa. At present bismuth telluride is the most widely commercial used material for thermoelectric energy conversion. There are many applications where bismuth telluride modules are installed, mainly for refrigeration. However, bismuth telluride as material for energy generation in large scale has some disadvantages. Its availability is limited, it is hot stable at higher temperatures (>250°C) and manufacturing cost is relatively high. An alternative material for energy conversion in the future could be silicon. The technological processing of silicon is well advanced due to the rapid development of microelectronics in recent years. Silicon is largely available and environmentally friendly. The operating temperature of silicon thermoelectric generators can be much higher than of bismuth telluride. Today silicon is rarely used as a thermoelectric material because of its high thermal conductivity. In order to use silicon as an efficient thermoelectric material, it is necessary to reduce its thermal conductivity, while maintaining high electrical conductivity and high Seebeck coefficient. This can be done by nanostructuring into arrays of pillars. Fabrication of silicon pillars using ICP-cryogenic dry etching (Inductive Coupled Plasma) will be described. Their uniform height of the pillars allows simultaneous connecting of all pillars of an array. The pillars have diameters down to 180 nm and their height was selected between 1 micron and 10 microns. Measurement of electrical resistance of single silicon pillars will be presented which is done in a scanning electron microscope (SEM) equipped with nanomanipulators. Furthermore, measurement of thermal conductivity of single pillars with different diameters using the 3ω method will be shown.

  1. La 1-x Ca x MnO 3 semiconducting nanostructures: morphology and thermoelectric properties.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Culebras, Mario; Torán, Raquel; Gómez, Clara M; Cantarero, Andrés

    2014-01-01

    Semiconducting metallic oxides, especially perosvkite materials, are great candidates for thermoelectric applications due to several advantages over traditionally metallic alloys such as low production costs and high chemical stability at high temperatures. Nanostructuration can be the key to develop highly efficient thermoelectric materials. In this work, La 1-x Ca x MnO 3 perosvkite nanostructures with Ca as a dopant have been synthesized by the hydrothermal method to be used in thermoelectric applications at room temperature. Several heat treatments have been made in all samples, leading to a change in their morphology and thermoelectric properties. The best thermoelectric efficiency has been obtained for a Ca content of x=0.5. The electrical conductivity and Seebeck coefficient are strongly related to the calcium content.

  2. High-Temperature High-Efficiency Solar Thermoelectric Generators

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Baranowski, LL; Warren, EL; Toberer, ES

    2014-03-01

    Inspired by recent high-efficiency thermoelectric modules, we consider thermoelectrics for terrestrial applications in concentrated solar thermoelectric generators (STEGs). The STEG is modeled as two subsystems: a TEG, and a solar absorber that efficiently captures the concentrated sunlight and limits radiative losses from the system. The TEG subsystem is modeled using thermoelectric compatibility theory; this model does not constrain the material properties to be constant with temperature. Considering a three-stage TEG based on current record modules, this model suggests that 18% efficiency could be experimentally expected with a temperature gradient of 1000A degrees C to 100A degrees C. Achieving 15% overall STEG efficiency thus requires an absorber efficiency above 85%, and we consider two methods to achieve this: solar-selective absorbers and thermally insulating cavities. When the TEG and absorber subsystem models are combined, we expect that the STEG modeled here could achieve 15% efficiency with optical concentration between 250 and 300 suns.

  3. MicroComputed Tomography: Methodology and Applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Stock, Stuart R.

    2009-01-01

    Due to the availability of commercial laboratory systems and the emergence of user facilities at synchrotron radiation sources, studies of microcomputed tomography or microCT have increased exponentially. MicroComputed Technology provides a complete introduction to the technology, describing how to use it effectively and understand its results. The first part of the book focuses on methodology, covering experimental methods, data analysis, and visualization approaches. The second part addresses various microCT applications, including porous solids, microstructural evolution, soft tissue studies, multimode studies, and indirect analyses. The author presents a sufficient amount of fundamental material so that those new to the field can develop a relative understanding of how to design their own microCT studies. One of the first full-length references dedicated to microCT, this book provides an accessible introduction to field, supplemented with application examples and color images.

  4. New evaluation parameter for wearable thermoelectric generators

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wijethunge, Dimuthu; Kim, Woochul

    2018-04-01

    Wearable devices constitute a key application area for thermoelectric devices. However, owing to new constraints in wearable applications, a few conventional device optimization techniques are not appropriate and material evaluation parameters, such as figure of merit (zT) and power factor (PF), tend to be inadequate. We illustrated the incompleteness of zT and PF by performing simulations and considering different thermoelectric materials. The results indicate a weak correlation between device performance and zT and PF. In this study, we propose a new evaluation parameter, zTwearable, which is better suited for wearable applications compared to conventional zT. Owing to size restrictions, gap filler based device optimization is extremely critical in wearable devices. With respect to the occasions in which gap fillers are used, expressions for power, effective thermal conductivity (keff), and optimum load electrical ratio (mopt) are derived. According to the new parameters, the thermal conductivity of the material has become much more critical now. The proposed new evaluation parameter, namely, zTwearable, is extremely useful in the selection of an appropriate thermoelectric material among various candidates prior to the commencement of the actual design process.

  5. Research Progress on AgSbTe2-based Thermoelectric Materials

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    CAO Qigao; MA Guang; JIA Zhihua; ZHENG Jing; LI Jin

    2012-01-01

    Thermoelectric power generation represents a class of energy conversion technology,which has been used in power supply of aeronautic and astronautic exploring missions,now showing notable advantages to harvest the widely distributed waste heat and convert the abundant solar energy into electricity at lower cost than Si-based photovoltaic technology.Thermoelectric dimensionless figure of merit ZT plays a key role in the conversion efficiency from thermal to electrical energy.Low thermal conductivity and large Seebeck coefficient make the AgSbTe2 compound a very promising candidate for high efficiency p-type thermoelectric applications.The AgSbTe2-based thermoelectric system has been repeatedly studied as prospective thermoelectric materials.In this review,we firstly clarify some fundamental tradeoffs dictating the ZT value through the relationship ZT =S2σT/κ.We also pay special attentions to the recent advances in AgSbTe2-based thermoelectric materials.Finally,we provide an outlook of new directions in this filed.

  6. CuAlTe{sub 2}: A promising bulk thermoelectric material

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Gudelli, Vijay Kumar [Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad, Ordnance Factory Estate, Yeddumailaram 502 205, Telangana (India); Kanchana, V., E-mail: kanchana@iith.ac.in [Department of Physics, Indian Institute of Technology Hyderabad, Ordnance Factory Estate, Yeddumailaram 502 205, Telangana (India); Vaitheeswaran, G. [Advanced Centre of Research in High Energy Materials (ACRHEM), University of Hyderabad, Prof. C. R. Rao Road, Gachibowli, Hyderabad 500 046, Telangana (India)

    2015-11-05

    Transport properties of Cu-based chalcopyrite materials are presented using the full potential linear augmented plane wave method and Boltzmann Semi-classical theory. All the studied compounds appear to be direct band gap semiconductors evaluated based on the Tran-Blaha modified Becke-Johnson potential. The heavy and light band combination found near the valence band maximum (VBM) drive these materials to possess good thermoelectric properties. Among the studied compounds, CuAlTe{sub 2} is found to be more promising, in comparison with CuGaTe{sub 2}, which is reported to be an efficient thermoelectric material with appreciable figure of merit. Another interesting fact about CuAlTe{sub 2} is the comparable thermoelectric properties possessed by both n- type and p-type carriers, which might attract good device applications and are explained in detail using the electronic structure calculations. - Highlights: • Band structure calculation of Cu(Al,Ga)Ch{sub 2} compounds with the TB-mBJ functional. • Mixed heavy-light bands near Fermi level might favour good thermoelectric properties. • Among the investigated compounds CuAlTe{sub 2} appears to be more promising. • Thermoelectric properties of CuAlTe{sub 2} are almost comparable with CuGaTe{sub 2}. • Both n,p-type thermoelectric properties of CuAlTe{sub 2} can attract device applications.

  7. Characteristics and parametric analysis of a novel flexible ink-based thermoelectric generator for human body sensor

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Qing, Shaowei; Rezaniakolaei, Alireza; Rosendahl, Lasse Aistrup

    2018-01-01

    Flexible thermoelectric generator became an attractive technology for its wide use especially for curved surfaces applications. This study proposes design of a flexible thermoelectric generator, which is part of a sensor and supplies required electrical power for human body application...... elements thickness and thermoelectric module row number in a proper range can significantly enhance thermoelectric generator performance. The maximum output power can reach 0.2 μW/cm2, which indicates the proposed design is promising for supplying human body sensors. In addition, the basic optimal design....... The thermoelectric generator module has ink-based thermoelements which are made of nano-carbon bismuth telluride materials. Flexible fins conduct the body heat to the thermoelectric uni-couples, extended fins exchange the heat from the cold side of the thermoelectric generator to the ambient. A fully developed one...

  8. Thermoelectric cooler application in electronic cooling

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chein Reiyu; Huang Guanming

    2004-01-01

    This study addresses thermoelectric cooler (TEC) applications in the electronic cooling. The cold side temperature (T c ) and temperature difference between TEC cold and hot sides (ΔT=T h -T c , T h =temperature of hot side of TEC) were used as the parameters. The cooling capacity, junction temperature, coefficient of performance (COP) of TEC and the required heat sink thermal resistance at the TEC hot side were computed. The results indicated that the cooling capacity could be increased as T c increased and ΔT was reduced. The maximum cooling capacity and chip junction temperature obtained were 207 W and 88 deg. C, respectively. The required heat sink thermal resistance on TEC hot side was 0.054 deg. C/W. Larger cooling capacity and higher COP could be obtained when the TEC was operated in the enforced regimes (ΔT c values and heat sink thermal resistance at the TEC hot side. A microchannel heat sink using water or air as the coolant was demonstrated to meet the low thermal heat sink resistance requirement for TEC operated at maximum cooling capacity conditions

  9. Measurement of the thermoelectric properties of quasicrystalline AlPdRe and AlCuFe alloys

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wilson, M L; LeGault, S; Stroud, R M; Tritt, T M

    1997-07-01

    The authors report the measurement of the thermal conductivity, electrical resistivity, and thermoelectric power on two quasicrystalline compounds, Al{sub 70}Pd{sub 20}Re{sub 10} and Al{sub 62.5}Cu{sub 25}Fe{sub 12.5}. These materials are found to possess a thermal conductivity of order 1 W/m{center{underscore}dot}K, while retaining their semimetallic conductivity. These features coupled with moderately large thermopowers, up to 55 {micro}V/K, imply that the general class of quasicrystalline compounds warrants careful investigation for their potential as new thermoelectric materials.

  10. Numerical Modeling and Design of Thermoelectric Cooling Systems and Its Application to Manufacturing Machines

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gallo, A.; Arana, A.; Oyanguren, A.; García, G.; Barbero, A.; Larrañaga, J.; Ulacia, I.

    2013-07-01

    In this work the properties of thermoelectric modules (TEMs) and their behavior have been numerically modeled. Moreover, their applications very often require modeling not only of the TEM but also of the working environment and the product in which they will be working. A clear example is the fact that TEMs are very often installed with heat-dissipating elements such as fans, heat sinks, and heat exchangers; thus, the module will only work according to the heat dissipation conditions that these external sources can provide in a certain environment. In this context, analytic approaches, even though they have been proved to be useful, do not provide enough, accurate information in this regard. Therefore, numerical modeling has been identified as a powerful tool to improve detailed designs of thermoelectric solutions. This paper presents numerical simulations of a TEM in different working conditions, as well as with different commercial dissipation devices. The objective is to obtain the characteristic curve of a TEM using a valid numerical model that can be introduced into larger models of different applications. Also, the numerical model of the module and different cooling devices is provided. Both of them are compared against real tested modules, so that the deviation between them can be measured and discussed. Finally, the TEM is introduced into a manufacturing application and results are discussed to validate the model for further use.

  11. The system of thermoelectric air conditioning based on permeable thermoelements

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cherkez R. G.

    2009-04-01

    Full Text Available There is thermoelectric air conditioner unit on the basis of permeable cooling thermoelements presented. In thermoelectric air conditioner unit the thermoelectric effects and the Joule–Thomson effect have been used for the air stream cooling. There have been described the method of temperature distribution analysis, the determinations of energy conversion power characteristics and design style of permeable thermoelement with maximum coefficient of performance described. The results of computer analysis concerning the application of the thermoelement legs material on the basis of Bi2Te3 have shown the possibility of coefficient of performance increase by a factor of 1,6—1,7 as compared with conventional thermoelectric systems.

  12. Performance and stress analysis of oxide thermoelectric module architecture designed for maximum power output

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Wijesekara, Waruna; Rosendahl, Lasse; Wu, NingYu

    Oxide thermoelectric materials are promising candidates for energy harvesting from mid to high temperature heat sources. In this work, the oxide thermoelectric materials and the final design of the high temperature thermoelectric module were developed. Also, prototypes of oxide thermoelectric...... of real thermoelectric uni-couples, the three-dimensional governing equations for the coupled heat transfer and thermoelectric effects were developed. Finite element simulations of this system were done using the COMSOL Multiphysics solver. Prototypes of the models were developed and the analytical...... generator were built for high temperature applications. This paper specifically discusses the thermoelectric module design and the prototype validations of the design. Here p type calcium cobalt oxide and n type aluminum doped ZnO were developed as the oxide thermoelectric materials. Hot side and cold side...

  13. Thermoelectric transport in rare-earth compounds

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Koehler, Ulrike

    2007-01-01

    This work focuses on the thermoelectric transport in rare-earth compounds. The measurements of the thermal conductivity, thermopower, and Nernst coefficient are supplemented by investigations of other quantities as magnetic susceptibility and specific heat. Chapter 2 provides an introduction to the relevant physical concepts. Section 1 of that chapter summarizes the characteristic properties of rare-earth systems; section 2 gives an overview on thermoelectric transport processes in magnetic fields. The applied experimental techniques as well as the new experimental setup are described in detail in Chapter 3. The experimental results are presented in Chapter 4-6, of which each concentrates on a different subject. In Chapter 4, various Eu clathrates and the skutterudite-like Ce 3 Rh 4 Sn 13 are presented, which have been investigated as potential thermoelectric materials for applications. Chapter 5 focusses on the study of the energy scales in the heavy-fermion series Lu 1-x Yb x Rh 2 Si 2 and Ce x La 1-x Ni 2 Ge 2 by means of thermopower investigations. Chapter 6 is dedicated to the thermoelectric transport properties of the correlated semimetal CeNiSn with special emphasis on the Nernst coefficient of this compound. (orig.)

  14. Bulk Material Based Thermoelectric Energy Harvesting for Wireless Sensor Applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wang, W S; Magnin, W; Wang, N; Hayes, M; O'Flynn, B; O'Mathuna, C

    2011-01-01

    The trend towards smart building and modern manufacturing demands ubiquitous sensing in the foreseeable future. Self-powered Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) are essential for such applications. This paper describes bulk material based thermoelectric generator (TEG) design and implementation for WSN. A 20cm 2 Bi 0.5 Sb 1.5 Te 3 based TEG was created with optimized configuration and generates 2.7mW in typical condition. A novel load matching method is used to maximize the power output. The implemented power management module delivers 651μW to WSN in 50 deg. C. With average power consumption of Tyndall WSN measured at 72μW, feasibility of utilizing bulk material TEG to power WSN is demonstrated.

  15. A miniaturized mW thermoelectric generator for nw objectives: continuous, autonomous, reliable power for decades.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Aselage, Terrence Lee; Siegal, Michael P.; Whalen, Scott; Frederick, Scott K.; Apblett, Christopher Alan; Moorman, Matthew Wallace

    2006-10-01

    We have built and tested a miniaturized, thermoelectric power source that can provide in excess of 450 {micro}W of power in a system size of 4.3cc, for a power density of 107 {micro}W/cc, which is denser than any system of this size previously reported. The system operates on 150mW of thermal input, which for this system was simulated with a resistive heater, but in application would be provided by a 0.4g source of {sup 238}Pu located at the center of the device. Output power from this device, while optimized for efficiency, was not optimized for form of the power output, and so the maximum power was delivered at only 41mV. An upconverter to 2.7V was developed concurrently with the power source to bring the voltage up to a usable level for microelectronics.

  16. Development of a 0.1 kW thermoelectric power generator for military applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Menchen, W.R.

    1986-01-01

    A man-portable thermoelectric power source is being developed for the U.S. Army. Initially used as a dedicated power supply for the XM-21 Chemical Agent Alarm System, the set can also meet a variety of general purpose user requirements. Development of a thermoelectric power conversion device is being undertaken by the U.S. Army LABCOM Electronics Technology and Devices Laboratory to fill a need for a generator that is silent, lightweight, multi-fueled and reliable. The 0.1 kW Power Generator is rectangular in configuration and consists of a power module, electronic control assembly and fuel delivery system housed within a tubular structural frame. The generator operates on military fuels ranging from kerosene to diesel oil. Multi-fuel capability is achieved using an ultrasonic atomizer and regenerative burner developed specifically for this application. This paper provides the first public presentation of results achieved during the Advanced Development Phase of the 0.1 kW Power Generator. The development process is briefly traced with emphasis on a description of the system and test results obtained to date

  17. Advanced Thermoelectric Materials for Efficient Waste Heat Recovery in Process Industries

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Adam Polcyn; Moe Khaleel

    2009-01-06

    The overall objective of the project was to integrate advanced thermoelectric materials into a power generation device that could convert waste heat from an industrial process to electricity with an efficiency approaching 20%. Advanced thermoelectric materials were developed with figure-of-merit ZT of 1.5 at 275 degrees C. These materials were not successfully integrated into a power generation device. However, waste heat recovery was demonstrated from an industrial process (the combustion exhaust gas stream of an oxyfuel-fired flat glass melting furnace) using a commercially available (5% efficiency) thermoelectric generator coupled to a heat pipe. It was concluded that significant improvements both in thermoelectric material figure-of-merit and in cost-effective methods for capturing heat would be required to make thermoelectric waste heat recovery viable for widespread industrial application.

  18. Phonon Spectrum Engineering in Rolled-up Micro- and Nano-Architectures

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Vladimir M. Fomin

    2015-10-01

    Full Text Available We report on a possibility of efficient engineering of the acoustic phonon energy spectrum in multishell tubular structures produced by a novel high-tech method of self-organization of micro- and nano-architectures. The strain-driven roll-up procedure paved the way for novel classes of metamaterials such as single semiconductor radial micro- and nano-crystals and multi-layer spiral micro- and nano-superlattices. The acoustic phonon dispersion is determined by solving the equations of elastodynamics for InAs and GaAs material systems. It is shown that the number of shells is an important control parameter of the phonon dispersion together with the structure dimensions and acoustic impedance mismatch between the superlattice layers. The obtained results suggest that rolled up nano-architectures are promising for thermoelectric applications owing to a possibility of significant reduction of the thermal conductivity without degradation of the electronic transport.

  19. Quasi-two-dimensional thermoelectricity in SnSe

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tayari, V.; Senkovskiy, B. V.; Rybkovskiy, D.; Ehlen, N.; Fedorov, A.; Chen, C.-Y.; Avila, J.; Asensio, M.; Perucchi, A.; di Pietro, P.; Yashina, L.; Fakih, I.; Hemsworth, N.; Petrescu, M.; Gervais, G.; Grüneis, A.; Szkopek, T.

    2018-01-01

    Stannous selenide is a layered semiconductor that is a polar analog of black phosphorus and of great interest as a thermoelectric material. Unusually, hole doped SnSe supports a large Seebeck coefficient at high conductivity, which has not been explained to date. Angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy, optical reflection spectroscopy, and magnetotransport measurements reveal a multiple-valley valence-band structure and a quasi-two-dimensional dispersion, realizing a Hicks-Dresselhaus thermoelectric contributing to the high Seebeck coefficient at high carrier density. We further demonstrate that the hole accumulation layer in exfoliated SnSe transistors exhibits a field effect mobility of up to 250 cm2/V s at T =1.3 K . SnSe is thus found to be a high-quality quasi-two-dimensional semiconductor ideal for thermoelectric applications.

  20. Study of aluminum content in a welding metal by thermoelectric measurements

    Science.gov (United States)

    Carreón, H.; Ramirez, S.; Coronado, C.; Salazar, M.

    2018-03-01

    This work investigates the effect caused by the aluminum content in a welding metal and its variation in mechanical properties through the use of a non-destructive thermoelectric technique. It is known that aluminum has positive effects as deoxidizer in low percentages and alloying element together with Niobium and Vanadium. Aluminum has a positive and negative effect, initially improves the mechanical properties of the metal, as it acts as a grain refiner, increasing the yield strength, but in larger quantities, important mechanical properties such as hardness and toughness are seriously affected. For this purpose, HSLA ASTM 572 Gr. 50 steel was used as the base metal, where the weld metal was deposited, after which the specimens were fabricated and the mechanical tests and non-destructive tests were carried out. The sensitivity of the thermoelectric potential technique to microstructural and chemical composition changes was confirmed. The evolution of absolute thermoelectric potential (TEP) values with respect to the percentage of aluminum added to the weld was observed, being also quite sensitive to defects such as micro-cracks.

  1. A Review on the Fabrication of Polymer-Based Thermoelectric Materials and Fabrication Methods

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kamarudin, Muhammad Akmal; Sahamir, Shahrir Razey; Datta, Robi Shankar; Long, Bui Duc; Mohd Sabri, Mohd Faizul; Mohd Said, Suhana

    2013-01-01

    Thermoelectricity, by converting heat energy directly into useable electricity, offers a promising technology to convert heat from solar energy and to recover waste heat from industrial sectors and automobile exhausts. In recent years, most of the efforts have been done on improving the thermoelectric efficiency using different approaches, that is, nanostructuring, doping, molecular rattling, and nanocomposite formation. The applications of thermoelectric polymers at low temperatures, especially conducting polymers, have shown various advantages such as easy and low cost of fabrication, light weight, and flexibility. In this review, we will focus on exploring new types of polymers and the effects of different structures, concentrations, and molecular weight on thermoelectric properties. Various strategies to improve the performance of thermoelectric materials will be discussed. In addition, a discussion on the fabrication of thermoelectric devices, especially suited to polymers, will also be given. Finally, we provide the challenge and the future of thermoelectric polymers, especially thermoelectric hybrid model. PMID:24324378

  2. Thermoelectric infrared imager and automotive applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hirota, Masaki; Satou, Fuminori; Saito, Masanori; Kishi, Youichi; Nakajima, Yasushi; Uchiyama, Makato

    2001-10-01

    This paper describes a newly developed thermoelectric infrared imager having a 48 X 32 element thermoelectric focal plane array (FPA) and an experimental vehicle featuring a blind spot pedestrian warning system, which employs four infrared imagers. The imager measures 100 mm in width, 60 mm in height and 80 mm in depth, weighs 400 g, and has an overall field of view (FOV) of 40 deg X 20 deg. The power consumption of the imager is 3 W. The pedestrian detection program is stored in a CPU chip on a printed circuit board (PCB). The FPA provides high responsivity of 2,100 V/W, a time constant of 25 msec, and a low cost potential. Each element has external dimensions of 190 μm x 190 μm, and consists of six pairs of thermocouples and an Au-black absorber that is precisely patterned by low-pressure evaporation and lift-off technologies. The experimental vehicle is called the Nissan ASV-2 (Advanced Safety Vehicle-2), which incorporates a wide range of integrated technologies aimed at reducing traffic accidents. The blind spot pedestrian warning system alerts the driver to the presence of a pedestrian in a blind spot by detecting the infrared radiation emitted from the person's body. This system also prevents the vehicle from moving in the direction of the pedestrian.

  3. Crystalline perfection and mechanical investigations on vertical Bridgman grown Bismuth telluride (Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 3}) single crystals for thermoelectric applications

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Krishna, Anuj [Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research, CSIR- National Physical Laboratory, New Delhi 110012 (India); X-ray Analysis and Crystal Growth Section, CSIR-National Physical Laboratory, Dr. K.S. Krishnan Road, New Delhi 110012 (India); Vijayan, N., E-mail: nvijayan@nplindia.org [X-ray Analysis and Crystal Growth Section, CSIR-National Physical Laboratory, Dr. K.S. Krishnan Road, New Delhi 110012 (India); Singh, Budhendra [TEMA-NRD, Mechanical Engineering Department and Aveiro Institute of Nanotechnology (AIN), University of Aveiro, 3810-193 Aveiro (Portugal); Thukral, Kanika [Academy of Scientific and Innovative Research, CSIR- National Physical Laboratory, New Delhi 110012 (India); X-ray Analysis and Crystal Growth Section, CSIR-National Physical Laboratory, Dr. K.S. Krishnan Road, New Delhi 110012 (India); Maurya, K.K. [X-ray Analysis and Crystal Growth Section, CSIR-National Physical Laboratory, Dr. K.S. Krishnan Road, New Delhi 110012 (India)

    2016-03-07

    High efficiency thermoelectric materials plays a vital role in power generation and refrigeration applications. Bismuth telluride (Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 3}) is one among them. In the present work single crystal of bismuth telluride was grown using vertical Bridgman technique. The phase of grown crystals was analysed using a powder X-ray diffractometer. Quality of the grown crystal was assessed by using high resolution X-ray diffractometer and observed that it is fairly good. Further mechanical investigations on grown crystal was carried out using nano-indentation technique and various mechanical properties like hardness, stiffness and Young’s modulus were evaluated. Observed results clearly indicate its suitability for thermoelectric applications.

  4. Thermoelectric Control Of Temperatures Of Pressure Sensors

    Science.gov (United States)

    Burkett, Cecil G., Jr.; West, James W.; Hutchinson, Mark A.; Lawrence, Robert M.; Crum, James R.

    1995-01-01

    Prototype controlled-temperature enclosure containing thermoelectric devices developed to house electronically scanned array of pressure sensors. Enclosure needed because (1) temperatures of transducers in sensors must be maintained at specified set point to ensure proper operation and calibration and (2) sensors sometimes used to measure pressure in hostile environments (wind tunnels in original application) that are hotter or colder than set point. Thus, depending on temperature of pressure-measurement environment, thermoelectric devices in enclosure used to heat or cool transducers to keep them at set point.

  5. An oxide-based thermoelectric generator: Transversal thermoelectric strip-device

    Science.gov (United States)

    Teichert, S.; Bochmann, A.; Reimann, T.; Schulz, T.; Dreßler, C.; Töpfer, J.

    2015-07-01

    A special design of an oxide-based transversal thermoelectric device utilizing thermoelectric oxides in combination with a ceramic multilayer technology is proposed. Metal strips within the ceramic matrix replace the tilted stack of alternating layers used in artificial anisotropic transversal thermoelectric devices. Numerical three-dimensional simulations of both device types reveal better thermoelectric performance data for the device with metal stripes. A monolithic transversal strip-device based on the material combination La1.97Sr0.03CuO4/Ag6Pd1 was prepared and electrically characterized. A maximum power output of 4.0 mW was determined at ΔT = 225 K for the monolithic device. The observed results are in remarkable agreement with three-dimensional numerical simulations utilizing the transport parameters of the two materials and the geometry data of the device.

  6. Thermoelectric Generation Of Current - Theoretical And Experimental Analysis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ruciński, Adam; Rusowicz, Artur

    2017-12-01

    This paper provides some information about thermoelectric technology. Some new materials with improved figures of merit are presented. These materials in Peltier modules make it possible to generate electric current thanks to a temperature difference. The paper indicates possible applications of thermoelectric modules as interesting tools for using various waste heat sources. Some zero-dimensional equations describing the conditions of electric power generation are given. Also, operating parameters of Peltier modules, such as voltage and electric current, are analyzed. The paper shows chosen characteristics of power generation parameters. Then, an experimental stand for ongoing research and experimental measurements are described. The authors consider the resistance of a receiver placed in the electric circuit with thermoelectric elements. Finally, both the analysis of experimental results and conclusions drawn from theoretical findings are presented. Voltage generation of about 1.5 to 2.5 V for the temperature difference from 65 to 85 K was observed when a bismuth telluride thermoelectric couple (traditionally used in cooling technology) was used.

  7. Detailed Modeling and Irreversible Transfer Process Analysis of a Multi-Element Thermoelectric Generator System

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xiao, Heng; Gou, Xiaolong; Yang, Suwen

    2011-05-01

    Thermoelectric (TE) power generation technology, due to its several advantages, is becoming a noteworthy research direction. Many researchers conduct their performance analysis and optimization of TE devices and related applications based on the generalized thermoelectric energy balance equations. These generalized TE equations involve the internal irreversibility of Joule heating inside the thermoelectric device and heat leakage through the thermoelectric couple leg. However, it is assumed that the thermoelectric generator (TEG) is thermally isolated from the surroundings except for the heat flows at the cold and hot junctions. Since the thermoelectric generator is a multi-element device in practice, being composed of many fundamental TE couple legs, the effect of heat transfer between the TE couple leg and the ambient environment is not negligible. In this paper, based on basic theories of thermoelectric power generation and thermal science, detailed modeling of a thermoelectric generator taking account of the phenomenon of energy loss from the TE couple leg is reported. The revised generalized thermoelectric energy balance equations considering the effect of heat transfer between the TE couple leg and the ambient environment have been derived. Furthermore, characteristics of a multi-element thermoelectric generator with irreversibility have been investigated on the basis of the new derived TE equations. In the present investigation, second-law-based thermodynamic analysis (exergy analysis) has been applied to the irreversible heat transfer process in particular. It is found that the existence of the irreversible heat convection process causes a large loss of heat exergy in the TEG system, and using thermoelectric generators for low-grade waste heat recovery has promising potential. The results of irreversibility analysis, especially irreversible effects on generator system performance, based on the system model established in detail have guiding significance for

  8. Magnéli oxides as promising n-type thermoelectrics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Gregor Kieslich

    2014-10-01

    Full Text Available The discovery of a large thermopower in cobalt oxides in 1997 lead to a surge of interest in oxides for thermoelectric application. Whereas conversion efficiencies of p-type oxides can compete with non-oxide materials, n-type oxides show significantly lower thermoelectric performances. In this context so-called Magnéli oxides have recently gained attention as promising n-type thermoelectrics. A combination of crystallographic shear and intrinsic disorder lead to relatively low thermal conductivities and metallic-like electrical conductivities in Magnéli oxides. Current peak-zT values of 0.3 around 1100 K for titanium and tungsten Magnéli oxides are encouraging for future research. Here, we put Magnéli oxides into context of n-type oxide thermoelectrics and give a perspective where future research can bring us.

  9. Electronic structure and physical properties of Heusler compounds for thermoelectric and spintronic applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ouardi, Siham

    2012-01-01

    This thesis focuses on synthesis as well as investigations of the electronic structure and properties of Heusler compounds for spintronic and thermoelectric applications. The first part reports on the electronic and crystal structure as well as the mechanical, magnetic, and transport properties of the polycrystalline Heusler compound Co 2 MnGe. The crystalline structure was examined in detail by extended X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy and anomalous X-ray diffraction. The low-temperature magnetic moment agrees well with the Slater-Pauling rule and indicates a half-metallic ferromagnetic state of the compound, as is predicted by ab-initio calculations. Transport measurements and hard X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (HAXPES) were performed to explain the electronic structure of the compound. A major part of the thesis deals with a systematical investigation of Heusler compounds for thermoelectric applications. This thesis focuses on the search for new p-type Heusler compounds with high thermoelectric efficiency. The substitutional series NiTi 1-x M x Sn (where M=Sc, V and 0 0.26 Sc 0.04 Zr 0.35 Hf 0.35 Sn. HAXPES valence band measurement show massive in gap states for the parent compounds NiTiSn, CoTiSb and NiTi 0.3 Zr 0.35 Hf 0.35 Sn. This proves that the electronic states close to the Fermi energy play a key role for the behavior of the transport properties. Furthermore, the electronic structure of the gapless Heusler compounds PtYSb, PtLaBi and PtLuSb were investigated by bulk sensitive HAXPES. The linear behavior of the spectra close to εF proves the bulk origin of Dirac-cone type density of states. Furthermore, a systematic study on the optical and transport properties of PtYSb is presented. The compound exhibits promising thermoelectric properties with a high figure of merit (ZT=0.2) and a Hall mobility μh of 300 cm 2 /Vs at 350 K. The last part of this thesis describes the linear dichroism in angular-resolved photoemission from the valence band

  10. Application of flexible micro temperature sensor in oxidative steam reforming by a methanol micro reformer.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Chi-Yuan; Lee, Shuo-Jen; Shen, Chia-Chieh; Yeh, Chuin-Tih; Chang, Chi-Chung; Lo, Yi-Man

    2011-01-01

    Advances in fuel cell applications reflect the ability of reformers to produce hydrogen. This work presents a flexible micro temperature sensor that is fabricated based on micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS) technology and integrated into a flat micro methanol reformer to observe the conditions inside that reformer. The micro temperature sensor has higher accuracy and sensitivity than a conventionally adopted thermocouple. Despite various micro temperature sensor applications, integrated micro reformers are still relatively new. This work proposes a novel method for integrating micro methanol reformers and micro temperature sensors, subsequently increasing the methanol conversion rate and the hydrogen production rate by varying the fuel supply rate and the water/methanol ratio. Importantly, the proposed micro temperature sensor adequately controls the interior temperature during oxidative steam reforming of methanol (OSRM), with the relevant parameters optimized as well.

  11. Application of Flexible Micro Temperature Sensor in Oxidative Steam Reforming by a Methanol Micro Reformer

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yi-Man Lo

    2011-02-01

    Full Text Available Advances in fuel cell applications reflect the ability of reformers to produce hydrogen. This work presents a flexible micro temperature sensor that is fabricated based on micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS technology and integrated into a flat micro methanol reformer to observe the conditions inside that reformer. The micro temperature sensor has higher accuracy and sensitivity than a conventionally adopted thermocouple. Despite various micro temperature sensor applications, integrated micro reformers are still relatively new. This work proposes a novel method for integrating micro methanol reformers and micro temperature sensors, subsequently increasing the methanol conversion rate and the hydrogen production rate by varying the fuel supply rate and the water/methanol ratio. Importantly, the proposed micro temperature sensor adequately controls the interior temperature during oxidative steam reforming of methanol (OSRM, with the relevant parameters optimized as well.

  12. EDITORIAL: The 6th International Workshop on Micro and Nanotechnologies for Power Generation and Energy Conversion Applications (PowerMEMS 2006)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fréchette, Luc G.

    2007-09-01

    Energy is a sector of paramount importance over the coming decades if we are to ensure sustainable development that respects our environment. The research and development of novel approaches to convert available energy into usable forms using micro and nanotechnologies can contribute towards this goal and meet the growing need for power in small scale portable applications. The dominant power sources for handheld and other portable electronics are currently primary and rechargeable batteries. Their limited energy density and adverse effects on the environment upon disposal suggest that alternative approaches need to be explored. This special issue will showcase some of the leading work in this area, initially presented at PowerMEMS 2006, the 6th International Workshop on Micro and Nanotechnologies for Power Generation and Energy Conversion Applications. Power MEMS are defined as microsystems for electrical power generation and other energy conversion applications, including propulsion and cooling. The range of power MEMS technologies includes micro thermodynamic machines, such as microturbines, miniature internal combustion engines and micro-coolers; solid-state direct energy conversion, such as thermoelectric and photovoltaic microstructures; micro electrochemical devices, such as micro fuel cells and nanostructure batteries; vibration energy harvesting devices, such as piezoelectric, magnetic or electrostatic micro generators, as well as micro thrusters and rocket engines for propulsion. These can either be driven by scavenging thermal, mechanical or solar energy from the environment, or from a stored energy source, such as chemical fuel or radioactive material. The unique scope leads to unique challenges in the development of power MEMS, ranging from the integration of novel materials to the efficient small scale implementation of energy conversion principles. In this special issue, Mitcheson et al provide a comparative assessment of three inertial vibration

  13. Electroforming of Bi(1-x)Sb(x) nanowires for high-efficiency micro-thermoelectric cooling devices on a chip.

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Overmyer, Donald L.; Webb, Edmund Blackburn, III (,; ); Siegal, Michael P.; Yelton, William Graham

    2006-11-01

    Active cooling of electronic systems for space-based and terrestrial National Security missions has demanded use of Stirling, reverse-Brayton, closed Joule-Thompson, pulse tube and more elaborate refrigeration cycles. Such cryocoolers are large systems that are expensive, demand large powers, often contain moving parts and are difficult to integrate with electronic systems. On-chip, solid-state, active cooling would greatly enhance the capabilities of future systems by reducing the size, cost and inefficiencies compared to existing solutions. We proposed to develop the technology for a thermoelectric cooler capable of reaching 77K by replacing bulk thermoelectric materials with arrays of Bi{sub 1-x}Sb{sub x} nanowires. Furthermore, the Sandia-developed technique we will use to produce the oriented nanowires occurs at room temperature and can be applied directly to a silicon substrate. Key obstacles include (1) optimizing the Bi{sub 1-x}Sb{sub x} alloy composition for thermoelectric properties; (2) increasing wire aspect ratios to 3000:1; and (3) increasing the array density to {ge} 10{sup 9} wires/cm{sup 2}. The primary objective of this LDRD was to fabricate and test the thermoelectric properties of arrays of Bi{sub 1-x}Sb{sub x} nanowires. With this proof-of-concept data under our belts we are positioned to engage National Security systems customers to invest in the integration of on-chip thermoelectric coolers for future missions.

  14. Thermoelectric coolers as power generators

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Burke, E.J.; Buist, R.J.

    1984-01-01

    There are many applications where thermoelectric (TE) coolers can be used effectively as power generators. The literature available on this subject is scarce and very limited in scope. This paper describes the configuration, capability, limitations and performance of TE coolers to be used as power generators. Also presented are performance curves enabling the user to design the optimum TE module for any given power generation application

  15. Electrochemically deposited BiTe-based nano wires for thermoelectric applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Inn-Khuan, N.; Kuan-Ying, K.; Che Zuraini Che Abdul Rahman; Nur Ubaidah Saidin; Suhaila Hani Ilias; Thye-Foo, C.

    2013-01-01

    Full-text: Nano structured materials systems such as thin-films and nano wires (NWs) are promising for thermoelectric power generation and refrigeration compared to traditional counterparts in bulk, due to their enhanced thermoelectric figures-of-merit. BiTe and its derivative compounds, in particular, are well-known for their near-room temperature thermoelectric performance. In this work, both the binary and ternary BiTe-based nano wires namely, BiTe and BiSbTe, were synthesized using template-assisted electrodeposition. Diameters of the nano wires were controlled by the pore sizes of the anodised alumina (AAO) templates used. Systematic study on the compositional change as a function of applied potential was carried out via Linear Sweep Voltametry (LSV). Chemical compositions of the nano wires were studied using Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectrometry (EDXS) and their microstructures evaluated using diffraction and imaging techniques. Results from chemical analysis on the nano wires indicated that while the Sb content in BiSbTe nano wires increased with more negative deposition potentials, the formation of Te 0 and Bi 2 Te 3 were favorable at more positive potentials. (author)

  16. Thermoelectric properties of low-dimensional clathrates from first principles

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kasinathan, Deepa; Rosner, Helge

    2011-03-01

    Type-I inorganic clathrates are host-guest structures with the guest atoms trapped in the framework of the host structure. From a thermoelectric point of view, they are interesting because they are semiconductors with adjustable bandgaps. Investigations in the past decade have shown that type-I clathrates X8 Ga 16 Ge 30 (X = Ba, Sr, Eu) may have the unusual property of ``phonon glass-electron crystal'' for good thermoelectric materials. Among the known clathrates, Ba 8 Ga 16 Ge 30 has the highest figure of merit (ZT~1). To enable a more widespread usage of thermoelectric technology power generation and heating/cooling applications, ZT of at least 2-3 is required. Two different research approaches have been proposed for developing next generation thermoelectric materials: one investigating new families of advanced bulk materials, and the other studying low-dimensional materials. In our work, we concentrate on understanding the thermoelectric properties of the nanostructured Ba-based clathrates. We use semi-classical Boltzmann transport equations to calculate the various thermoelectric properties as a function of reduced dimensions. We observe that there exists a delicate balance between the electrical conductivity and the electronic part of the thermal conductivity in reduced dimensions. Insights from these results can directly be used to control particle size in nanostructuring experiments.

  17. LaBiTe3: An unusual thermoelectric material

    KAUST Repository

    Singh, Nirpendra

    2014-06-18

    Using first-principles calculations and semi-classical Boltzmann transport theory, the thermoelectric properties of LaBiTe3 are studied. The band gap and, hence, the thermoelectric response are found to be easily tailored by application of strain. Independent of the temperature, the figure of merit turns out to be maximal at a doping of about 1.6 × 1021 cm-3. At room temperature we obtain values of 0.4 and 0.5 for unstrained and moderately strained LaBiTe3, which increases to 1.1 and 1.3 at 800 K. A large spin splitting is observed in the conduction band at the T point. Therefore, LaBiTe3 merges characteristics that are interesting for thermoelectric as well as spintronic devices.

  18. LaBiTe3: An unusual thermoelectric material

    KAUST Repository

    Singh, Nirpendra; Schwingenschlö gl, Udo

    2014-01-01

    Using first-principles calculations and semi-classical Boltzmann transport theory, the thermoelectric properties of LaBiTe3 are studied. The band gap and, hence, the thermoelectric response are found to be easily tailored by application of strain. Independent of the temperature, the figure of merit turns out to be maximal at a doping of about 1.6 × 1021 cm-3. At room temperature we obtain values of 0.4 and 0.5 for unstrained and moderately strained LaBiTe3, which increases to 1.1 and 1.3 at 800 K. A large spin splitting is observed in the conduction band at the T point. Therefore, LaBiTe3 merges characteristics that are interesting for thermoelectric as well as spintronic devices.

  19. Alkaline earth filled nickel skutterudite antimonide thermoelectrics

    Science.gov (United States)

    Singh, David Joseph

    2013-07-16

    A thermoelectric material including a body centered cubic filled skutterudite having the formula A.sub.xFe.sub.yNi.sub.zSb.sub.12, where A is an alkaline earth element, x is no more than approximately 1.0, and the sum of y and z is approximately equal to 4.0. The alkaline earth element includes guest atoms selected from the group consisting of Be, Mb, Ca, Sr, Ba, Ra and combinations thereof. The filled skutterudite is shown to have properties suitable for a wide variety of thermoelectric applications.

  20. Holistic quantum design of thermoelectric niobium oxynitride

    Science.gov (United States)

    Music, Denis; Bliem, Pascal; Hans, Marcus

    2015-06-01

    We have applied holistic quantum design to thermoelectric NbON (space group Pm-3m). Even though transport properties are central in designing efficient thermoelectrics, mechanical properties should also be considered to minimize their thermal fatigue during multiple heating/cooling cycles. Using density functional theory, elastic constants of NbON were predicted and validated by nanoindentation measurements on reactively sputtered thin films. Based on large bulk-to-shear modulus ratio and positive Cauchy pressure, ceramic NbON appears ductile. These unusual properties may be understood by analyzing the electronic structure. Nb-O bonding is of covalent-ionic nature with metallic contributions. Second neighbor O-N bonds exhibit covalent-ionic character. Upon shear loading, these O-N bonds break giving rise to easily shearable planes. Ductile NbON, together with large Seebeck coefficient and low thermal expansion, is promising for thermoelectric applications.

  1. Thermoelectric transport in rare-earth compounds

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Koehler, Ulrike

    2007-07-01

    This work focuses on the thermoelectric transport in rare-earth compounds. The measurements of the thermal conductivity, thermopower, and Nernst coefficient are supplemented by investigations of other quantities as magnetic susceptibility and specific heat. Chapter 2 provides an introduction to the relevant physical concepts. Section 1 of that chapter summarizes the characteristic properties of rare-earth systems; section 2 gives an overview on thermoelectric transport processes in magnetic fields. The applied experimental techniques as well as the new experimental setup are described in detail in Chapter 3. The experimental results are presented in Chapter 4-6, of which each concentrates on a different subject. In Chapter 4, various Eu clathrates and the skutterudite-like Ce{sub 3}Rh{sub 4}Sn{sub 13} are presented, which have been investigated as potential thermoelectric materials for applications. Chapter 5 focusses on the study of the energy scales in the heavy-fermion series Lu{sub 1-x}Yb{sub x}Rh{sub 2}Si{sub 2} and Ce{sub x}La{sub 1-x}Ni{sub 2}Ge{sub 2} by means of thermopower investigations. Chapter 6 is dedicated to the thermoelectric transport properties of the correlated semimetal CeNiSn with special emphasis on the Nernst coefficient of this compound. (orig.)

  2. Co-optimized design of microchannel heat exchangers and thermoelectric generators

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Kolaei, Alireza Rezania; Yazawa, K.; Rosendahl, Lasse

    2013-01-01

    Designs of heat exchangers have mostly been disconnected to the performance of thermoelectric generator (TEG) systems. The development work, mostly focused on thermoelectric materials, required a significant amount of engineering parametric analysis. In this work, a micro plate-fin heat exchanger...... applied to a TEG is investigated and optimized to maximize the output power and the cost performance of generic TEG systems. The cost per performance is counted by a measure of price per power output ($/W). The channel width, channel height, fin thickness of heat exchanger, and fill factor of TEG...... are theoretically optimized for a wide range of pumping power. In conjunction with effective numeric tests, the model discusses the optimum size of the system components’ dimensions at two area sizes of the substrate plate of heat exchanger. Results show that at every pumping power, there are particular values...

  3. Electronic structure and physical properties of Heusler compounds for thermoelectric and spintronic applications

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ouardi, Siham

    2012-03-19

    This thesis focuses on synthesis as well as investigations of the electronic structure and properties of Heusler compounds for spintronic and thermoelectric applications. The first part reports on the electronic and crystal structure as well as the mechanical, magnetic, and transport properties of the polycrystalline Heusler compound Co{sub 2}MnGe. The crystalline structure was examined in detail by extended X-ray absorption fine structure spectroscopy and anomalous X-ray diffraction. The low-temperature magnetic moment agrees well with the Slater-Pauling rule and indicates a half-metallic ferromagnetic state of the compound, as is predicted by ab-initio calculations. Transport measurements and hard X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (HAXPES) were performed to explain the electronic structure of the compound. A major part of the thesis deals with a systematical investigation of Heusler compounds for thermoelectric applications. This thesis focuses on the search for new p-type Heusler compounds with high thermoelectric efficiency. The substitutional series NiTi{sub 1-x}M{sub x}Sn (where M=Sc, V and 0thermoelectrics within one Heusler compound. The pure compounds showed n-type behavior, while under Sc substitution the system switched to p-type behavior. A maximum Seebeck coefficient of +230 {mu}V/K (350 K) was obtained for NiTi{sub 0.26}Sc{sub 0.04}Zr{sub 0.35}Hf{sub 0.35}Sn. HAXPES valence band measurement show massive in gap states for the parent compounds NiTiSn, CoTiSb and NiTi{sub 0.3}Zr{sub 0.35}Hf{sub 0.35}Sn. This proves that the electronic states close to the Fermi energy play a key role for the behavior of the transport properties. Furthermore, the electronic structure of the gapless Heusler compounds PtYSb, PtLaBi and PtLuSb were investigated by bulk

  4. WSi2 in Si(1-x)Ge(x) Composites: Processing and Thermoelectric Properties

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mackey, Jonathan A.; Sehirlioglu, Alp; Dynys, Fred

    2015-01-01

    Traditional SiGe thermoelectrics have potential for enhanced figure of merit (ZT) via nano-structuring with a silicide phase, such as WSi2. A second phase of nano-sized silicides can theoretically reduce the lattice component of thermal conductivity without significantly reducing the electrical conductivity. However, experimentally achieving such improvements in line with the theory is complicated by factors such as control of silicide size during sintering, dopant segregation, matrix homogeneity, and sintering kinetics. Samples were prepared using powder metallurgy techniques; including mechano-chemical alloying, via ball milling, and spark plasma sintering for densification. Processing, micro-structural development, and thermoelectric properties will be discussed. Additionally, couple and device level characterization will be introduced.

  5. Micro-Scale Avionics Thermal Management

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moran, Matthew E.

    2001-01-01

    Trends in the thermal management of avionics and commercial ground-based microelectronics are converging, and facing the same dilemma: a shortfall in technology to meet near-term maximum junction temperature and package power projections. Micro-scale devices hold the key to significant advances in thermal management, particularly micro-refrigerators/coolers that can drive cooling temperatures below ambient. A microelectromechanical system (MEMS) Stirling cooler is currently under development at the NASA Glenn Research Center to meet this challenge with predicted efficiencies that are an order of magnitude better than current and future thermoelectric coolers.

  6. Thermoelectric cross-plane properties on p- and n-Ge/Si{sub x}Ge{sub 1-x} superlattices

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Ferre Llin, L.; Samarelli, A. [University of Glasgow, School of Engineering, Oakfield Avenue, Glasgow G12 8LT (United Kingdom); Cecchi, S.; Chrastina, D.; Isella, G. [L-NESS, Politecnico di Milano, Via Anzani 42, 22100 Como (Italy); Müller Gubler, E. [ETH, Electron Microscopy ETH Zurich, Wolgang-Pauli-Str. Ch-8093 Zurich (Switzerland); Etzelstorfer, T.; Stangl, J. [Johannes Kepler Universität, Institute of Semiconductor and Solid State Physics, A-4040 Linz (Austria); Paul, D.J., E-mail: Douglas.Paul@glasgow.ac.uk [University of Glasgow, School of Engineering, Oakfield Avenue, Glasgow G12 8LT (United Kingdom)

    2016-03-01

    Silicon and germanium materials have demonstrated an increasing attraction for energy harvesting, due to their sustainability and integrability with complementary metal oxide semiconductor and micro-electro-mechanical-system technology. The thermoelectric efficiencies for these materials, however, are very poor at room temperature and so it is necessary to engineer them in order to compete with telluride based materials, which have demonstrated at room temperature the highest performances in literature [1]. Micro-fabricated devices consisting of mesa structures with integrated heaters, thermometers and Ohmic contacts were used to extract the cross-plane values of the Seebeck coefficient and the thermal conductivity from p- and n-Ge/Si{sub x}Ge{sub 1-x} superlattices. A second device consisting in a modified circular transfer line method structure was used to extract the electrical conductivity of the materials. A range of p-Ge/Si{sub 0.5}Ge{sub 0.5} superlattices with different doping levels was investigated in detail to determine the role of the doping density in dictating the thermoelectric properties. A second set of n-Ge/Si{sub 0.3}Ge{sub 0.7} superlattices was fabricated to study the impact that quantum well thickness might have on the two thermoelectric figures of merit, and also to demonstrate a further reduction of the thermal conductivity by scattering phonons at different wavelengths. This technique has demonstrated to lower the thermal conductivity by a 25% by adding different barrier thicknesses per period. - Highlights: • Growth of epitaxial Ge/SiGe superlattices on Si substrates as energy harvesters • Study of cross-plane thermoelectric properties of Ge/SiGe superlattices at 300 K • Thermoelectric figures of merit studied as a function of doping density • Phonon scattering at different wavelengths to reduce thermal transport.

  7. Analysis of a sandwich-type generator with self-heating thermoelectric elements

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Mikyung; Yang, Hyein; Wee, Daehyun

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • A novel and unique type of thermoelectric generators is proposed. • Heat source is combined in thermoelectric elements, reducing heat transfer problems. • Embedding radioactive isotopes is proposed as a way to implement the new design. • Conversion efficiency and power density are estimated for the proposed design. - Abstract: A novel and unique design of thermoelectric generators, in which a heat source is combined with thermoelectric elements, is proposed. By placing heat-generating radioactive isotopes inside the thermoelectric elements, the heat transfer limitation between the generator and the heat source can be eliminated, ensuring simplicity. The inner electrode is sandwiched between identical thermoelectric elements, which naturally allows the inner core to act as the hot side. Analysis shows that conversion efficiency and power density increase as the heat density inside the thermoelectric elements increases and as the thermoelectric performance of the material improves. The theoretical maximum efficiency is shown to be 50%. However, realistic performance under practical constraint is much worse. In realistic cases, the efficiency would be about 3% at best. The power density of the proposed design exhibits a much more reasonable value as high as 3000 W/m 2 . Although the efficiency is low, the simplicity of the proposed design combined with its reasonable power density may result in some, albeit limited, potential applications. Further investigation must be performed in order to realize such potential

  8. A 3D TCAD simulation of a thermoelectric module configured for thermoelectric power generation, cooling and heating

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gould, C. A.; Shammas, N. Y. A.; Grainger, S.; Taylor, I.; Simpson, K.

    2012-06-01

    This paper documents the 3D modeling and simulation of a three couple thermoelectric module using the Synopsys Technology Computer Aided Design (TCAD) semiconductor simulation software. Simulation results are presented for thermoelectric power generation, cooling and heating, and successfully demonstrate the basic thermoelectric principles. The 3D TCAD simulation model of a three couple thermoelectric module can be used in the future to evaluate different thermoelectric materials, device structures, and improve the efficiency and performance of thermoelectric modules.

  9. Encapsulation of high temperature thermoelectric modules

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Salvador, James R.; Sakamoto, Jeffrey; Park, Youngsam

    2017-07-11

    A method of encapsulating a thermoelectric device and its associated thermoelectric elements in an inert atmosphere and a thermoelectric device fabricated by such method are described. These thermoelectric devices may be intended for use under conditions which would otherwise promote oxidation of the thermoelectric elements. The capsule is formed by securing a suitably-sized thin-walled strip of oxidation-resistant metal to the ceramic substrates which support the thermoelectric elements. The thin-walled metal strip is positioned to enclose the edges of the thermoelectric device and is secured to the substrates using gap-filling materials. The strip, substrates and gap-filling materials cooperatively encapsulate the thermoelectric elements and exclude oxygen and water vapor from atmospheric air so that the elements may be maintained in an inert, non-oxidizing environment.

  10. Manufacturing Te/PEDOT Films for Thermoelectric Applications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Culebras, Mario; Igual-Muñoz, Ana María; Rodríguez-Fernández, Carlos; Gómez-Gómez, María Isabel; Gómez, Clara; Cantarero, Andrés

    2017-06-21

    In this work, flexible Te films have been synthesized by electrochemical deposition using PEDOT [poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene)] nanofilms as working electrodes. The Te electrodeposition time was varied to find the best thermoelectric properties of the Te/PEDOT double layers. To show the high quality of the Te films grown on PEDOT, the samples were analyzed by Raman spectroscopy, showing the three Raman active modes of Te: E 1 , A 1 , and E 2 . The X-ray diffraction spectra also confirmed the presence of crystalline Te on top of the PEDOT films. The morphology of the Te/PEDOT films was studied using scanning electron microscopy, showing a homogeneous distribution of Te along the film. Also an atomic force microscope was used to analyze the quality of the Te surface. Finally, the electrical conductivity and the Seebeck coefficient of the Te/PEDOT films were measured as a function of the Te deposition time. The films showed an excellent thermoelectric behavior, giving a maximum power factor of about 320 ± 16 μW m -1 K -2 after 2.5 h of Te electrochemical deposition, a value larger than that reported for thin films of Te. Qualitative arguments to explain this behavior are given in the discussion.

  11. Reliable Thermoelectric Module Design under Opposing Requirements from Structural and Thermoelectric Considerations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Karri, Naveen K.; Mo, Changki

    2018-06-01

    Structural reliability of thermoelectric generation (TEG) systems still remains an issue, especially for applications such as large-scale industrial or automobile exhaust heat recovery, in which TEG systems are subject to dynamic loads and thermal cycling. Traditional thermoelectric (TE) system design and optimization techniques, focused on performance alone, could result in designs that may fail during operation as the geometric requirements for optimal performance (especially the power) are often in conflict with the requirements for mechanical reliability. This study focused on reducing the thermomechanical stresses in a TEG system without compromising the optimized system performance. Finite element simulations were carried out to study the effect of TE element (leg) geometry such as leg length and cross-sectional shape under constrained material volume requirements. Results indicated that the element length has a major influence on the element stresses whereas regular cross-sectional shapes have minor influence. The impact of TE element stresses on the mechanical reliability is evaluated using brittle material failure theory based on Weibull analysis. An alternate couple configuration that relies on the industry practice of redundant element design is investigated. Results showed that the alternate configuration considerably reduced the TE element and metallization stresses, thereby enhancing the structural reliability, with little trade-off in the optimized performance. The proposed alternate configuration could serve as a potential design modification for improving the reliability of systems optimized for thermoelectric performance.

  12. CO Sensing Performance of a Micro Thermoelectric Gas Sensor with AuPtPd/SnO₂ Catalyst and Effects of a Double Catalyst Structure with Pt/α-Al₂O₃.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goto, Tomoyo; Itoh, Toshio; Akamatsu, Takafumi; Shin, Woosuck

    2015-12-15

    The CO sensing properties of a micro thermoelectric gas sensor (micro-TGS) with a double AuPtPd/SnO₂ and Pt/α-Al₂O₃ catalyst were investigated. While several nanometer sized Pt and Pd particles were uniformly dispersed on SnO₂, the Au particles were aggregated as particles measuring >10 nm in diameter. In situ diffuse reflectance Fourier transform Infrared spectroscopy (DRIFT) analysis of the catalyst showed a CO adsorption peak on Pt and Pd, but no clear peak corresponding to the interaction between CO and Au was detected. Up to 200 °C, CO combustion was more temperature dependent than that of H₂, while H₂ combustion was activated by repeated exposure to H₂ gas during the periodic gas test. Selective CO sensing of the micro-TGS against H₂ was attempted using a double catalyst structure with 0.3-30 wt% Pt/α-Al₂O₃ as a counterpart combustion catalyst. The sensor output of the micro-TGS decreased with increasing Pt content in the Pt/α-Al₂O₃ catalyst, by cancelling out the combustion heat from the AuPtPd/SnO₂ catalyst. In addition, the AuPtPd/SnO₂ and 0.3 wt% Pt/α-Al₂O₃ double catalyst sensor showed good and selective CO detection. We therefore demonstrated that our micro-TGS with double catalyst structure is useful for controlling the gas selectivity of CO against H₂.

  13. Compressive strain induced enhancement in thermoelectric-power-factor in monolayer MoS2 nanosheet

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dimple; Jena, Nityasagar; De Sarkar, Abir

    2017-01-01

    Strain and temperature induced tunability in the thermoelectric properties in monolayer MoS 2 (ML-MoS 2 ) has been demonstrated using density functional theory coupled to semi-classical Boltzmann transport theory. Compressive strain, in general and uniaxial compressive strain (along the zig-zag direction), in particular, is found to be most effective in enhancing the thermoelectric power factor, owing to the higher electronic mobility and its sensitivity to lattice compression along this direction. Variation in the Seebeck coefficient and electronic band gap with strain is found to follow the Goldsmid–Sharp relation. n-type doping is found to raise the relaxation time-scaled thermoelectric power factor higher than p-type doping and this divide widens with increasing temperature. The relaxation time-scaled thermoelectric power factor in optimally n-doped ML-MoS 2 is found to undergo maximal enhancement under the application of 3% uniaxial compressive strain along the zig-zag direction, when both the ( direct ) electronic band gap and the Seebeck coefficient reach their maximum, while the electron mobility drops down drastically from 73.08 to 44.15 cm 2 V −1 s −1 . Such strain sensitive thermoelectric responses in ML-MoS 2 could open doorways for a variety of applications in emerging areas in 2D-thermoelectrics, such as on-chip thermoelectric power generation and waste thermal energy harvesting. (paper)

  14. Compliant Interfacial Layers in Thermoelectric Devices

    Science.gov (United States)

    Firdosy, Samad A. (Inventor); Li, Billy Chun-Yip (Inventor); Ravi, Vilupanur A. (Inventor); Fleurial, Jean-Pierre (Inventor); Caillat, Thierry (Inventor); Anjunyan, Harut (Inventor)

    2017-01-01

    A thermoelectric power generation device is disclosed using one or more mechanically compliant and thermally and electrically conductive layers at the thermoelectric material interfaces to accommodate high temperature differentials and stresses induced thereby. The compliant material may be metal foam or metal graphite composite (e.g. using nickel) and is particularly beneficial in high temperature thermoelectric generators employing Zintl thermoelectric materials. The compliant material may be disposed between the thermoelectric segments of the device or between a thermoelectric segment and the hot or cold side interconnect of the device.

  15. Yb14MnSb11 as a High-Efficiency Thermoelectric Material

    Science.gov (United States)

    Snyder, G. Jeffrey; Gascoin, Franck; Brown, Shawna; Kauzlarich, Susan

    2009-01-01

    Yb14MnSb11 has been found to be wellsuited for use as a p-type thermoelectric material in applications that involve hotside temperatures in the approximate range of 1,200 to 1,300 K. The figure of merit that characterizes the thermal-to-electric power-conversion efficiency is greater for this material than for SiGe, which, until now, has been regarded as the state-of-the art high-temperature ptype thermoelectric material. Moreover, relative to SiGe, Yb14MnSb11 is better suited to incorporation into a segmented thermoelectric leg that includes the moderate-temperature p-type thermoelectric material CeFe4Sb12 and possibly other, lower-temperature p-type thermoelectric materials. Interest in Yb14MnSb11 as a candidate high-temperature thermoelectric material was prompted in part by its unique electronic properties and complex crystalline structure, which place it in a class somewhere between (1) a class of semiconducting valence compounds known in the art as Zintl compounds and (2) the class of intermetallic compounds. From the perspective of chemistry, this classification of Yb14MnSb11 provides a first indication of a potentially rich library of compounds, the thermoelectric properties of which can be easily optimized. The concepts of the thermoelectric figure of merit and the thermoelectric compatibility factor are discussed in Compatibility of Segments of Thermo - electric Generators (NPO-30798), which appears on page 55. The traditional thermoelectric figure of merit, Z, is defined by the equation Z = alpha sup 2/rho K, where alpha is the Seebeck coefficient, rho is the electrical resistivity, and k is the thermal conductivity.

  16. Improvement of micro endmill geometry for micro hard milling application

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Li, P.; Oosterling, J.A.J.; Hoogstrate, A.M.; Langen, H.H.

    2008-01-01

    One of the applications of the micromilling technology is to machine micro features on moulds by direct machining of hardened tool steels. However at this moment, this process is not industrial applicable because of the encountered problems, such as the big tool deflection, severe tool wear, and

  17. Modelling of thermoelectric materials

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Bjerg, Lasse

    In order to discover new good thermoelectric materials, there are essentially two ways. One way is to go to the laboratory, synthesise a new material, and measure the thermoelectric properties. The amount of compounds, which can be investigated this way is limited because the process is time...... consuming. Another approach is to model the thermoelectric properties of a material on a computer. Several crystal structures can be investigated this way without use of much man power. I have chosen the latter approach. Using density functional theory I am able to calculate the band structure of a material....... This band structure I can then use to calculate the thermoelectric properties of the material. With these results I have investigated several materials and found the optimum theoretical doping concentration. If materials with these doping concentrations be synthesised, considerably better thermoelectric...

  18. High-performance and flexible thermoelectric films by screen printing solution-processed nanoplate crystals.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Varghese, Tony; Hollar, Courtney; Richardson, Joseph; Kempf, Nicholas; Han, Chao; Gamarachchi, Pasindu; Estrada, David; Mehta, Rutvik J; Zhang, Yanliang

    2016-09-12

    Screen printing allows for direct conversion of thermoelectric nanocrystals into flexible energy harvesters and coolers. However, obtaining flexible thermoelectric materials with high figure of merit ZT through printing is an exacting challenge due to the difficulties to synthesize high-performance thermoelectric inks and the poor density and electrical conductivity of the printed films. Here, we demonstrate high-performance flexible films and devices by screen printing bismuth telluride based nanocrystal inks synthesized using a microwave-stimulated wet-chemical method. Thermoelectric films of several tens of microns thickness were screen printed onto a flexible polyimide substrate followed by cold compaction and sintering. The n-type films demonstrate a peak ZT of 0.43 along with superior flexibility, which is among the highest reported ZT values in flexible thermoelectric materials. A flexible thermoelectric device fabricated using the printed films produces a high power density of 4.1 mW/cm(2) with 60 °C temperature difference between the hot side and cold side. The highly scalable and low cost process to fabricate flexible thermoelectric materials and devices demonstrated here opens up many opportunities to transform thermoelectric energy harvesting and cooling applications.

  19. Performance analysis of a thermosize micro/nano heat engine

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Nie Wenjie; He Jizhou

    2008-01-01

    In a recent paper [A. Sisman, I. Muller, Phys. Lett. A 320 (2004) 360] the thermodynamic properties of ideal gases confined in a narrow box were examined theoretically. The so-called 'thermosize effects' similar to thermoelectric effects, such as Seebeck-like thermosize effect, Peltier-like thermosize effect and Thomson-like thermosize effect, were analyzed. Like the thermoelectric generator, based on the thermosize effects we have established a model of micro/nano scaled ideal gas heat engine cycle which includes two isothermal and two isobaric processes. The expressions of power output and efficiency of this cycle in the two cases of reversible and irreversible heat exchange are derived and the optimal performance characteristics of the heat engine is discussed by some numerical example. The results obtained here will provide theoretical guidance for the design of micro/nano scaled device

  20. Asymmetric Conductance Thermoelectric Cooling Modules for Cryogenic Applications, Phase I

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration — Thermoelectric coolers (TECs) have long been noted for their compact construction, high reliability, and clean, quiet operation, and they are now widely used in...

  1. A holistic 3D finite element simulation model for thermoelectric power generator element

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wu, Guangxi; Yu, Xiong

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • Development of a holistic simulation model for the thermoelectric energy harvester. • Account for delta Seebeck coefficient and carrier charge densities variations. • Solution of thermo-electric coupling problem with finite element method. • Model capable of predicting phenomena not captured by traditional models. • A simulation tool for design of innovative TEM materials and structures. - Abstract: Harvesting the thermal energy stored in the ambient environment provides a potential sustainable energy source. Thermoelectric power generators have advantages of having no moving parts, being durable, and light-weighted. These unique features are advantageous for many applications (i.e., carry-on medical devices, embedded infrastructure sensors, aerospace, transportation, etc.). To ensure the efficient applications of thermoelectric energy harvesting system, the behaviors of such systems need to be fully understood. Finite element simulations provide important tools for such purpose. Although modeling the performance of thermoelectric modules has been conducted by many researchers, due to the complexity in solving the coupled problem, the influences of the effective Seebeck coefficient and carrier density variations on the performance of thermoelectric system are generally neglected. This results in an overestimation of the power generator performance under strong-ionization temperature region. This paper presents an advanced simulation model for thermoelectric elements that considers the effects of both factors. The mathematical basis of this model is firstly presented. Finite element simulations are then implemented on a thermoelectric power generator unit. The characteristics of the thermoelectric power generator and their relationship to its performance are discussed under different working temperature regions. The internal physics processes of the TEM harvester are analyzed from the results of computational simulations. The new model

  2. Manufacturing and application of micro computer for control

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Park, Seung Man; Heo, Gyeong; Yun, Jun Young

    1990-05-01

    This book deals with machine code and assembly program for micro computer. It composed of 20 chapters, which are micro computer system, practice of a storage cell, manufacturing 1 of micro computer, manufacturing 2 of micro computer, manufacturing of micro computer AID-80A, making of machine language, interface like Z80-PIO and 8255A(PPI), counter and timer interface, exercise of basic command, arithmetic operation, arrangement operation, an indicator control, music playing, detection of input of PIO. control of LED of PIO, PIO mode, CTC control by micro computer, SIO control by micro computer and application by micro computer.

  3. Technical Feasibility Evaluation on The Use of A Peltier Thermoelectric Module to Recover Automobile Exhaust Heat

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sugiartha, N.; Sastra Negara, P.

    2018-01-01

    A thermoelectric module composes of integrated p-n semiconductors as hot and cold side junctions and uses Seebeck effect between them to function as a thermoelectric generator (TEG) to directly convert heat into electrical power. Exhaust heat from engines as otherwise wasted to the atmosphere is one of the heat sources freely available to drive the TEG. This paper evaluates technical feasibility on the use of a Peltier thermoelectric module for energy recovery application of such kind of waste heat. An experimental apparatus has been setup to simulate real conditions of automobile engine exhaust piping system. It includes a square section aluminium ducting, an aluminium fin heat sink and a TEC1 12706 thermoelectric module. A heater and a cooling fan are employed to simulate hot exhaust gas and ambient air flows, respectively. Electrical loading is controlled by resistors. Dependent variables measured during the test are cold and hot side temperatures, open and loaded circuit output voltages and electrical current. The test results revealed a promising application of the Peltier thermoelectric module for the engine exhaust heat recovery, though the loaded output power produced and loaded output voltage are still far lower than the commercially thermoelectric module originally purposed for the TEG application.

  4. Thermoelectric Conversion of Waste Heat to Electricity in an IC Engine Powered Vehicle

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    None

    2012-01-31

    The thermoelectric generator shorting system provides the capability to monitor and short-out individual thermoelectric couples in the event of failure. This makes the series configured thermoelectric generator robust to individual thermoelectric couple failure. Open circuit detection of the thermoelectric couples and the associated short control is a key technique to ensure normal functionality of the TE generator under failure of individual TE couples. This report describes a five-year effort whose goal was the understanding the issues related to the development of a thermoelectric energy recovery device for a Class-8 truck. Likely materials and important issues related to the utility of this generator were identified. Several prototype generators were constructed and demonstrated. The generators developed demonstrated several new concepts including advanced insulation, couple bypass technology and the first implementation of skutterudite thermoelectric material in a generator design. Additional work will be required to bring this system to fruition. However, such generators offer the possibility of converting energy that is otherwise wasted to useful electric power. Uur studies indicate that this can be accomplished in a cost-effective manner for this application.

  5. Mosaic crystals leading a new route to achieve ultrahigh thermoelectric performance

    Institute of Scientific and Technical Information of China (English)

    Yi Xie

    2015-01-01

    Solid-state thermoelectric technology uses electrons or holes as the working fluid for heat pumping and power generation.Adopting the technology in harvesting solar heat,converting waste industrial heat into electricity,and pumping out operational heat has tremendous potential in solid-state electronics applications.A combination of highly efficient electronic transport and low heat conductivity is a prerequisite for excellent thermoelectric performance.As these two requirements are substantially orthogonal,their synchronous realization is difficult in practice,hindering the commercial use of thermoelectricity[1,2].Scientists from the Shanghai Institute of Ceramics,Chinese Academy of Sciences,in collaboration with scien-

  6. Solar thermoelectric generator

    Science.gov (United States)

    Toberer, Eric S.; Baranowski, Lauryn L.; Warren, Emily L.

    2016-05-03

    Solar thermoelectric generators (STEGs) are solid state heat engines that generate electricity from concentrated sunlight. A novel detailed balance model for STEGs is provided and applied to both state-of-the-art and idealized materials. STEGs can produce electricity by using sunlight to heat one side of a thermoelectric generator. While concentrated sunlight can be used to achieve extremely high temperatures (and thus improved generator efficiency), the solar absorber also emits a significant amount of black body radiation. This emitted light is the dominant loss mechanism in these generators. In this invention, we propose a solution to this problem that eliminates virtually all of the emitted black body radiation. This enables solar thermoelectric generators to operate at higher efficiency and achieve said efficient with lower levels of optical concentration. The solution is suitable for both single and dual axis solar thermoelectric generators.

  7. Modeling and Experimentation of New Thermoelectric Cooler–Thermoelectric Generator Module

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Khaled Teffah

    2018-03-01

    Full Text Available In this work, a modeling and experimental study of a new thermoelectric cooler–thermoelectric generator (TEC-TEG module is investigated. The studied module is composed of TEC, TEG and total system heatsink, all connected thermally in series. An input voltage (1–5 V passes through the TEC where the electrons by means of Peltier effect entrain the heat from the upper side of the module to the lower one creating temperature difference; TEG plays the role of a partial heatsink for the TEC by transferring this waste heat to the total system heatsink and converting an amount of this heat into electricity by a phenomenon called Seebeck effect, of the thermoelectric modules. The performance of the TEG as partial heatsink of TEC at different input voltages is demonstrated theoretically using the modeling software COMSOL Multiphysics. Moreover, the experiment validates the simulation result which smooths the path for a new manufacturing thermoelectric cascade model for the cooling and the immediate electric power generation.

  8. Advances in thermoelectric materials research: Looking back and moving forward.

    Science.gov (United States)

    He, Jian; Tritt, Terry M

    2017-09-29

    High-performance thermoelectric materials lie at the heart of thermoelectrics, the simplest technology applicable to direct thermal-to-electrical energy conversion. In its recent 60-year history, the field of thermoelectric materials research has stalled several times, but each time it was rejuvenated by new paradigms. This article reviews several potentially paradigm-changing mechanisms enabled by defects, size effects, critical phenomena, anharmonicity, and the spin degree of freedom. These mechanisms decouple the otherwise adversely interdependent physical quantities toward higher material performance. We also briefly discuss a number of promising materials, advanced material synthesis and preparation techniques, and new opportunities. The renewable energy landscape will be reshaped if the current trend in thermoelectric materials research is sustained into the foreseeable future. Copyright © 2017 The Authors, some rights reserved; exclusive licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science. No claim to original U.S. Government Works.

  9. General Approach for Composite Thermoelectric Systems with Thermal Coupling: The Case of a Dual Thermoelectric Cooler

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Cuautli Yanehowi Flores-Niño

    2015-06-01

    Full Text Available In this work, we show a general approach for inhomogeneous composite thermoelectric systems, and as an illustrative case, we consider a dual thermoelectric cooler. This composite cooler consists of two thermoelectric modules (TEMs connected thermally in parallel and electrically in series. Each TEM has different thermoelectric (TE properties, namely thermal conductance, electrical resistance and the Seebeck coefficient. The system is coupled by thermal conductances to heat reservoirs. The proposed approach consists of derivation of the dimensionless thermoelectric properties for the whole system. Thus, we obtain an equivalent figure of merit whose impact and meaning is discussed. We make use of dimensionless equations to study the impact of the thermal conductance matching on the cooling capacity and the coefficient of the performance of the system. The equivalent thermoelectric properties derived with our formalism include the external conductances and all intrinsic thermoelectric properties of each component of the system. Our proposed approach permits us changing the thermoelectric parameters of the TEMs and the working conditions of the composite system. Furthermore, our analysis shows the effect of the number of thermocouples on the system. These considerations are very useful for the design of thermoelectric composite systems. We reproduce the qualitative behavior of a commercial composite TEM connected electrically in series.

  10. Decoupling interrelated parameters for designing high performance thermoelectric materials.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Xiao, Chong; Li, Zhou; Li, Kun; Huang, Pengcheng; Xie, Yi

    2014-04-15

    The world's supply of fossil fuels is quickly being exhausted, and the impact of their overuse is contributing to both climate change and global political unrest. In order to help solve these escalating problems, scientists must find a way to either replace combustion engines or reduce their use. Thermoelectric materials have attracted widespread research interest because of their potential applications as clean and renewable energy sources. They are reliable, lightweight, robust, and environmentally friendly and can reversibly convert between heat and electricity. However, after decades of development, the energy conversion efficiency of thermoelectric devices has been hovering around 10%. This is far below the theoretical predictions, mainly due to the interdependence and coupling between electrical and thermal parameters, which are strongly interrelated through the electronic structure of the materials. Therefore, any strategy that balances or decouples these parameters, in addition to optimizing the materials' intrinsic electronic structure, should be critical to the development of thermoelectric technology. In this Account, we discuss our recently developed strategies to decouple thermoelectric parameters for the synergistic optimization of electrical and thermal transport. We first highlight the phase transition, which is accompanied by an abrupt change of electrical transport, such as with a metal-insulator and semiconductor-superionic conductor transition. This should be a universal and effective strategy to optimize the thermoelectric performance, which takes advantage of modulated electronic structure and critical scattering across phase transitions to decouple the power factor and thermal conductivity. We propose that solid-solution homojunction nanoplates with disordered lattices are promising thermoelectric materials to meet the "phonon glass electron crystal" approach. The formation of a solid solution, coupled with homojunctions, allows for

  11. Micro Nano Replication Processes and Applications

    CERN Document Server

    Kang, Shinill

    2012-01-01

    This book is an introduction to the fundamentals and processes for micro and nano molding for plastic components. In addition to the basics, the book covers applications details and examples. The book helps both students and professionals to understand and work with the growing tools of molding and uses for micro and nano-sized plastic parts.Provides a comprehensive presentation on fundamentals and practices of manufacturing for micro / nano sized plastics partsCovers a relatively new but fast-growing field that is impacting any industry using plastic parts in their products (electronics, tele

  12. Microstructures and thermoelectric properties of GeSbTe based layered compounds

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yan, F.; Zhu, T.J.; Zhao, X.B. [Zhejiang University, State Key Laboratory of Silicon Materials, Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Hangzhou (China); Dong, S.R. [Zhejiang University, Department of Information and Electronics Engineering, Hangzhou (China)

    2007-08-15

    Microstructures and thermoelectric properties of Ge{sub 1}Sb{sub 2}Te{sub 4} and Ge{sub 2}Sb{sub 2}Te{sub 5} chalcogenide semiconductors have been investigated to explore the possibility of their thermoelectric applications. The phase transformation from the face-centered cubic to hexagonal structure was observed in Ge{sub 2}Sb{sub 2}Te{sub 5} compounds prepared by the melt spinning technique. The Seebeck coefficient and electrical resistivity of the alloys were increased due to the enhanced scattering of charge carriers at grain boundaries. The maximum power factors of the rapidly solidified Ge{sub 1}Sb{sub 2}Te{sub 4} and Ge{sub 2}Sb{sub 2}Te{sub 5} attained 0.975 x 10{sup -3} Wm{sup -1}K{sup -2} at 750 K and 0.767 x 10{sup -3} Wm{sup -1}K{sup -2} at 643 K respectively, higher than those of water quenched counterparts, implying that thermoelectric properties of GeSbTe based layered compounds can be improved by grain refinement. The present results show this class of chalcogenide semiconductors is promising for thermoelectric applications. (orig.)

  13. Notes on Computational Methodology and Tools of Thermoelectric Energy Systems

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Chen, Min; Bach, Inger Palsgaard; Rosendahl, Lasse

    2007-01-01

    The SPICE model allows the concurrent simulation of thermoelectric devices and application electric sub-models. It is an important step to implement the thermoelectric modeling at the system level. In this paper, temperature dependent material properties in the SPICE model, temperature and heat...... flow obtained by the code ANSYS Multiphysics and SPICE (Simulation Program with Integrated Circuit Emphasis), as well as some notes on the 3-D extension of the SPICE model are introduced....

  14. VLSI micro- and nanophotonics science, technology, and applications

    CERN Document Server

    Lee, El-Hang; Razeghi, Manijeh; Jagadish, Chennupati

    2011-01-01

    Addressing the growing demand for larger capacity in information technology, VLSI Micro- and Nanophotonics: Science, Technology, and Applications explores issues of science and technology of micro/nano-scale photonics and integration for broad-scale and chip-scale Very Large Scale Integration photonics. This book is a game-changer in the sense that it is quite possibly the first to focus on ""VLSI Photonics"". Very little effort has been made to develop integration technologies for micro/nanoscale photonic devices and applications, so this reference is an important and necessary early-stage pe

  15. Light-triggered thermoelectric conversion based on a carbon nanotube-polymer hybrid gel.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Miyako, Eijiro; Nagata, Hideya; Funahashi, Ryoji; Hirano, Ken; Hirotsu, Takahiro

    2009-01-01

    Lights? Nanotubes? Action! A hydrogel comprising lysozymes, poly(ethylene glycol), phospholipids, and functionalized single-walled carbon nanotubes is employed for light-driven thermoelectric conversion. A photoinduced thermoelectric conversion module based on the hydrogel functions as a novel electric power generator (see image). This concept may find application in various industries, such as robotics and aerospace engineering.

  16. Phase transition enhanced thermoelectric figure-of-merit in copper chalcogenides

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    David R. Brown

    2013-11-01

    Full Text Available While thermoelectric materials can be used for solid state cooling, waste heat recovery, and solar electricity generation, low values of the thermoelectric figure of merit, zT, have led to an efficiency too low for widespread use. Thermoelectric effects are characterized by the Seebeck coefficient or thermopower, which is related to the entropy associated with charge transport. For example, coupling spin entropy with the presence of charge carriers has enabled the enhancement of zT in cobalt oxides. We demonstrate that the coupling of a continuous phase transition to carrier transport in Cu2Se over a broad (360–410 K temperature range results in a dramatic peak in thermopower, an increase in phonon and electron scattering, and a corresponding doubling of zT (to 0.7 at 406 K, and a similar but larger increase over a wider temperature range in the zT of Cu1.97Ag.03Se (almost 1.0 at 400 K. The use of structural entropy for enhanced thermopower could lead to new engineering approaches for thermoelectric materials with high zT and new green applications for thermoelectrics.

  17. Universal Majorana thermoelectric noise

    Science.gov (United States)

    Smirnov, Sergey

    2018-04-01

    Thermoelectric phenomena resulting from an interplay between particle flows induced by electric fields and temperature inhomogeneities are extremely insightful as a tool providing substantial knowledge about the microscopic structure of a given system. By tuning, e.g., parameters of a nanoscopic system coupled via tunneling mechanisms to two contacts, one may achieve various situations where the electric current induced by an external bias voltage competes with the electric current excited by the temperature difference of the two contacts. Even more exciting physics emerges when the system's electronic degrees freedom split to form Majorana fermions which make the thermoelectric dynamics universal. Here, we propose revealing these unique universal signatures of Majorana fermions in strongly nonequilibrium quantum dots via noise of the thermoelectric transport beyond linear response. It is demonstrated that whereas mean thermoelectric quantities are only universal at large-bias voltages, the noise of the electric current excited by an external bias voltage and the temperature difference of the contacts is universal at any bias voltage. We provide truly universal, i.e., independent of the system's parameters, thermoelectric ratios between nonlinear response coefficients of the noise and mean current at large-bias voltages where experiments may easily be performed to uniquely detect these truly universal Majorana thermoelectric signatures.

  18. Electronic fitness function for screening semiconductors as thermoelectric materials

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Xing, Guangzong; Sun, Jifeng; Li, Yuwei; Fan, Xiaofeng

    2017-01-01

    Here, we introduce a simple but efficient electronic fitness function (EFF) that describes the electronic aspect of the thermoelectric performance. This EFF finds materials that overcome the inverse relationship between σ and S based on the complexity of the electronic structures regardless of specific origin (e.g., isosurface corrugation, valley degeneracy, heavy-light bands mixture, valley anisotropy or reduced dimensionality). This function is well suited for application in high throughput screening. We applied this function to 75 different thermoelectric and potential thermoelectric materials including full- and half-Heuslers, binary semiconductors, and Zintl phases. We find an efficient screening using this transport function. The EFF identifies known high-performance p- and n-type Zintl phases and half-Heuslers. In addition, we find some previously unstudied phases with superior EFF.

  19. Thermoelectric Generation Of Current – Theoretical And Experimental Analysis

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ruciński Adam

    2017-12-01

    Full Text Available This paper provides some information about thermoelectric technology. Some new materials with improved figures of merit are presented. These materials in Peltier modules make it possible to generate electric current thanks to a temperature difference. The paper indicates possible applications of thermoelectric modules as interesting tools for using various waste heat sources. Some zero-dimensional equations describing the conditions of electric power generation are given. Also, operating parameters of Peltier modules, such as voltage and electric current, are analyzed. The paper shows chosen characteristics of power generation parameters. Then, an experimental stand for ongoing research and experimental measurements are described. The authors consider the resistance of a receiver placed in the electric circuit with thermoelectric elements. Finally, both the analysis of experimental results and conclusions drawn from theoretical findings are presented. Voltage generation of about 1.5 to 2.5 V for the temperature difference from 65 to 85 K was observed when a bismuth telluride thermoelectric couple (traditionally used in cooling technology was used.

  20. Introducing a novel method to estimate the total heat transfer coefficient inside irregular-shape cavities utilizing thermoelectric modules; Special application in solar engineering

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Asadi, Amin; Rahbar, Nader; Rezaniakolaei, Alireza

    The main objective of the present study is to introduce a novel method to measure the total heat transfer coefficient inside irregular-shape cavities, used in solar applications, utilizing thermoelectric modules. Applying mathematical and thermodynamics modeling, the governing equations related...... to the total heat transfer coefficient between thermoelectric and glass cover as a function of ambient temperature, glass temperature, and output voltage has been derived. Investigating the accuracy of the proposed equation, an experimental case study has been performed. The experimental setup consists...... of three parts; a heat sink, a thermoelectric module, and a glass cover. All the experiments have been performed on the typical winter day and under the real climatic conditions of Semnan (35° 33′ N, 53° 23′ E), Iran. The results showed that the proposed method has the ability to measure the total heat...

  1. Anisotropic Thermoelectric Devices Made from Single-Crystal Semimetal Microwires in Glass Coating

    Science.gov (United States)

    Konopko, L. A.; Nikolaeva, A. A.; Kobylianskaya, A. K.; Huber, T. E.

    2018-04-01

    Thermoelectric heat conversion based on the Seebeck and Peltier effects generated at the junction between two materials of type-n and type-p is well known. Here, we present a demonstration of an unconventional thermoelectric energy conversion that is based on a single element made of an anisotropic material. In such materials, a heat flow generates a transverse thermoelectric electric field lying across the heat flow. Potentially, in applications involving miniature devices, the anisotropic thermoelectric (AT) effect has the advantage over traditional thermoelectrics that it simplifies the thermoelectric generator architecture. This is because the generator can be made of a single thermoelectric material without the complexity of a series of contacts forming a pile. A feature of anisotropic thermoelectrics is that the thermoelectric voltage is proportional to the element length and inversely proportional to the effective thickness. The AT effect has been demonstrated with artificial anisotropic thin film consisting of layers of alternating thermoelectric type, but there has been no demonstration of this effect in a long single-crystal. Electronic transport measurements have shown that the semimetal bismuth is highly anisotropic. We have prepared an experimental sample consisting of a 10-m-long glass-insulated single-crystal tin-doped bismuth microwire (d = 4 μm). Crucial for this experiment is the ability to grow the microwire as a single-crystal using a technique of recrystallization with laser heating and under a strong electric field. The sample was wound as a spiral, bonded to a copper disk, and used in various experiments. The sensitivity of the sample to heat flow is as high as 10-2 V/W with a time constant τ of about 0.5 s.

  2. Anisotropic Thermoelectric Devices Made from Single-Crystal Semimetal Microwires in Glass Coating

    Science.gov (United States)

    Konopko, L. A.; Nikolaeva, A. A.; Kobylianskaya, A. K.; Huber, T. E.

    2018-06-01

    Thermoelectric heat conversion based on the Seebeck and Peltier effects generated at the junction between two materials of type- n and type- p is well known. Here, we present a demonstration of an unconventional thermoelectric energy conversion that is based on a single element made of an anisotropic material. In such materials, a heat flow generates a transverse thermoelectric electric field lying across the heat flow. Potentially, in applications involving miniature devices, the anisotropic thermoelectric (AT) effect has the advantage over traditional thermoelectrics that it simplifies the thermoelectric generator architecture. This is because the generator can be made of a single thermoelectric material without the complexity of a series of contacts forming a pile. A feature of anisotropic thermoelectrics is that the thermoelectric voltage is proportional to the element length and inversely proportional to the effective thickness. The AT effect has been demonstrated with artificial anisotropic thin film consisting of layers of alternating thermoelectric type, but there has been no demonstration of this effect in a long single-crystal. Electronic transport measurements have shown that the semimetal bismuth is highly anisotropic. We have prepared an experimental sample consisting of a 10-m-long glass-insulated single-crystal tin-doped bismuth microwire ( d = 4 μm). Crucial for this experiment is the ability to grow the microwire as a single-crystal using a technique of recrystallization with laser heating and under a strong electric field. The sample was wound as a spiral, bonded to a copper disk, and used in various experiments. The sensitivity of the sample to heat flow is as high as 10-2 V/W with a time constant τ of about 0.5 s.

  3. Thermoelectric response of bulk and monolayer MoSe2 and WSe2

    KAUST Repository

    Sarath Kumar, S. R.

    2015-02-24

    We study the thermoelectric properties of bulk and monolayer MoSe2 and WSe2 by first-principles calculations and semiclassical Boltzmann transport theory. The lattice thermal conductivity is calculated using the self-consistent iterative approach as well as the single-mode relaxation time approximation. The acoustical and optical contributions to the lattice thermal conductivity are evaluated along with the influence of the phonon mean free path. The employed methodology enables a quantitative comparison of the thermoelectric properties of transition-metal dichalcogenides. In particular, WSe2 is found to be superior to MoSe2 for thermoelectric applications.

  4. Thermoelectric response of bulk and monolayer MoSe2 and WSe2

    KAUST Repository

    Sarath Kumar, S. R.; Schwingenschlö gl, Udo

    2015-01-01

    We study the thermoelectric properties of bulk and monolayer MoSe2 and WSe2 by first-principles calculations and semiclassical Boltzmann transport theory. The lattice thermal conductivity is calculated using the self-consistent iterative approach as well as the single-mode relaxation time approximation. The acoustical and optical contributions to the lattice thermal conductivity are evaluated along with the influence of the phonon mean free path. The employed methodology enables a quantitative comparison of the thermoelectric properties of transition-metal dichalcogenides. In particular, WSe2 is found to be superior to MoSe2 for thermoelectric applications.

  5. Thermoelectric Waste Heat Recovery Program for Passenger Vehicles

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jovovic, Vladimir [Gentherm Incorporated, Azusa, CA (United States)

    2015-12-31

    Gentherm began work in October 2011 to develop a Thermoelectric Waste Energy Recovery System for passenger vehicle applications. Partners in this program were BMW and Tenneco. Tenneco, in the role of TIER 1 supplier, developed the system-level packaging of the thermoelectric power generator. As the OEM, BMW Group demonstrated the TEG system in their vehicle in the final program phase. Gentherm demonstrated the performance of the TEG in medium duty and heavy duty vehicles. Technology developed and demonstrated in this program showed potential to reduce fuel consumption in medium and heavy duty vehicles. In light duty vehicles it showed more modest potential.

  6. Evaluation of high step-up power electronics stages in thermoelectric generator systems

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sun, Kai; Ni, Longxian; Chen, Min

    2013-01-01

    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...

  7. Lignin from Micro- to Nanosize: Applications

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stefan Beisl

    2017-11-01

    Full Text Available Micro- and nanosize lignin has recently gained interest due to improved properties compared to standard lignin available today. As the second most abundant biopolymer after cellulose, lignin is readily available but used for rather low-value applications. This review focuses on the application of micro- and nanostructured lignin in final products or processes that all show potential for high added value. The fields of application are ranging from improvement of mechanical properties of polymer nanocomposites, bactericidal and antioxidant properties and impregnations to hollow lignin drug carriers for hydrophobic and hydrophilic substances. Also, a carbonization of lignin nanostructures can lead to high-value applications such as use in supercapacitors for energy storage. The properties of the final product depend on the surface properties of the nanomaterial and, therefore, on factors like the lignin source, extraction method, and production/precipitation methods, as discussed in this review.

  8. Review on Micro- and Nanolithography Techniques and Their Applications

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Werayut Srituravanich

    2012-01-01

    Full Text Available This article reviews major micro- and nanolithography techniques and their applications from commercial micro devices to emerging applications in nanoscale science and engineering. Micro- and nanolithography has been the key technology in manufacturing of integrated circuits and microchips in the semiconductor industry. Such a technology is also sparking a magnificent transformation of nanotechnology. The lithography techniques including photolithography, electron beam lithography, focused ion beam lithography, soft lithography, nanoimprint lithography and scanning probe lithography are discussed. Furthermore, their applications are reviewed and summarized into four major areas: electronics and microsystems, medical and biotech, optics and photonics, and environment and energy harvesting.

  9. Optimization Strategies for a Portable Thermoelectric Vaccine Refrigeration System in Developing Communities

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ohara, B.; Sitar, R.; Soares, J.; Novisoff, P.; Nunez-Perez, A.; Lee, H.

    2015-06-01

    The traditional approach to determine an optimum current for thermoelectric cooling assumes that a refrigeration chamber is insulated and has no thermal resistance to a thermoelectric module. As a result, minimum temperature occurs when Peltier cooling matches with parasitic heat transfer and Joule heating. In practical application, minimum temperature happens when heat addition from the environment is matched with heat extracted by a thermoelectric module, and the optimum current differs from that anticipated by the traditional approach. Hence, consideration for insulation and thermal resistances via thermoelectric module should be made to achieve desirable cooling performance/refrigeration temperature. This paper presents a modeling approach to determine the optimum current as well as the optimum geometry to power a small thermoelectric vaccine delivery system for developing communities under the World Health Organization requirements. The model is derived from three energy conservation equations for temperatures at both ends of the thermoelectric materials within a module, as well as the refrigeration chamber temperature. A prototype was built and demonstrated a minimum temperature of 3.4°C. With optimized module geometry, the system is estimated to reduce power consumption by over 50% while achieving twice the temperature difference.

  10. Thermoelectric generator cooling system and method of control

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prior, Gregory P; Meisner, Gregory P; Glassford, Daniel B

    2012-10-16

    An apparatus is provided that includes a thermoelectric generator and an exhaust gas system operatively connected to the thermoelectric generator to heat a portion of the thermoelectric generator with exhaust gas flow through the thermoelectric generator. A coolant system is operatively connected to the thermoelectric generator to cool another portion of the thermoelectric generator with coolant flow through the thermoelectric generator. At least one valve is controllable to cause the coolant flow through the thermoelectric generator in a direction that opposes a direction of the exhaust gas flow under a first set of operating conditions and to cause the coolant flow through the thermoelectric generator in the direction of exhaust gas flow under a second set of operating conditions.

  11. Apparatuses And Systems For Embedded Thermoelectric Generators

    KAUST Repository

    Hussain, Muhammad M.; Inayat, Salman Bin; Smith, Casey Eben

    2013-01-01

    An apparatus and a system for embedded thermoelectric generators are disclosed. In one embodiment, the apparatus is embedded in an interface where the ambient temperatures on two sides of the interface are different. In one embodiment, the apparatus is fabricated with the interface in integrity as a unitary piece. In one embodiment, the apparatus includes a first thermoelectric material embedded through the interface. The apparatus further includes a second thermoelectric material embedded through the interface. The first thermoelectric material is electrically coupled to the second thermoelectric material. In one embodiment, the apparatus further includes an output structure coupled to the first thermoelectric material and the second thermoelectric material and configured to output a voltage.

  12. Apparatuses And Systems For Embedded Thermoelectric Generators

    KAUST Repository

    Hussain, Muhammad M.

    2013-08-08

    An apparatus and a system for embedded thermoelectric generators are disclosed. In one embodiment, the apparatus is embedded in an interface where the ambient temperatures on two sides of the interface are different. In one embodiment, the apparatus is fabricated with the interface in integrity as a unitary piece. In one embodiment, the apparatus includes a first thermoelectric material embedded through the interface. The apparatus further includes a second thermoelectric material embedded through the interface. The first thermoelectric material is electrically coupled to the second thermoelectric material. In one embodiment, the apparatus further includes an output structure coupled to the first thermoelectric material and the second thermoelectric material and configured to output a voltage.

  13. Thermoelectric refrigerator having improved temperature stabilization means

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Falco, C.M.

    1982-01-01

    A control system for thermoelectric refrigerators is disclosed. The thermoelectric refrigerator includes at least one thermoelectric element that undergoes a first order change at a predetermined critical temperature. The element functions as a thermoelectric refrigerator element above the critical temperature, but discontinuously ceases to function as a thermoelectric refrigerator element below the critical temperature. One example of such an arrangement includes thermoelectric refrigerator elements which are superconductors. The transition temperature of one of the superconductor elements is selected as the temperature control point of the refrigerator. When the refrigerator attempts to cool below the point, the metals become superconductors losing their ability to perform as a thermoelectric refrigerator. An extremely accurate, first-order control is realized

  14. Enhanced low-temperature thermoelectrical properties of BiTeCl grown by topotactic method

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jacimovic, J.; Mettan, X.; Pisoni, A.; Gaal, R.; Katrych, S.; Demko, L.; Akrap, A.; Forro, L.; Berger, H.; Bugnon, P.; Magrez, A.

    2014-01-01

    We developed a topotactic strategy to grow BiTeCl single crystals. Structural characterization by means of X-ray diffraction was performed, and the high crystallinity of the material was proven. Measurements of the thermoelectrical coefficients electrical resistivity, thermoelectric power and thermal conductivity show an enhanced room temperature power factor of 20 μW cm −1 K −2 . The high value of the figure of merit (ZT = 0.17) confirms that BiTeCl is a promising material for engineering in thermoelectric applications at low temperature

  15. A design approach for integrating thermoelectric devices using topology optimization

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Soprani, S.; Haertel, J.H.K.; Lazarov, B.S.; Sigmund, O.; Engelbrecht, K.

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • The integration of a thermoelectric (TE) cooler into a robotic tool is optimized. • Topology optimization is suggested as design tool for TE integrated systems. • A 3D optimization technique using temperature dependent TE properties is presented. • The sensitivity of the optimization process to the boundary conditions is studied. • A working prototype is constructed and compared to the model results. - Abstract: Efficient operation of thermoelectric devices strongly relies on the thermal integration into the energy conversion system in which they operate. Effective thermal integration reduces the temperature differences between the thermoelectric module and its thermal reservoirs, allowing the system to operate more efficiently. This work proposes and experimentally demonstrates a topology optimization approach as a design tool for efficient integration of thermoelectric modules into systems with specific design constraints. The approach allows thermal layout optimization of thermoelectric systems for different operating conditions and objective functions, such as temperature span, efficiency, and power recovery rate. As a specific application, the integration of a thermoelectric cooler into the electronics section of a downhole oil well intervention tool is investigated, with the objective of minimizing the temperature of the cooled electronics. Several challenges are addressed: ensuring effective heat transfer from the load, minimizing the thermal resistances within the integrated system, maximizing the thermal protection of the cooled zone, and enhancing the conduction of the rejected heat to the oil well. The design method incorporates temperature dependent properties of the thermoelectric device and other materials. The 3D topology optimization model developed in this work was used to design a thermoelectric system, complete with insulation and heat sink, that was produced and tested. Good agreement between experimental results and

  16. Optimization of Thermoelectric Components for Automobile Waste Heat Recovery Systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kumar, Sumeet; Heister, Stephen D.; Xu, Xianfan; Salvador, James R.

    2015-10-01

    For a typical spark ignition engine approximately 40% of available thermal energy is lost as hot exhaust gas. To improve fuel economy, researchers are currently evaluating technology which exploits exhaust stream thermal power by use of thermoelectric generators (TEGs) that operate on the basis of the Seebeck effect. A 5% improvement in fuel economy, achieved by use of TEG output power, is a stated objective for light-duty trucks and personal automobiles. System modeling of thermoelectric (TE) components requires solution of coupled thermal and electric fluxes through the n and p-type semiconductor legs, given appropriate thermal boundary conditions at the junctions. Such applications have large thermal gradients along the semiconductor legs, and material properties are highly dependent on spatially varying temperature profiles. In this work, one-dimensional heat flux and temperature variations across thermoelectric legs were solved by using an iterative numerical approach to optimize both TE module and TEG designs. Design traits were investigated by assuming use of skutterudite as a thermoelectric material with potential for automotive applications in which exhaust gas and heat exchanger temperatures typically vary from 100°C to over 600°C. Dependence of leg efficiency, thermal fluxes and electric power generation on leg geometry, fill fractions, electric current, thermal boundary conditions, etc., were studied in detail. Optimum leg geometries were computed for a variety of automotive exhaust conditions.

  17. A study on heat transfer enhancement using flow channel inserts for thermoelectric power generation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lesage, Frédéric J.; Sempels, Éric V.; Lalande-Bertrand, Nathaniel

    2013-01-01

    Highlights: • Thermal enhancement in a thermoelectric liquid generator is tested. • Thermal enhancement is brought upon by flow impeding inserts. • CFD simulations attribute thermal enhancement to velocity field alterations. • Thermoelectric power enhancement is measured and discussed. • Power enhancement relative to adverse pressure drop is investigated. - Abstract: Thermoelectric power production has many potential applications that range from microelectronics heat management to large scale industrial waste-heat recovery. A low thermoelectric conversion efficiency of the current state of the art prevents wide spread use of thermoelectric modules. The difficulties lie in material conversion efficiency, module design, and thermal system management. The present study investigates thermoelectric power improvement due to heat transfer enhancement at the channel walls of a liquid-to-liquid thermoelectric generator brought upon by flow turbulating inserts. Care is taken to measure the adverse pressure drop due to the presence of flow impeding obstacles in order to measure the net thermoelectric power enhancement relative to an absence of inserts. The results illustrate the power enhancement performance of three different geometric forms fitted into the channels of a thermoelectric generator. Spiral inserts are shown to offer a minimal improvement in thermoelectric power production whereas inserts with protruding panels are shown to be the most effective. Measurements of the thermal enhancement factor which represents the ratio of heat flux into heat flux out of a channel and numerical simulations of the internal flow velocity field attribute the thermal enhancement resulting in the thermoelectric power improvement to thermal and velocity field synergy

  18. Manufacturing of Thermoelectric Nanomaterials (Bi 0.4 Sb 1.6 Te 3 /Bi 1.75 Te 3.25 ) and Integration into Window Glasses for Thermoelectricity Generation

    KAUST Repository

    Inayat, Salman Bin

    2014-02-26

    We embed thermoelectric nanomaterials into window glass to generate thermoelectricity from the temperature gradient between the solar-heated outdoors and the relatively cold indoor temperature. Until now thermoelectric generators have been built on a single side of a substrate, therefore requiring the two temperature environments to exist on the same side of the substrate. For this application, substantially thick window glass (>5 mm) serves as the interface for which the hot side is on the exterior side of the window and the cold side on the interior side. We demonstrate thermopiles made of nanomaterials integrated through the glass. With meticulous engineering, 300 W of power can be generated from a 9 m(2) window for a temperature gradient of 20 degrees C, which is typical in hot climates, such as the desert areas in the Middle East and African Sahara. A thermoelectric window can be a supplementary power source for waste heat recovery in green building technology.

  19. Selected Topics in MicroNano-robotics for Biomedical Applications

    CERN Document Server

    2013-01-01

    Selected Topics in Micro/Nano-robotics for Biomedical Applications features a system approach and incorporates modern methodologies in autonomous mobile robots for programmable and controllable micro/nano-robots aiming at biomedical applications. The book provides chapters of instructional materials and cutting-edge research results in micro/nanorobotics for biomedical applications. The book presents new sensing technology on nanofibers, new power supply techniques including miniature fuel cells and energy harvesting devices, and manipulation techniques including AFM-based nano-robotic manipulation, robot-aided optical tweezers, and robot-assisted catheter surgery systems. It also contains case studies on using micro/nano-robots in biomedical environments and in biomedicine, as well as a design example to conceptually develop a Vitamin-pill sized robot to enter human’s gastrointestinal tract. Each chapter covers a different topic of the highly interdisciplinary area. Bring together the selected topics into ...

  20. Ab initio study of thermoelectric properties of doped SnO_2 superlattices

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Borges, P.D.; Silva, D.E.S.; Castro, N.S.; Ferreira, C.R.; Pinto, F.G.; Tronto, J.; Scolfaro, L.

    2015-01-01

    Transparent conductive oxides, such as tin dioxide (SnO_2), have recently shown to be promising materials for thermoelectric applications. In this work we studied the thermoelectric properties of Fe-, Sb- and Zn-uniformly doping and co-doping SnO_2, as well as of Sb and Zn planar (or delta)-doped layers in SnO_2 forming oxide superlattices (SLs). Based on the semiclassical Boltzmann transport equations (BTE) in conjunction with ab initio electronic structure calculations, the Seebeck coefficient (S) and figure of merit (ZT) are obtained for these systems, and are compared with available experimental data. The delta doping approach introduces a remarkable modification in the electronic structure of tin dioxide, when compared with the uniform doping, and colossal values for ZT are predicted for the delta-doped oxide SLs. This result is a consequence of the two-dimensional electronic confinement and the strong anisotropy introduced by the doped planes. In comparison with the uniformly doped systems, our predictions reveal a promising use of delta-doped SnO_2 SLs for enhanced S and ZT, which emerge as potential candidates for thermoelectric applications. - Graphical abstract: Band structure and Figure of merit for SnO2:Sb superlattice along Z direction, P. D. Borges, D. E. S. Silva, N. S. Castro, C. R. Ferreira, F. G. Pinto, J. Tronto and L. Scolfaro, Ab initio study of thermoelectric properties of doped SnO2 superlattices. - Highlights: • Thermoelectric properties of SnO_2-based alloys and superlattices. • High figure of merit is predicted for planar-doped SnO_2 superlattices. • Nanotechnology has an important role for the development of thermoelectric devices.

  1. Apparatus, System, and Method for On-Chip Thermoelectricity Generation

    KAUST Repository

    Hussain, Muhammad Mustafa

    2012-01-26

    An apparatus, system, and method for a thermoelectric generator. In some embodiments, the thermoelectric generator comprises a first thermoelectric region and a second thermoelectric region, where the second thermoelectric region may be coupled to the first thermoelectric region by a first conductor. In some embodiments, a second conductor may be coupled to the first thermoelectric region and a third conductor may be coupled to the second thermoelectric region. In some embodiments, the first conductor may be in a first plane, the first thermoelectric region and the second thermoelectric region may be in a second plane, and the second conductor and the third conductor may be in a third plane.

  2. Apparatus, System, and Method for On-Chip Thermoelectricity Generation

    KAUST Repository

    Hussain, Muhammad Mustafa; Fahad, Hossain M.; Rojas, Jhonathan Prieto

    2012-01-01

    An apparatus, system, and method for a thermoelectric generator. In some embodiments, the thermoelectric generator comprises a first thermoelectric region and a second thermoelectric region, where the second thermoelectric region may be coupled to the first thermoelectric region by a first conductor. In some embodiments, a second conductor may be coupled to the first thermoelectric region and a third conductor may be coupled to the second thermoelectric region. In some embodiments, the first conductor may be in a first plane, the first thermoelectric region and the second thermoelectric region may be in a second plane, and the second conductor and the third conductor may be in a third plane.

  3. Design of segmented thermoelectric generator based on cost-effective and light-weight thermoelectric alloys

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Hee Seok; Kikuchi, Keiko; Itoh, Takashi; Iida, Tsutomu; Taya, Minoru

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • Segmented thermoelectric (TE) module operating at 500 °C for combustion engine system. • Si based light-weight TE generator increases the specific power density [W/kg]. • Study of contact resistance at the bonding interfaces maximizing output power. • Accurate agreement of the theoretical predictions with experimental results. - Abstract: A segmented thermoelectric (TE) generator was designed with higher temperature segments composed of n-type Mg 2 Si and p-type higher manganese silicide (HMS) and lower temperature segments composed of n- and p-type Bi–Te based compounds. Since magnesium and silicon based TE alloys have low densities, they produce a TE module with a high specific power density that is suitable for airborne applications. A two-pair segmented π-shaped TE generator was assembled with low contact resistance materials across bonding interfaces. The peak specific power density of this generator was measured at 42.9 W/kg under a 498 °C temperature difference, which has a good agreement with analytical predictions

  4. On the Phase Separation in n-Type Thermoelectric Half-Heusler Materials

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Michael Schwall

    2018-04-01

    Full Text Available Half-Heusler compounds have been in focus as potential materials for thermoelectric energy conversion in the mid-temperature range, e.g., as in automotive or industrial waste heat recovery, for more than ten years now. Because of their mechanical and thermal stability, these compounds are advantageous for common thermoelectric materials such as Bi 2 Te 3 , SiGe, clathrates or filled skutterudites. A further advantage lies in the tunability of Heusler compounds, allowing one to avoid expensive and toxic elements. Half-Heusler compounds usually exhibit a high electrical conductivity σ , resulting in high power factors. The main drawback of half-Heusler compounds is their high lattice thermal conductivity. Here, we present a detailed study of the phase separation in an n-type Heusler materials system, showing that the Ti x Zr y Hf z NiSn system is not a solid solution. We also show that this phase separation is key to the thermoelectric high efficiency of n-type Heusler materials. These results strongly underline the importance of phase separation as a powerful tool for designing highly efficient materials for thermoelectric applications that fulfill the industrial demands of a thermoelectric converter.

  5. Compatibility approach for the improvement of oxide thermoelectric converters for industrial heat recovery applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saucke, Gesine; Populoh, Sascha; Thiel, Philipp; Xie, Wenjie; Funahashi, Ryoji; Weidenkaff, Anke

    2015-07-01

    New ceramic Ca3Co3.9O9+δ /CaMn0.97W0.03O3-δ thermoelectric generators with different cross section areas A p and A n of the p- and the n-type leg are fabricated, characterized, and tested at high temperatures in long-term tests. The variation of the measured power output and the efficiency with changing A p / A n ratio is discussed and compared with calculations based on the measured material properties. The highest conversion efficiencies are reached for ratios close to the one predicted by the compatibility approach, whereas an improper choice of A p / A n leads to a strong reduction of the efficiency. A volume power density of 1.4 W/cm3 and an efficiency of 1.08% are found for the most promising generator (temperature difference Δ T = 734 K and A p / A n = 1.12). The results reveal the major importance of the A p / A n ratio for the conversion efficiency and subsequently cost and weight reduction issues, both crucial for a large scale application of thermoelectric converters. Additionally, the oxide generators proved to be very reliable, as after more than 110 h of high temperature energy conversion, no degradation is observable.

  6. Magnetic Helical Micro- and Nanorobots: Toward Their Biomedical Applications

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Famin Qiu

    2015-03-01

    Full Text Available Magnetic helical micro- and nanorobots can perform 3D navigation in various liquids with a sub-micrometer precision under low-strength rotating magnetic fields (<10 mT. Since magnetic fields with low strengths are harmless to cells and tissues, magnetic helical micro/nanorobots are promising tools for biomedical applications, such as minimally invasive surgery, cell manipulation and analysis, and targeted therapy. This review provides general information on magnetic helical micro/nanorobots, including their fabrication, motion control, and further functionalization for biomedical applications.

  7. Nanoscale thermoelectric materials

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Failamani, F.

    2015-01-01

    Thermoelectric (TE) materials directly convert thermal energy to electrical energy when subjected to a temperature gradient, whereas if electricity is applied to thermoelectric materials, a temperature gradient is formed. The performance of thermoelectric materials is characterized by a dimensionless figure of merit (ZT = S2T/ρλ), which consists of three parameters, Seebeck coefficient (S), electrical resistivity (ρ) and thermal conductivity (λ). To achieve good performance of thermoelectric power generation and cooling, ZT's of thermoelectric materials must be as high as possible, preferably above unity. This thesis comprises three main parts, which are distributed into six chapters: (i) nanostructuring to improve TE performance of trivalent rare earth-filled skutterudites (chapter 1 and 2), (ii) interactions of skutterudite thermolectrics with group V metals as potential electrode or diffusion barrier for TE devices (chapter 3 and 4), and (iii) search for new materials for TE application (chapter 5 and 6). Addition of secondary phases, especially nano sized phases can cause additional reduction of the thermal conductivity of a filled skutterudite which improves the figure of merit (ZT) of thermoelectric materials. In chapter 1 we investigated the effect of various types of secondary phases (silicides, borides, etc.) on the TE properties of trivalent rare earth filled Sb-based skutterudites as commercially potential TE materials. In this context the possibilty to introduce borides as nano-particles (via ball-milling in terms of a skutterudite/boride composite) is also elucidated in chapter 2. As a preliminary study, crystal structure of novel high temperature FeB-type phases found in the ternary Ta-{Ti,Zr,Hf,}-B systems were investigated. In case of Ti and Hf this phase is the high temperature stabilization of binary group IV metal monoborides, whereas single crystal study of (Ta,Zr)B proves that it is a true ternary phase as no stable monoboride exist in the

  8. Thermoelectric Materials

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gao, Peng; Berkun, Isil; Schmidt, Robert D.; Luzenski, Matthew F.; Lu, Xu; Bordon Sarac, Patricia; Case, Eldon D.; Hogan, Timothy P.

    2014-06-01

    Mg2(Si,Sn) compounds are promising candidate low-cost, lightweight, nontoxic thermoelectric materials made from abundant elements and are suited for power generation applications in the intermediate temperature range of 600 K to 800 K. Knowledge on the transport and mechanical properties of Mg2(Si,Sn) compounds is essential to the design of Mg2(Si,Sn)-based thermoelectric devices. In this work, such materials were synthesized using the molten-salt sealing method and were powder processed, followed by pulsed electric sintering densification. A set of Mg2.08Si0.4- x Sn0.6Sb x (0 ≤ x ≤ 0.072) compounds were investigated, and a peak ZT of 1.50 was obtained at 716 K in Mg2.08Si0.364Sn0.6Sb0.036. The high ZT is attributed to a high electrical conductivity in these samples, possibly caused by a magnesium deficiency in the final product. The mechanical response of the material to stresses is a function of the elastic moduli. The temperature-dependent Young's modulus, shear modulus, bulk modulus, Poisson's ratio, acoustic wave speeds, and acoustic Debye temperature of the undoped Mg2(Si,Sn) compounds were measured using resonant ultrasound spectroscopy from 295 K to 603 K. In addition, the hardness and fracture toughness were measured at room temperature.

  9. A potential candidate for the sustainable and reliable domestic energy generation–Thermoelectric cogeneration system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zheng, X.F.; Yan, Y.Y.; Simpson, K.

    2013-01-01

    Due to being solid-state, noiseless and maintenance free, thermoelectric devices have found wide applications in different areas since they were discovered over 180 years ago. The applications are concerned with environment-friendly refrigeration and power generation in transportation tools, industrial utilities, military devices, medical services and space applications. It is utilisation of waste heat in varying applications that make the modules particularly attractive. Nevertheless, despite a few academic papers, there has not been extensive use in the domestic sector. A concept of thermoelectric cogeneration system (‘TCS’) is proposed to highlight the direction for enhancing the sustainability by improving the energy efficiency in domestic sector. Compared to the thermoelectric systems used in other areas which only uses the part of converted energy but wastes the unconverted part by dissipating it into the environment, the system presented here maximally recover the available heat by generating electrical power and producing hot water simultaneously. The viability of this system concept is evaluated on a bench-scale experimental prototype. The outputs of electrical power and hot water have been investigated at different temperature difference. The cost saving potential and cost recovery period have been estimated using the available heat sources in domestic sector. The results intend to provide reference for developing the real-scale domestic thermoelectric cogeneration system and show the potential benefits

  10. Thermoelectrics and its energy harvesting

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Rowe, David Michael

    2012-01-01

    .... It details the latest techniques for the preparation of thermoelectric materials employed in energy harvesting, together with advances in the thermoelectric characterisation of nanoscale material...

  11. A micro-CL system and its applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Wei, Zenghui; Yuan, Lulu; Liu, Baodong; Wei, Cunfeng; Sun, Cuili; Yin, Pengfei; Wei, Long

    2017-11-01

    The computed laminography (CL) method is preferable to computed tomography for the non-destructive testing of plate-like objects. A micro-CL system is developed for three-dimensional imaging of plate-like objects. The details of the micro-CL system are described, including the system architecture, scanning modes, and reconstruction algorithm. The experiment results of plate-like fossils, insulated gate bipolar translator module, ball grid array packaging, and printed circuit board are also presented to demonstrate micro-CL's ability for 3D imaging of flat specimens and universal applicability in various fields.

  12. Development of Thermoelectric and Permanent Magnet Nanoparticles for Clean Energy Applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Nguyen, Phi-Khanh

    The global trend towards energy efficiency and environmental sustainability has generated a strong demand for clean energy technologies. Among the many energy solutions, the work in this dissertation contributes to two strategic goals: the reduction of fuel consumption in the transportation sector, and the increase of domestic wind power capacity. The key barriers to achieving these goals are materials challenges. Automobiles can be made more efficient by thermoelectric conversion of waste heat from the engine into electricity that can be used to power electrical components in the vehicle. Vehicles can forego petroleum fuel altogether by using electric or hybrid motors. Unfortunately, the conversion efficiency of current thermoelectric technology is too low to be considered economically feasible, and the permanent magnets used in electric vehicle motors and wind turbine generators require critical rare-earth elements that are economically unstable (often referred to as the "rare-earth crisis"). In order to combat these challenges, a "spark erosion" technique was utilized for producing nanoparticles that improve thermoelectric efficiency and contribute to the development of electromotors that do not require rare-earths. In Chapter 2 of this dissertation, I describe the utilization of spark erosion for producing high-quality thermoelectric nanoparticles at a remarkably high rate and with enhanced thermoelectric properties. The technique was employed to synthesize p-type bismuth-antimony telluride (BST) and n-type skutterudite nanoparticles, using a relatively small laboratory apparatus, with low energy consumption. The compacted BST nanocomposite samples made from these nanoparticles exhibit a well-defined, 20--50 nm size nanograin microstructure, and show an enhanced Figure of merit, ZT, of 1.36 at 360 K due to a reduction in lattice thermal conductivity. The skutterudite nanocomposites also show reduced thermal conductivity but still require enhancement in the

  13. Effect of high-temperature annealing on the microstructure and thermoelectric properties of GaP doped SiGe. M.S. Thesis

    Science.gov (United States)

    Draper, Susan L.

    1987-01-01

    Annealing of GaP doped SiGe will significantly alter the thermoelectric properties of the material resulting in increased performance as measured by the figure of merit Z and the power factor P. The microstructures and corresponding thermoelectric properties after annealing in the 1100 to 1300 C temperature range have been examined to correlate performance improvement with annealing history. The figure of merit and power factor were both improved by homogenizing the material and limiting the amount of cross-doping. Annealing at 1215 C for 100 hr resulted in the best combination of thermoelectric properties with a resultant figure of merit exceeding 1x10 to the -3 deg C to the -1 and a power factor of 44 microW/cm/deg C sq for the temperature range of interest for space power: 400 to 1000 C.

  14. PV-hybrid and thermoelectric collectors

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Rockendorf, G.; Sillmann, R. [Institut fuer Solarenergieforschung GmbH, Emmerthal (Germany); Podlowski, L.; Litzenburger, B. [SolarWerk GmbH, Teltow (Germany)

    1999-07-01

    Two different principles of thermoelectric cogeneration solar collectors have been realized and investigated. Concerning the first principle, the thermoelectric collector (TEC) delivers electricity indirectly by first producing heat and subsequently generating electricity by means of a thermoelectric generator. Concerning the second principle, the photovoltaic-hybrid collector (PVHC) uses photovoltaic cells, which are cooled by a liquid heat-transfer medium. The characteristics of both collector types are described. Simulation modules have been developed and implemented in TRNSYS 14.1 (1994), in order to simulate their behaviour in typical domestic hot-water systems. The discussion of the results shows that the electric output of the PV-hybrid collector is significantly higher than that of the thermoelectric collector. (author)

  15. Efficient p-n junction-based thermoelectric generator that can operate at extreme temperature conditions

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Chavez, Ruben; Angst, Sebastian; Hall, Joseph

    2017-01-01

    In many industrial processes a large proportion of energy is lost in the form of heat. Thermoelectric generators can convert this waste heat into electricity by means of the Seebeck effect. However, the use of thermoelectric generators in practical applications on an industrial scale is limited...... in part because electrical, thermal, and mechanical bonding contacts between the semiconductor materials and the metal electrodes in current designs are not capable of withstanding thermal-mechanical stress and alloying of the metal-semiconductor interface when exposed to the high temperatures occurring...... in many real-world applications. Here we demonstrate a concept for thermoelectric generators that can address this issue by replacing the metallization and electrode bonding on the hot side of the device by a p-n junction between the two semiconductor materials, making the device robust against...

  16. 3D printing of shape-conformable thermoelectric materials using all-inorganic Bi2Te3-based inks

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Fredrick; Kwon, Beomjin; Eom, Youngho; Lee, Ji Eun; Park, Sangmin; Jo, Seungki; Park, Sung Hoon; Kim, Bong-Seo; Im, Hye Jin; Lee, Min Ho; Min, Tae Sik; Kim, Kyung Tae; Chae, Han Gi; King, William P.; Son, Jae Sung

    2018-04-01

    Thermoelectric energy conversion offers a unique solution for generating electricity from waste heat. However, despite recent improvements in the efficiency of thermoelectric materials, the widespread application of thermoelectric generators has been hampered by challenges in fabricating thermoelectric materials with appropriate dimensions to perfectly fit heat sources. Herein, we report an extrusion-based three-dimensional printing method to produce thermoelectric materials with geometries suitable for heat sources. All-inorganic viscoelastic inks were synthesized using Sb2Te3 chalcogenidometallate ions as inorganic binders for Bi2Te3-based particles. Three-dimensional printed materials with various geometries showed homogenous thermoelectric properties, and their dimensionless figure-of-merit values of 0.9 (p-type) and 0.6 (n-type) were comparable to the bulk values. Conformal cylindrical thermoelectric generators made of 3D-printed half rings mounted on an alumina pipe were studied both experimentally and computationally. Simulations show that the power output of the conformal, shape-optimized generator is higher than that of conventional planar generators.

  17. Validation, Optimization and Simulation of a Solar Thermoelectric Generator Model

    Science.gov (United States)

    Madkhali, Hadi Ali; Hamil, Ali; Lee, HoSung

    2017-12-01

    This study explores thermoelectrics as a viable option for small-scale solar thermal applications. Thermoelectric technology is based on the Seebeck effect, which states that a voltage is induced when a temperature gradient is applied to the junctions of two differing materials. This research proposes to analyze, validate, simulate, and optimize a prototype solar thermoelectric generator (STEG) model in order to increase efficiency. The intent is to further develop STEGs as a viable and productive energy source that limits pollution and reduces the cost of energy production. An empirical study (Kraemer et al. in Nat Mater 10:532, 2011) on the solar thermoelectric generator reported a high efficiency performance of 4.6%. The system had a vacuum glass enclosure, a flat panel (absorber), thermoelectric generator and water circulation for the cold side. The theoretical and numerical approach of this current study validated the experimental results from Kraemer's study to a high degree. The numerical simulation process utilizes a two-stage approach in ANSYS software for Fluent and Thermal-Electric Systems. The solar load model technique uses solar radiation under AM 1.5G conditions in Fluent. This analytical model applies Dr. Ho Sung Lee's theory of optimal design to improve the performance of the STEG system by using dimensionless parameters. Applying this theory, using two cover glasses and radiation shields, the STEG model can achieve a highest efficiency of 7%.

  18. Ab initio study of thermoelectric properties of doped SnO{sub 2} superlattices

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Borges, P.D., E-mail: pdborges@gmail.com [Instituto de Ciências Exatas e Tecnológicas, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, 38810-000 Rio Paranaíba, MG (Brazil); Silva, D.E.S.; Castro, N.S.; Ferreira, C.R.; Pinto, F.G.; Tronto, J. [Instituto de Ciências Exatas e Tecnológicas, Universidade Federal de Viçosa, 38810-000 Rio Paranaíba, MG (Brazil); Scolfaro, L. [Department of Physics, Texas State University, 78666 San Marcos, TX (United States)

    2015-11-15

    Transparent conductive oxides, such as tin dioxide (SnO{sub 2}), have recently shown to be promising materials for thermoelectric applications. In this work we studied the thermoelectric properties of Fe-, Sb- and Zn-uniformly doping and co-doping SnO{sub 2}, as well as of Sb and Zn planar (or delta)-doped layers in SnO{sub 2} forming oxide superlattices (SLs). Based on the semiclassical Boltzmann transport equations (BTE) in conjunction with ab initio electronic structure calculations, the Seebeck coefficient (S) and figure of merit (ZT) are obtained for these systems, and are compared with available experimental data. The delta doping approach introduces a remarkable modification in the electronic structure of tin dioxide, when compared with the uniform doping, and colossal values for ZT are predicted for the delta-doped oxide SLs. This result is a consequence of the two-dimensional electronic confinement and the strong anisotropy introduced by the doped planes. In comparison with the uniformly doped systems, our predictions reveal a promising use of delta-doped SnO{sub 2} SLs for enhanced S and ZT, which emerge as potential candidates for thermoelectric applications. - Graphical abstract: Band structure and Figure of merit for SnO2:Sb superlattice along Z direction, P. D. Borges, D. E. S. Silva, N. S. Castro, C. R. Ferreira, F. G. Pinto, J. Tronto and L. Scolfaro, Ab initio study of thermoelectric properties of doped SnO2 superlattices. - Highlights: • Thermoelectric properties of SnO{sub 2}-based alloys and superlattices. • High figure of merit is predicted for planar-doped SnO{sub 2} superlattices. • Nanotechnology has an important role for the development of thermoelectric devices.

  19. Thermoelectric-pyroelectric hybrid energy generation from thermopower waves in core-shell structured carbon nanotube-PZT nanocomposites.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yeo, Taehan; Hwang, Hayoung; Shin, Dongjoon; Seo, Byungseok; Choi, Wonjoon

    2017-02-10

    There is an urgent need to develop a suitable energy source owing to the rapid development of various innovative devices using micro-nanotechnology. The thermopower wave (TW), which produces a high specific power during the combustion of solid fuel inside micro-nanostructure materials, is a unique energy source for unusual platforms that cannot use conventional energy sources. Here, we report on the significant enhancement of hybrid energy generation of pyroelectrics and thermoelectrics from TWs in carbon nanotube (CNT)-PZT (lead zirconate titanate, P(Z 0.5 -T 0.5 )) composites for the first time. Conventional TWs use only charge carrier transport driven by the temperature gradient along the core materials to produce voltage. In this study, a core-shell structure of CNTs-PZTs was prepared to utilize both the temperature gradient along the core material (thermoelectrics) and the dynamic change in the temperature of the shell structure (pyroelectrics) induced by TWs. The dual mechanism of energy generation in CNT-PZT composites amplified the average peak and duration of the voltage up to 403 mV and 612 ms, respectively, by a factor of 2 and 60 times those for the composites without a PZT layer. Furthermore, dynamic voltage measurements and structural analysis in repetitive TWs confirmed that CNT-PZT composites maintain the original performance in multiple TWs, which improves the reusability of materials. The advanced TWs obtained by the application of a PZT layer as a pyroelectric material contributes to the extension of the usable energy portion as well as the development of TW-based operating devices.

  20. Thermoelectric performance of tellurium-reduced quaternary p-type lead–chalcogenide composites

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Aminorroaya Yamini, Sima; Wang, Heng; Gibbs, Zachary M.; Pei, Yanzhong; Mitchell, David R.G.; Dou, Shi Xue; Snyder, G. Jeffrey

    2014-01-01

    Graphical abstract: - Abstract: A long-standing technological challenge to the widespread application of thermoelectric generators is obtaining high-performance thermoelectric materials from abundant elements. Intensive study on PbTe alloys has resulted in a high figure of merit for the single-phase ternary PbTe–PbSe system through band structure engineering, and the low thermal conductivity achieved due to nanostructuring leads to high thermoelectric performance for ternary PbTe–PbS compounds. Recently, the single-phase p-type quaternary PbTe–PbSe–PbS alloys have been shown to provide thermoelectric performance superior to the binary and ternary lead chalcogenides. This occurs via tuning of the band structure and from an extraordinary low thermal conductivity resulting from high-contrast atomic mass solute atoms. Here, we present the thermoelectric efficiency of nanostructured p-type quaternary PbTe–PbSe–PbS composites and compare the results with corresponding single-phase quaternary lead chalcogenide alloys. We demonstrate that the very low lattice thermal conductivity achieved is attributed to phonon scattering at high-contrast atomic mass solute atoms rather than from the contribution of secondary phases. This results in a thermoelectric efficiency of ∼1.4 over a wide temperature range (650–850 K) in a p-type quaternary (PbTe) 0.65 (PbSe) 0.1 (PbS) 0.25 composite that is lower than that of single-phase (PbTe) 0.85 (PbSe) 0.1 (PbS) 0.05 alloy without secondary phases

  1. Thermoelectric properties of WSi{sub 2}–Si{sub x}Ge{sub 1−x} composites

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dynys, F.W.; Sayir, A. [NASA Glenn Research Center, Cleveland, OH 44135 (United States); Mackey, J., E-mail: jam151@zips.uakron.edu [Department of Mechanical Engineering, University of Akron, Akron, OH 44325 (United States); Sehirlioglu, A. [Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH 44106 (United States)

    2014-08-01

    Highlights: • We explore a novel W/Si/Ge composite system for thermoelectric applications. • The influence of crucible selection on electrical properties is investigated. • Introduction of W can reduce the expensive Ge component of the alloy. - Abstract: Thermoelectric properties of the W/Si/Ge alloy system have been investigated with varying concentration levels of germanium and tungsten. The alloys were fabricated by directional solidification with the Bridgman method using boron nitride and fused silica crucibles. The effect of crucible contamination was investigated and found to result in doping the system to suitable levels for thermoelectric applications. The system has been demonstrated as a suitable high temperature p-type thermoelectric material exhibiting high power factors, >3000 μW/m K{sup 2}. Seebeck coefficients of the system are on the order of +300 μV/K and electrical conductivities of 2.8 × 10{sup 4} S/m at the optimum operating temperature. The best composition, 0.9 at% W/9.3 at% Ge, achieved a figure of merit comparable to RTG values over the temperature range of interest. The results suggest that W addition can reduce the use of expensive Ge component of the alloy. Reported are the details of processing conditions, microstructure development, and temperature dependent thermoelectric properties. The material system was stable at the temperatures required for NASA’s radioisotope thermoelectric generators.

  2. MEMS Micro-Valve for Space Applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chakraborty, I.; Tang, W. C.; Bame, D. P.; Tang, T. K.

    1998-01-01

    We report on the development of a Micro-ElectroMechanical Systems (MEMS) valve that is designed to meet the rigorous performance requirements for a variety of space applications, such as micropropulsion, in-situ chemical analysis of other planets, or micro-fluidics experiments in micro-gravity. These systems often require very small yet reliable silicon valves with extremely low leak rates and long shelf lives. Also, they must survive the perils of space travel, which include unstoppable radiation, monumental shock and vibration forces, as well as extreme variations in temperature. Currently, no commercial MEMS valve meets these requirements. We at JPL are developing a piezoelectric MEMS valve that attempts to address the unique problem of space. We begin with proven configurations that may seem familiar. However, we have implemented some major design innovations that should produce a superior valve. The JPL micro-valve is expected to have an extremely low leak rate, limited susceptibility to particulates, vibration or radiation, as well as a wide operational temperature range.

  3. Modeling passive power generation in a temporally-varying temperature environment via thermoelectrics

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Bomberger, Cory C.; Attia, Peter M.; Prasad, Ajay K.; Zide, Joshua M.O.

    2013-01-01

    This paper presents a model to predict the power generation of a thermoelectric generator in a temporally-varying temperature environment. The model employs a thermoelectric plate sandwiched between two different heat exchangers to convert a temporal temperature gradient in the environment to a spatial temperature gradient within the device suitable for thermoelectric power generation. The two heat exchangers are designed such that their temperatures respond to a change in the environment's temperature at different rates which sets up a temperature differential across the thermoelectric and results in power generation. In this model, radiative and convective heat transfer between the device and its surroundings, and heat flow between the two heat exchangers across the thermoelectric plate are considered. The model is simulated for power generation in Death Valley, CA during the summer using the diurnal variation of air temperature and radiative exchange with the sun and night sky as heat sources and sinks. The optimization of power generation via scaling the device size is discussed. Additional applications of this device are considered. -- Highlights: • Thermoelectric power generation with time-varying temperature is modeled. • The ability to generate power without a natural spatial gradient is demonstrated. • Time dependent heat-transfer and differential heat flow rates are considered. • Optimization of power generation via scaling the device size is discussed

  4. Analysis and Experimental Investigation of Optimum Design of Thermoelectric Cooling/Heating System for Car Seat Climate Control (CSCC)

    Science.gov (United States)

    Elarusi, Abdulmunaem; Attar, Alaa; Lee, HoSung

    2018-02-01

    The optimum design of a thermoelectric system for application in car seat climate control has been modeled and its performance evaluated experimentally. The optimum design of the thermoelectric device combining two heat exchangers was obtained by using a newly developed optimization method based on the dimensional technique. Based on the analytical optimum design results, commercial thermoelectric cooler and heat sinks were selected to design and construct the climate control heat pump. This work focuses on testing the system performance in both cooling and heating modes to ensure accurate analytical modeling. Although the analytical performance was calculated using the simple ideal thermoelectric equations with effective thermoelectric material properties, it showed very good agreement with experiment for most operating conditions.

  5. Microwave plasma synthesis of Si/Ge and Si/WSi2 nanoparticles for thermoelectric applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Petermann, Nils; Schneider, Tom; Stötzel, Julia; Stein, Niklas; Weise, Claudia; Wlokas, Irenäus; Schierning, Gabi; Wiggers, Hartmut

    2015-08-01

    The utilization of microwave-based plasma systems enables a contamination-free synthesis of highly specific nanoparticles in the gas phase. A reactor setup allowing stable, long-term operation was developed with the support of computational fluid dynamics. This paper highlights the prospects of gas-phase plasma synthesis to produce specific materials for bulk thermoelectrics. Taking advantage of specific plasma reactor properties such as Coulomb repulsion in combination with gas temperatures considerably higher than 1000 K, spherical and non-aggregated nanoparticles of multiple compositions are accessible. Different strategies towards various nanostructured composites and alloys are discussed. It is shown that, based on doped silicon/germanium alloys and composites, thermoelectric materials with zT values up to almost unity can be synthesized in one step. First experimental results concerning silicon/tungsten silicide thermoelectrics applying the nanoparticle-in-alloy idea are presented indicating that this concept might work. However, it is found that tungsten silicides show a surprising sinter activity more than 1000 K below their melting temperature.

  6. Development and Processing of p-type Oxide Thermoelectric Materials

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Wu, NingYu; Van Nong, Ngo

    The main aim of this research is to investigate and develop well-performing p-type thermoelectric oxide materials that are sufficiently stable at high temperatures for power generating applications involving industrial processes. Presently, the challenges facing the widespread implementation...

  7. Micro-incubator for bacterial biosensing applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Clasen, Estine; Land, Kevin; Joubert, Trudi-Heleen

    2016-02-01

    The presence of Escherichia coli (E. coli ) is a commonly used indicator micro-organism to determine whether water is safe for human consumption.1 This paper discusses the design of a micro-incubator that can be applied to concentrate bacteria prior to environmental water quality screening tests. High sensitivity and rapid test time is essential and there is a great need for these tests to be implemented on-site without the use of a laboratory infrastructure. In the light of these requirements, a mobile micro-incubator was designed, manufactured and characterised. A polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) receptacle has been designed to house the 1-5 ml cell culture sample.2 A nano-silver printed electronics micro-heater has been designed to incubate the bacterial sample, with an array of temperature sensors implemented to accurately measure the sample temperature at various locations in the cell culture well. The micro-incubator limits the incubation temperature range to 37+/-3 °C in order to ensure near optimal growth of the bacteria at all times.3 The incubation time is adjustable between 30 minutes and 9 hours with a maximum rise time of 15 minutes to reach the set-point temperature. The surface area of the printed nano silver heating element is 500 mm2. Electrical and COMSOL Multiphysics simulations are included in order to give insight on micro-incubator temperature control. The design and characterization of this micro-incubator allows for further research in biosensing applications.

  8. Gold Nanoparticle Chemiresistor Arrays for Micro-Gas Chromatography Applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Covington, Elizabeth Laura

    Thiolate-monolayer-protected gold nanoparticle (MPN) chemiresistors were studied as the sensing devices for micro-gas chromatography (microGC) systems. Because transport through chemiresistors is dominated by tunneling, they are highly sensitive. In order to improve their limit of detection, their fundamental noise was studied. Chemiresistors exhibit 1/f type noise where noise scales inversely with frequency. Chemiresistor noise was found to scale inversely with MPN film thickness. We lowered the noise prefactor of a 50x60 microm2 chemiresistor by coating a thick rather than monolayer MPN film. Electron beam induced crosslinking (EBIX) of the MPN film slightly reduced chemiresistor noise. A technique for patterning chemiresistor arrays with MPN films using EBIX was developed, and an array with four distinct MPNs was fabricated in an area ˜600 microm 2. This is the smallest chemiresistor array reported to date. Chemiresistors were exposed to vapors and provided differential sensitivities comparable to those from larger uncrosslinked chemiresistors. Chemiresistors were studied to assess their long term stability. Chemiresistors exhibited decreases in resistance over time that is likely caused by loss of MPN ligands. Temperature dependent current-voltage measurements verified the resistance change was not due to changes in the size of the MPN core. While resistance could change by orders of magnitude, vapor sensitivity did not show significant changes. Heating increased the change in resistance, but chemiresistors remained responsive after being held at 80°C for a cumulative 400 hours. It was unknown whether tunneling in the MPN film is through the highest unoccupied molecular orbital (HOMO) or lowest unoccupied molecular orbital (LUMO). A new technique was explored to distinguish tunneling through the HOMO and LUMO by measuring the induced thermoelectric voltage caused by a temperature difference across the MPN film. For integration into a microGC system, we

  9. Selection and evaluation of materials for thermoelectric applications II

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sharp, J W

    1997-07-01

    In good thermoelectrics phonons have short mean free paths, and charge carriers have long ones. The other requirements are a multivalley band structure and a band gap greater than 0.1 eV for the 200 to 300 K temperature range. The author discusses the use of solid state physics and chemistry concepts, along with atomic and crystal structure data, to select the new materials most likely to meet these criteria.

  10. High-efficiency photovoltaic technology including thermoelectric generation

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fisac, Miguel; Villasevil, Francesc X.; López, Antonio M.

    2014-04-01

    Nowadays, photovoltaic solar energy is a clean and reliable source for producing electric power. Most photovoltaic systems have been designed and built up for use in applications with low power requirements. The efficiency of solar cells is quite low, obtaining best results in monocrystalline silicon structures, with an efficiency of about 18%. When temperature rises, photovoltaic cell efficiency decreases, given that the short-circuit current is slightly increased, and the open-circuit voltage, fill factor and power output are reduced. To ensure that this does not affect performance, this paper describes how to interconnect photovoltaic and thermoelectric technology into a single structure. The temperature gradient in the solar panel is used to supply thermoelectric cells, which generate electricity, achieving a positive contribution to the total balance of the complete system.

  11. Micro controller application as x-ray machine's high voltage controller

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wiranto Budi Santoso; Beny Syawaludin

    2010-01-01

    The micro controller application as x-ray machine's high voltage controller has been carried out. The purpose of this micro controller application is to give an accurate high voltage supply to the x-ray tube so that the x ray machine could produce the result as expected. The micro controller based X-ray machine's high voltage controller receives an input voltage from the keypad. This input value is displayed in the LCD (Liquid Crystal Display) screen. Then micro controller uses this input data to drive the stepper motor. The stepper motor adjusts the high voltage auto transformer's output according to the input value. The micro controller is programmed using BASCOM-B051 compiler. The test results show that the stepper motor could rotate according to an input value. (author)

  12. Application of Thermoelectric Devices to Fuel Cell Power Generation: Demonstration and Evaluation

    National Research Council Canada - National Science Library

    Huston, John; Wyatt, Chris; Nichols, Chris; Binder, Michael J; Holcomb, Franklin H

    2004-01-01

    The Department of Defense (DOD) is concerned with reliable and cost-effective power generation of on-site power generators as well as minimizing the environment impact of these generators. Thermoelectric (TE...

  13. Micro-segmented flow applications in chemistry and biology

    CERN Document Server

    Cahill, Brian

    2014-01-01

    The book is dedicated to the method and application potential of micro segmented flow. The recent state of development of this powerful technique is presented in 12 chapters by leading researchers from different countries. In the first section, the principles of generation and manipulation of micro-fluidic segments are explained. In the second section, the micro continuous-flow synthesis of different types of nanomaterials is shown as a typical example for the use of advantages of the technique in chemistry. In the third part, the particular importance of the technique in biotechnical applications is presented demonstrating the progress for miniaturized cell-free processes, for molecular biology and DNA-based diagnostis and sequencing as well as for the development of antibiotics and the evaluation of toxic effects in medicine and environment.

  14. Nanostructured Bulk Thermoelectric Generator for Efficient Power Harvesting for Self-powered Sensor Networks

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zhang, Yanliang [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Butt, Darryl [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States); Agarwal, Vivek [Idaho National Lab. (INL), Idaho Falls, ID (United States)

    2015-07-01

    The objective of this Nuclear Energy Enabling Technology research project is to develop high-efficiency and reliable thermoelectric generators for self-powered wireless sensors nodes utilizing thermal energy from nuclear plant or fuel cycle. The power harvesting technology has crosscutting significance to address critical technology gaps in monitoring nuclear plants and fuel cycle. The outcomes of the project will lead to significant advancement in sensors and instrumentation technology, reducing cost, improving monitoring reliability and therefore enhancing safety. The self-powered wireless sensor networks could support the long-term safe and economical operation of all the reactor designs and fuel cycle concepts, as well as spent fuel storage and many other nuclear science and engineering applications. The research is based on recent breakthroughs in high-performance nanostructured bulk (nanobulk) thermoelectric materials that enable high-efficiency direct heat-to-electricity conversion over a wide temperature range. The nanobulk thermoelectric materials that the research team at Boise State University and University of Houston has developed yield up to a 50% increase in the thermoelectric figure of merit, ZT, compared with state-of-the-art bulk counterparts. This report focuses on the selection of optimal thermoelectric materials for this project. The team has performed extensive study on two thermoelectric materials systems, i.e. the half-Heusler materials, and the Bismuth-Telluride materials. The report contains our recent research results on the fabrication, characterization and thermoelectric property measurements of these two materials.

  15. Discovery of high-performance low-cost n-type Mg3Sb2-based thermoelectric materials with multi-valley conduction bands

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Zhang, Jiawei; Song, Lirong; Pedersen, Steffen Hindborg

    2017-01-01

    Widespread application of thermoelectric devices for waste heat recovery requires low-cost high-performance materials. The currently available n-type thermoelectric materials are limited either by their low efficiencies or by being based on expensive, scarce or toxic elements. Here we report a low-cost...... because of the multi-valley band behaviour dominated by a unique near-edge conduction band with a sixfold valley degeneracy. This makes Te-doped Mg3Sb1.5Bi0.5 a promising candidate for the low- and intermediate-temperature thermoelectric applications....

  16. Effect of ball milling time on thermoelectric properties of bismuth telluride nanomaterials

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khade, Poonam; Bagwaiya, Toshi; Bhattacharaya, Shovit; Singh, Ajay; Jha, Purushottam; Shelke, Vilas

    2018-04-01

    The effect of different milling time on thermoelectric properties of bismuth telluride (Bi2Te3) was investigated. The nanomaterial was prepared by varying the ball milling time and followed by hot press sintering. The crystal structure and phase formation were verified by X-ray diffraction and Raman Spectroscopy. The experimental results show that electrical conductivity increases whereas thermal conductivity decreases with increasing milling time. The negative sign of seebeck coefficient indicate the n-type nature with majority charge carriers of electrons. A maximum figure of merit about 0.55 is achieved for l5hr ball milled Bi2Te3 sample. The present study demonstrates the simple and cost-effective method for synthesis of Bi2Te3 thermoelectric material at large scale thermoelectric applications.

  17. The portable micro-computerized multichannel spectrometer for geological application

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fang Fang; Jia Wenyi; Zou Rongsheng; Ma Yingjie; Zhou Jianbin

    1999-01-01

    The portable micro-computerized multichannel spectrometer is based on the book computer and employs the A/D integrated circuit with 12 bits. It is a 2048 channel spectrometer which is consisted of hardware and software. The author analyzed the hardware circuit and software construction of the micro-computerized multichannel spectrometer which is suitable for filed geological application. The main technical specifications and application of the new multichannel spectrometer were also discussed

  18. The portable micro-computerized multichannel spectrometer for geological application

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Fang Fang; Jia Wenyi; Zhou Rongsheng; Ma Yingjie; Zhou Jianbin

    1999-01-01

    The portable micro-computerized multichannel spectrometer is based on the book computer and employs the A/D integrated circuit with 12 bits. It is a 2048 channel spectrometer which consists of hardware and software. The author analyzed the hardware circuit and software construction of the micro-computerized multichannel spectrometer which is suitable for field geological application. The main technical specifications and application of the new multichannel spectrometer were also discussed

  19. Tuning the Transport Properties of Layered Materials for Thermoelectric Applications using First-Principles Calculations

    KAUST Repository

    Saeed, Yasir

    2014-05-11

    Thermoelectric materials can convert waste heat into electric power and thus provide a way to reduce the dependence on fossil fuels. Our aim is to model the underlying materials properties and, in particular, the transport as controlled by electrons and lattice vibrations. The goal is to develop an understanding of the thermoelectric properties of selected materials at a fundamental level. The structural, electronic, optical, and phononic properties are studied in order to tune the transport, focusing on KxRhO2, NaxRhO2, PtSb2 and Bi2Se3. The investigations are based on density functional theory as implemented in the all electron linearized augmented plane wave plus local orbitals WIEN2k and pseudo potential Quantum-ESPRESSO codes. The thermoelectric properties are derived from Boltzmann transport theory under the constant relaxation time approximation, using the BoltzTraP code. We will discuss first the changes in the electronic band structure under variation of the cation concentration in layered KxRhO2 in the 2H phase and NaxRhO2 in the 3R phase. We will also study the hydrated phase. The deformations of the RhO6 octahedra turn out to govern the thermoelectric properties, where the high Seebeck coefficient results from ”pudding mold" bands. We investigate the thermoelectric properties of electron and hole doped PtSb2, which is not a layered material but shares “pudding mold" bands. PtSb2 has a high Seebeck coefficient at room temperature, which increases significantly under As alloying by bandgap opening and reduction of the lattice thermal conductivity. Bi2Se3 (bulk and thin film) has a larger bandgap then the well-known thermoelectric material Bi2Te3, which is important at high temperature. The structural stability, electronic structure, and transport properties of one to six quintuple layers of Bi2Se3 will be discussed. We also address the effect of strain on a single quintuple layer by phonon band structures. We will analyze the electronic and transport

  20. Ambient growth of highly oriented Cu{sub 2}S dendrites of superior thermoelectric behaviour

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Mulla, Rafiq; Rabinal, M.K., E-mail: mkrabinal@yahoo.com

    2017-03-01

    Highlights: • A simple and ambient route to synthesize highly oriented dendrites of copper sulfide is proposed. • Remarkable enhancement is observed in Seebeck coefficient by room temperature, solution phase doping. • High thermoelectric power factor is observed at room temperature, indicating promising behaviour. - Abstract: Low-cost, non-toxic and efficient material is an urgent need for the thermoelectric energy conversion. Here, a rapid and ambient chemical route has been developed to grow dense and highly oriented dendrites of copper sulfide (Cu{sub 2}S) on copper substrate in a very simple approach, these films are uniform and covered with dense nanosheets. Room temperature solution doping of copper ions is carried out to improve thermoelectric performance. The Seebeck coefficient increased from ∼100 to 415 μV K{sup −1} with a slight decrease in electrical conductivity, this gives a high power factor (S{sup 2}σ) of about ∼400 μW m{sup −1} K{sup −2}. The improved thermoelectric properties in these films are accounted for resonant energy level doping and high phonon scattering. Such films with improved thermoelectric behaviour can be promising materials for energy conversion. The earth abundant, low cost, non toxic with a good thermoelectric property makes copper sulfide as a promising thermoelectric material for future applications.

  1. Mechanical characterization of hydroxyapatite, thermoelectric materials and doped ceria

    Science.gov (United States)

    Fan, Xiaofeng

    For a variety of applications of brittle ceramic materials, porosity plays a critical role structurally and/or functionally, such as in engineered bone scaffolds, thermoelectric materials and in solid oxide fuel cells. The presence of porosity will affect the mechanical properties, which are essential to the design and application of porous brittle materials. In this study, the mechanical property versus microstructure relations for bioceramics, thermoelectric (TE) materials and solid oxide fuel cells were investigated. For the bioceramic material hydroxyapatite (HA), the Young's modulus was measured using resonant ultrasound spectroscopy (RUS) as a function of (i) porosity and (ii) microcracking damage state. The fracture strength was measured as a function of porosity using biaxial flexure testing, and the distribution of the fracture strength was studied by Weibull analysis. For the natural mineral tetrahedrite based solid solution thermoelectric material (Cu10Zn2As4S13 - Cu 12Sb4S13), the elastic moduli, hardness and fracture toughness were studied as a function of (i) composition and (ii) ball milling time. For ZiNiSn, a thermoelectric half-Heusler compound, the elastic modulus---porosity and hardness---porosity relations were examined. For the solid oxide fuel cell material, gadolina doped ceria (GDC), the elastic moduli including Young's modulus, shear modulus, bulk modulus and Poisson's ratio were measured by RUS as a function of porosity. The hardness was evaluated by Vickers indentation technique as a function of porosity. The results of the mechanical property versus microstructure relations obtained in this study are of great importance for the design and fabrication of reliable components with service life and a safety factor. The Weibull modulus, which is a measure of the scatter in fracture strength, is the gauge of the mechanical reliability. The elastic moduli and Poisson's ratio are needed in analytical or numerical models of the thermal and

  2. Hollow Micro-/Nanostructures: Synthesis and Applications

    KAUST Repository

    Lou, Xiong Wen (David); Archer, Lynden A.; Yang, Zichao

    2008-01-01

    for Portland cement, to produce concrete with enhanced strength and durability. This review is devoted to the progress made in the last decade in synthesis and applications of hollow micro-nanostructures. We present a comprehensive overview of synthetic

  3. Radioisotope thermoelectric generators for implanted pacemakers

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pustovalov, A.A.; Bovin, A.V.; Fedorets, V.I.; Shapovalov, V.P.

    1986-08-01

    This paper discusses the development and application of long-life lithium batteries and the problems associated with miniature radioisotope thermoelectric generators (RITEG) with service lives of 10 years or longer. On eof the main problems encountered when devising a radioisotope heat source (RHS) for an RITEG is to obtain biomedical /sup 238/PuO/sub 2/ with a specific neutron yield of 3.10/sup 3/-4.10/sup 3/ (g /SUP ./ sec)/sup -1/, equivalent to metallic Pu 238, and with a content of gamma impurities sufficient to ensure a permissible exposure a permissible exposure does rate (EDR) of a mixture of neutron and gamma radiation. After carrying out the isotope exchange and purifying the initial sample of its gamma impurity elements, the authors obtain biomedical Pu 238 satisfying the indicated requirements king suitable for use in the power packs of medical devices. Taking the indicated specifications into account, the Ritm-1o and gamma radioisotope heat sources were designed, built, tested in models and under natural conditions, and then into production as radioisotope thermoelectric generators designed to power the electronic circuits of implanted pacemakers. The Ritm-MT and Gemma radioisotope thermoelectric generators described are basic units, which can be used as self-contained power supplies for electronic equipment with power requirements in the micromilliwatt range.

  4. Experiments and simulations on heat exchangers in thermoelectric generator for automotive application

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu, X.; Deng, Y.D.; Zhang, K.; Xu, M.; Xu, Y.; Su, C.Q.

    2014-01-01

    In this work, an energy-harvesting system which extracts heat from an automotive exhaust pipe and turns the heat into electricity by using thermoelectric power generators (TEGs) was built. Experiments show that the temperature difference in automotive system is not constant, especially the heat exchanger, which cannot provide the thermoelectric modules (TMs) large amount of heat. The thermal performance of different heat exchangers in exhaust-based TEGs is studied in this work, and the thermal characteristics of heat exchangers with different internal structures and thickness are discussed, to obtain higher interface temperature and thermal uniformity. Following computational fluid dynamics simulations, infrared experiments and output power testing system are carried out on a high-performance production engine with a dynamometer. Results show that a plate-shaped heat exchanger with chaos-shaped internal structure and thickness of 5 mm achieves a relatively ideal thermal performance, which is practically useful to enhance the thermal performance of the TEG, and larger total output power can be thus obtained. - Graphical abstract: The thermal and electrical characteristics of different heat exchangers of automotive exhaust-based thermoelectric generator are discussed, to obtain higher interface temperature and thermal uniformity. - Highlights: • Different internal structures and thickness of heat exchangers were proposed. • Power output testing system of the two heat exchangers was characterized. • Chaos-shaped heat exchanger (5 mm thickness) shows better performance

  5. Battery requirements and technologies for micro hybrid applications

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Karden, Eckhard; Ploumen, Serve; Spijker, Engbert [Ford Forschungszentrum Aachen GmbH (Germany); Kok, Daniel [Ford Dunton Engineering Center, Basildon, Essex (United Kingdom)

    2010-07-01

    Micro hybrids are part of all European carmakers' CO{sub 2} roadmaps and will get high market share, becoming a standard fit for mainstream powertrains. Starting from vehicle level, the paper outlines system requirements and typical technical solutions. A case study demonstrates potential and limitations of regenerative braking in micro hybrid systems. The lead/acid battery dynamic charge acceptance (DCA) is a major limitation for efficient energy recuperation, and hence fuel and CO{sub 2} saving in micro hybrids. Strengths and weaknesses of the lead/acid battery are discussed with respect to both classical automotive as well as the new micro hybrid applications. The latter impose characteristic high demands on the starting - lighting - ignition (SLI) battery or the storage system that is going to replace it, namely extensive shallow cycling at partial state of charge (PSOC) and significantly improved DCA. Delivering these additional functions robustly and reliably at minimum on-cost for high-volume applications is the key challenge that the automotive lead/acid battery industry is currently confronted with. (orig.)

  6. Development and Analysis of Hybrid Thermoelectric Refrigerator Systems

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saifizi, M.; Zakaria, M. S.; Yaacob, Sazali; Wan, Khairunizam

    2018-03-01

    Thermoelectric module (TEM) is a type of solid-state devices which has the capability to maintain the accuracy of small temperature variation application. In this study, a hybrid thermoelectric refrigerator system is introduced by utilizing TEMs; direct and air to air thermoelectric heat pump to cool down and maintain low temperature for vaccines storage. Two different materials which are aluminum and stainless steel are used as container in hybrid thermoelectric refrigerator (HTER) configuration to investigate the response of every system in transient and steady state mode. A proper temperature sensor calibration technique is implemented to make certain real time data acquisition of the systems are not affected very much from the noise generated. From step response analysis, it is indicated that HTER I (aluminum) has rapid settling time from transient to steady state than HTER II (stainless steel) since aluminum has better thermal conductivity as compared to stainless steel. It is found that HTER I is better in cooling capability with the same input current instead of HTER II which required a longer time to achieve steady state mode. Besides, in Pseudo Random Binary Sequence (PRBS) response analysis injected to both systems shows HTER I is very sensitive to current input as the sequence length of HTER I is shorter than HTER II. However both systems depict the varying temperature in the range of 4 oC due to differences in thermal conductivity of container.

  7. Solid Liquid Interdiffusion Bonding of Zn4Sb3 Thermoelectric Material with Cu Electrode

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lin, Y. C.; Lee, K. T.; Hwang, J. D.; Chu, H. S.; Hsu, C. C.; Chen, S. C.; Chuang, T. H.

    2016-10-01

    The ZnSb intermetallic compound may have thermoelectric applications because it is low in cost and environmentally friendly. In this study, a Zn4Sb3 thermoelectric element coated with a Ni barrier layer and a Ag reaction layer was bonded with a Ag-coated Cu electrode using a Ag/Sn/Ag solid-liquid interdiffusion bonding process. The results indicated that a Ni5Zn21 intermetallic phase formed easily at the Zn4Sb3/Ni interface, leading to sound adhesion. In addition, Sn film was found to react completely with the Ag layer to form a Ag3Sn intermetallic layer having a melting point of 480°C. The resulting Zn4Sb3 thermoelectric module can be applied at the optimized operation temperature (400°C) of Zn4Sb3 material as a thermoelectric element. The bonding strengths ranged from 14.9 MPa to 25.0 MPa, and shear tests revealed that the Zn4Sb3/Cu-joints fractured through the interior of the thermoelectric elements.

  8. Rapid characterization of thermoelectric properties of composition spread (La1-xCax)VO3 films

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Itaka, K.; Wang, Q.J.; Minami, H.; Kawaji, H.; Koinuma, H.

    2004-01-01

    Vanadium oxides possess various interesting properties due to multivalence of a vanadium atom and attract our interest as a target material for the exploration of new applications. We investigated vanadates (La 1-x Ca x )VO 3 with a perovskite structure as thermoelectric (TE) materials because heavy electrons in vanadates are expected to generate large thermopower. To proceed the investigation of thermoelectric properties of the composition spread library more efficiently, we devised a new instrument of multi-channel measurement of their thermoelectric properties. The polarity of Seebeck coefficients changed from positive (0≤x≤0.2) to negative (0.2 3 (x∼0)

  9. Thermal and stress analyses in thermoelectric generator with tapered and rectangular pin configurations

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yilbas, Bekir Sami; Akhtar, S.S.; Sahin, A.Z.

    2016-01-01

    Thermal stress developed in thermoelectric generators is critical for long service applications. High temperature gradients, due to a large temperature difference across the junctions, causes excessive stress levels developed in the device pins and electrodes at the interfaces. In the present study, a thermoelectric generator with horizontal pin configuration is considered and thermal stress analysis in the device is presented. Ceramic wafer is considered to resemble the high temperature plate and copper electrodes are introduced at the pin junctions to reduce the electrical resistance between the pins and the high and low temperature junction plates during the operation. Finite element code is used to simulate temperature and stress fields in the thermoelectric generator. In the simulations, convection and radiation losses from the thermoelectric pins are considered and bismuth telluride pin material with and without tapering is incorporated. It is found that von Mises stress attains high values at the interface between the hot and cold junctions and the copper electrodes. Thermal stress developed in tapered pin configuration attains lower values than that of rectangular pin cross-section. - Highlights: • Different cold junction temperatures improves thermoelectric generator performance. • von Mises stress remains high across copper electrodes and hot junction ceramics. • von Mises stress reduces along pin length towards cold junction. • Pin tapering lowers stress levels in thermoelectric generator.

  10. Spin thermoelectric effects in organic single-molecule devices

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wang, H.L.; Wang, M.X.; Qian, C.; Hong, X.K.; Zhang, D.B.; Liu, Y.S.; Yang, X.F., E-mail: xfyang@cslg.edu.cn

    2017-05-25

    Highlights: • A stronger spin thermoelectric performance in a polyacetylene device is observed. • For the antiferromagnetic (AFM) ordering, a transport gap is opened. Thus the thermoelectric effects are largely enhanced. - Abstract: The spin thermoelectric performance of a polyacetylene chain bridging two zigzag graphene nanoribbons (ZGNRs) is investigated based on first principles method. Two different edge spin arrangements in ZGNRs are considered. For ferromagnetic (FM) ordering, transmission eigenstates with different spin indices distributed below and above Fermi level are observed, leading directly to a strong spin thermoelectric effect in a wide temperature range. With the edge spins arranged in the antiferromagnetic (AFM) ordering, an obvious transport gap appears in the system, which greatly enhances the thermoelectric effects. The presence of a small spin splitting also induces a spin thermoelectric effect greater than the charge thermoelectric effect in certain temperature range. In general, the single-molecule junction exhibits the potential to be used for the design of perfect thermospin devices.

  11. Revealing the optoelectronic and thermoelectric properties of the Zintl quaternary arsenides ACdGeAs{sub 2} (A = K, Rb)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Azam, Sikander; Khan, Saleem Ayaz [New Technologies—Research Center, University of West Bohemia, Univerzitni 8, 306 14 Pilsen (Czech Republic); Goumri-Said, Souraya, E-mail: Souraya.Goumri-Said@chemistry.gatech.edu [School of Chemistry and Biochemistry and Center for Organic Photonics and Electronics, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA 30332-0400 (United States)

    2015-10-15

    Highlights: • Zintl tetragonal phase ACdGeAs{sub 2} (A = K, Rb) are chalcopyrite and semiconductors. • Their direct band gap is suitable for PV, optolectronic and thermoelectric applications. • Combination of DFT and Boltzmann transport theory is employed. • The present arsenides are found to be covalent materials. - Abstract: Chalcopyrite semiconductors have attracted much attention due to their potential implications in photovoltaic and thermoelectric applications. First principle calculations were performed to investigate the electronic, optical and thermoelectric properties of the Zintl tetragonal phase ACdGeAs{sub 2} (A = K, Rb) using the full potential linear augmented plane wave method and the Engle–Vosko GGA (EV–GGA) approximation. The present compounds are found semiconductors with direct band gap and covalent bonding character. The optical transitions are investigated via the dielectric function (real and imaginary parts) along with other related optical constants including refractive index, reflectivity and energy-loss spectrum. Combining results from DFT and Boltzmann transport theory, we reported the thermoelectric properties such as the Seebeck’s coefficient, electrical and thermal conductivity, figure of merit and power factor as function of temperatures. The present chalcopyrite Zintl quaternary arsenides deserve to be explored for their potential applications as thermoelectric materials and for photovoltaic devices.

  12. Analysis of an Increase in the Efficiency of a Spark Ignition Engine Through the Application of an Automotive Thermoelectric Generator

    Science.gov (United States)

    Merkisz, Jerzy; Fuc, Pawel; Lijewski, Piotr; Ziolkowski, Andrzej; Galant, Marta; Siedlecki, Maciej

    2016-08-01

    We have analyzed the increase of the overall efficiency of a spark ignition engine through energy recovery following the application of an automotive thermoelectric generator (ATEG) of our own design. The design of the generator was developed following emission investigations during vehicle driving under city traffic conditions. The measurement points were defined by actual operation conditions (engine speed and load), subsequently reproduced on an engine dynamometer. Both the vehicle used in the on-road tests and the engine dynamometer were fit with the same, downsized spark ignition engine (with high effective power-to-displacement ratio). The thermodynamic parameters of the exhaust gases (temperature and exhaust gas mass flow) were measured on the engine testbed, along with the fuel consumption and electric current generated by the thermoelectric modules. On this basis, the power of the ATEG and its impact on overall engine efficiency were determined.

  13. Introduction to thermoelectricity

    CERN Document Server

    Goldsmid, H Julian

    2016-01-01

    This book is a comprehensive introduction to all aspects of thermoelectric energy conversion. It covers both theory and practice. The book is timely as it refers to the many improvements that have come about in the last few years through the use of nanostructures. The concept of semiconductor thermoelements led to major advances during the second half of the twentieth century, making Peltier refrigeration a widely used technique. The latest materials herald thermoelectric generation as the preferred technique for exploiting low-grade heat. The book shows how progress has been made by increasing the thermal resistivity of the lattice until it is almost as large as it is for glass. It points the way towards the attainment of similar improvements in the electronic parameters. It does not neglect practical considerations, such as the desirability of making thermocouples from inexpensive and environmentally acceptable materials. The second edition was extended to also include recent advances in thermoelectric ener...

  14. Thermoelectric air-cooling module for electronic devices

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Chang, Yu-Wei; Chang, Chih-Chung; Ke, Ming-Tsun; Chen, Sih-Li

    2009-01-01

    This article investigates the thermoelectric air-cooling module for electronic devices. The effects of heat load of heater and input current to thermoelectric cooler are experimentally determined. A theoretical model of thermal analogy network is developed to predict the thermal performance of the thermoelectric air-cooling module. The result shows that the prediction by the model agrees with the experimental data. At a specific heat load, the thermoelectric air-cooling module reaches the best cooling performance at an optimum input current. In this study, the optimum input currents are from 6 A to 7 A at the heat loads from 20 W to 100 W. The result also demonstrates that the thermoelectric air-cooling module performs better performance at a lower heat load. The lowest total temperature difference-heat load ratio is experimentally estimated as -0.54 W K -1 at the low heat load of 20 W, while it is 0.664 W K -1 at the high heat load of 100 W. In some conditions, the thermoelectric air-cooling module performs worse than the air-cooling heat sink only. This article shows the effective operating range in which the cooling performance of the thermoelectric air-cooling module excels that of the air-cooling heat sink only.

  15. The thermoelectric performance of bulk three-dimensional graphene

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yang, Zhi, E-mail: yangzhi@tyut.edu.cn [Key Lab of Advanced Transducers and Intelligent Control System, Ministry of Education and Shanxi Province, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan 030024 (China); College of Physics and Optoelectronics, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan 030024 (China); Lan, Guoqiang; Ouyang, Bin [Department of Mining and Materials Engineering, McGill University, Montreal H3A 0C5 (Canada); Xu, Li-Chun; Liu, Ruiping [College of Physics and Optoelectronics, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan 030024 (China); Liu, Xuguang, E-mail: liuxuguang@tyut.edu.cn [Key Lab of Interface Science and Engineering in Advanced Materials, Ministry of Education, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan 030024 (China); College of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Taiyuan University of Technology, Taiyuan 030024 (China); Song, Jun [Department of Mining and Materials Engineering, McGill University, Montreal H3A 0C5 (Canada)

    2016-11-01

    The electronic and thermoelectric properties of a new carbon bulk material, three-dimensional (3D) graphene, are investigated in this study. Our results show that 3D graphene has unique electronic structure, i.e., near the Fermi level there exist Dirac cones. More importantly, the thermoelectric performance of 3D graphene is excellent, at room temperature the thermoelectric figure of merit (ZT) is 0.21, an order of magnitude higher than that of graphene. By introducing line defects, the ZT of 3D graphene could be enhanced to 1.52, indicating 3D graphene is a powerful candidate for constructing novel thermoelectric materials. - Highlights: • There exist Dirac cones in three-dimensional (3D) graphene. • The thermoelectric performance of 3D graphene is excellent. • The defective 3D graphene has better thermoelectric performance.

  16. Simple engineering design for complex thermoelectric generators based on reduced current approach

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Wijesooriyage, Waruna Dissanayaka; Rezaniakolaei, Alireza; Rosendahl, Lasse

    2015-01-01

    Thermoelectric generators (TEGs) are niche candidate for the field of energy management as electrical generator devices. Generally, comprehensive and accurate design techniques for TEGs (thermoelectric generators), such as reduced current approach (RCA), are complex and time consuming processes....... This study develops a simple, comprehensive and accurate TEG designing technique based on RCA. The proposed method can predict the most efficient TEG architecture with more than 97% accuracy comparing to the RCA over wide range of possible temperature and zT for present TEG applications. Moreover...

  17. CO Sensing Performance of a Micro Thermoelectric Gas Sensor with AuPtPd/SnO2 Catalyst and Effects of a Double Catalyst Structure with Pt/α-Al2O3

    Science.gov (United States)

    Goto, Tomoyo; Itoh, Toshio; Akamatsu, Takafumi; Shin, Woosuck

    2015-01-01

    The CO sensing properties of a micro thermoelectric gas sensor (micro-TGS) with a double AuPtPd/SnO2 and Pt/α-Al2O3 catalyst were investigated. While several nanometer sized Pt and Pd particles were uniformly dispersed on SnO2, the Au particles were aggregated as particles measuring >10 nm in diameter. In situ diffuse reflectance Fourier transform Infrared spectroscopy (DRIFT) analysis of the catalyst showed a CO adsorption peak on Pt and Pd, but no clear peak corresponding to the interaction between CO and Au was detected. Up to 200 °C, CO combustion was more temperature dependent than that of H2, while H2 combustion was activated by repeated exposure to H2 gas during the periodic gas test. Selective CO sensing of the micro-TGS against H2 was attempted using a double catalyst structure with 0.3–30 wt% Pt/α-Al2O3 as a counterpart combustion catalyst. The sensor output of the micro-TGS decreased with increasing Pt content in the Pt/α-Al2O3 catalyst, by cancelling out the combustion heat from the AuPtPd/SnO2 catalyst. In addition, the AuPtPd/SnO2 and 0.3 wt% Pt/α-Al2O3 double catalyst sensor showed good and selective CO detection. We therefore demonstrated that our micro-TGS with double catalyst structure is useful for controlling the gas selectivity of CO against H2. PMID:26694397

  18. Micro-CHP Systems for Residential Applications

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Timothy DeValve; Benoit Olsommer

    2007-09-30

    Integrated micro-CHP (Cooling, Heating and Power) system solutions represent an opportunity to address all of the following requirements at once: conservation of scarce energy resources, moderation of pollutant release into our environment, and assured comfort for home-owners. The objective of this effort was to establish strategies for development, demonstration, and sustainable commercialization of cost-effective integrated CHP systems for residential applications. A unified approach to market and opportunity identification, technology assessment, specific system designs, adaptation to modular product platform component conceptual designs was employed. UTRC's recommendation to U.S. Department of Energy is to go ahead with the execution of the proposed product development and commercialization strategy plan under Phase II of this effort. Recent indicators show the emergence of micro-CHP. More than 12,000 micro-CHP systems have been sold worldwide so far, around 7,500 in 2004. Market projections predict a world-wide market growth over 35% per year. In 2004 the installations were mainly in Europe (73.5%) and in Japan (26.4%). The market in North-America is almost non-existent (0.1%). High energy consumption, high energy expenditure, large spark-spread (i.e., difference between electricity and fuel costs), big square footage, and high income are the key conditions for market acceptance. Today, these conditions are best found in the states of New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Ohio, New England states. A multiple stage development plan is proposed to address risk mitigation. These stages include concept development and supplier engagement, component development, system integration, system demonstration, and field trials. A two stage commercialization strategy is suggested based on two product versions. The first version--a heat and power system named Micro-Cogen, provides the heat and essential electrical power to the

  19. Heat-pipe assisted thermoelectric generators for exhaust gas applications

    OpenAIRE

    Gonçalves, L. M.; Martins, Jorge; Antunes, Joaquim; Rocha, Romeu; Brito, F. P.

    2012-01-01

    Millions of hybrid cars are already running on our roads with the purpose of reducing fossil fuel dependence. One of their main advantages is the recovery of wasted energy, namely by brake recovery. However, there are other sources of wasted energy in a car powered by an internal combustion engine, such as the heat lost through the cooling system, lubrication system (oil coolers) and in the exhaust system. These energies can be recuperated by the use of thermoelectric generators (TEG) based o...

  20. Coupled Thermoelectric Devices: Theory and Experiment

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jaziel A. Rojas

    2016-07-01

    Full Text Available In this paper, we address theoretically and experimentally the optimization problem of the heat transfer occurring in two coupled thermoelectric devices. A simple experimental set up is used. The optimization parameters are the applied electric currents. When one thermoelectric is analysed, the temperature difference Δ T between the thermoelectric boundaries shows a parabolic profile with respect to the applied electric current. This behaviour agrees qualitatively with the corresponding experimental measurement. The global entropy generation shows a monotonous increase with the electric current. In the case of two coupled thermoelectric devices, elliptic isocontours for Δ T are obtained in applying an electric current through each of the thermoelectrics. The isocontours also fit well with measurements. Optimal figure of merit is found for a specific set of values of the applied electric currents. The entropy generation-thermal figure of merit relationship is studied. It is shown that, given a value of the thermal figure of merit, the device can be operated in a state of minimum entropy production.

  1. Investigation of electronic, magnetic and thermoelectric properties of Zr{sub 2}NiZ (Z = Al,Ga) ferromagnets

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Yousuf, Saleem, E-mail: nengroosaleem17@gmail.com; Gupta, Dinesh C., E-mail: sosfizix@gmail.com

    2017-05-01

    Systematic investigation of impact of electronic structure and magnetism, on the thermoelectric properties of new Zr{sub 2}NiZ (Z = Al, Ga) Heusler alloys are determined using density functional theory calculations. Half-metallicity with ferromagnetic character is supported by their 100% spin polarizations at the Fermi level. Magnetic moment of ∼3 μ{sub B} is according to the Slater-Puling rule, enables their practical applications. Electron density plots are used to analyse the nature of bonding and chemical composition. Boltzmann's theory is conveniently employed to investigate the thermoelectric properties of these compounds. The analysis of the thermal transport properties specifies the Seebeck coefficient as 25.6 μV/K and 18.6 μV/K at room temperature for Zr{sub 2}NiAl and Zr{sub 2}NiGa, respectively. The half-metallic nature with efficient thermoelectric coefficients suggests the likelihood of these materials to have application in designing spintronic devices and imminent thermoelectric materials. - Highlights: • The compounds are half-metallic ferromagnets. • 100% spin-polarized compounds for spintronics. • Increasing Seebeck coefficient over a wide temperature range. • Zr{sub 2}NiAl is efficient thermoelectric material than Zr{sub 2}NiGa.

  2. Passive flow heat exchanger simulation for power generation from solar pond using thermoelectric generators

    Science.gov (United States)

    Baharin, Nuraida'Aadilia; Arzami, Amir Afiq; Singh, Baljit; Remeli, Muhammad Fairuz; Tan, Lippong; Oberoi, Amandeep

    2017-04-01

    In this study, a thermoelectric generator heat exchanger system was designed and simulated for electricity generation from solar pond. A thermoelectric generator heat exchanger was studied by using Computational Fluid Dynamics to simulate flow and heat transfer. A thermoelectric generator heat exchanger designed for passive in-pond flow used in solar pond for electrical power generation. A simple analysis simulation was developed to obtain the amount of electricity generated at different conditions for hot temperatures of a solar pond at different flow rates. Results indicated that the system is capable of producing electricity. This study and design provides an alternative way to generate electricity from solar pond in tropical countries like Malaysia for possible renewable energy applications.

  3. Application of cascading thermoelectric generator and cooler for waste heat recovery from solid oxide fuel cells

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Zhang, Houcheng; Kong, Wei; Dong, Feifei; Xu, Haoran; Chen, Bin; Ni, Meng

    2017-01-01

    Highlights: • Cascading thermoelectric devices are proposed to recover waste heat from SOFCs. • A theoretical model is developed to analyze the new hybrid system performance. • Performance parameters for evaluating the hybrid system are specified. • Feasibility and effectiveness of the proposed system are demonstrated. • Effects of some important parameters on the system performance are discussed. - Abstract: Besides electricity generation, solid oxide fuel cells (SOFCs) produce a significant amount of waste heat, which needs to be immediately removed to ensure the normal operation of SOFCs. If the waste heat is recovered through bottoming thermal devices, the global efficiency of SOFCs can be improved. In this study, a new hybrid system mainly consisting of a thermoelectric generator, a thermoelectric cooler and an SOFC is proposed to recover the waste heat from SOFC for performance enhancement. The thermodynamic and electrochemical irreversible losses in each component are fully considered. An analytical relationship between the SOFC operating current density and the thermoelectric devices dimensionless electric current is derived, from which the range of SOFC operating current density that permits the thermoelectric devices to effectively work is determined. The equivalent power output and efficiency for the hybrid system are specified under different operating current density regions. The feasibility and effectiveness are illustrated by comparing the proposed hybrid system with the stand-alone SOFC. It is found that the power density and efficiency of the proposed system allow 2.3% and 4.6% larger than that of the stand-alone SOFC, respectively. Finally, various parametric analyses are performed to discuss the effects of some design and operation parameters on the hybrid system performance.

  4. High thermoelectric performance of graphite nanofibers

    OpenAIRE

    Tran, Van-Truong; Saint-Martin, Jérôme; Dollfus, Philippe; Volz, Sebastian

    2017-01-01

    Graphite nanofibers (GNFs) have been demonstrated to be a promising material for hydrogen storage and heat management in electronic devices. Here, by means of first-principles and transport simulations, we show that GNFs can also be an excellent material for thermoelectric applications thanks to the interlayer weak van der Waals interaction that induces low thermal conductance and a step-like shape in the electronic transmission with mini-gaps, which are necessary ingredients to achieve high ...

  5. Atomistic explanation of brittle failure of thermoelectric skutterudite CoSb3

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li, Guodong; An, Qi; Goddard, William A.; Hanus, Riley; Zhai, Pengcheng; Zhang, Qingjie; Snyder, G. Jeffrey

    2016-01-01

    CoSb 3 based skutterudite thermoelectric material has superior thermoelectric properties, but the low fracture toughness prevents its widespread commercial application. To determine the origin of its brittle failure, we examined the response of shear deformation in CoSb 3 along the most plausible slip system (010)/<100>, using large-scale molecular dynamics simulations. We find that the brittle failure of CoSb 3 arises from the formation of shear bands due to the destruction of Sb4-rings and the slippage of Co-octahedraes. This leads to the breakage of Co-octahedraes and cavitation, resulting in the crack opening and mechanical failure.

  6. Hollow Micro-/Nanostructures: Synthesis and Applications

    KAUST Repository

    Lou, Xiong Wen (David)

    2008-11-03

    Hollow micro-nanostructures are of great interest in many current and emerging areas of technology. Perhaps the best-known example of the former is the use of fly-ash hollow particles generated from coal power plants as partial replacement for Portland cement, to produce concrete with enhanced strength and durability. This review is devoted to the progress made in the last decade in synthesis and applications of hollow micro-nanostructures. We present a comprehensive overview of synthetic strategies for hollow structures. These strategies are broadly categorized into four themes, which include well-established approaches, such as conventional hard-templating and soft-templating methods, as well as newly emerging methods based on sacrificial templating and template-free synthesis. Success in each has inspired multiple variations that continue to drive the rapid evolution of the field. The Review therefore focuses on the fundamentals of each process, pointing out advantages and disadvantages where appropriate. Strategies for generating more complex hollow structures, such as rattle-type and nonspherical hollow structures, are also discussed. Applications of hollow structures in lithium batteries, catalysis and sensing, and biomedical applications are reviewed. © 2008 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA,.

  7. Compatibility of Segments of Thermoelectric Generators

    Science.gov (United States)

    Snyder, G. Jeffrey; Ursell, Tristan

    2009-01-01

    A method of calculating (usually for the purpose of maximizing) the power-conversion efficiency of a segmented thermoelectric generator is based on equations derived from the fundamental equations of thermoelectricity. Because it is directly traceable to first principles, the method provides physical explanations in addition to predictions of phenomena involved in segmentation. In comparison with the finite-element method used heretofore to predict (without being able to explain) the behavior of a segmented thermoelectric generator, this method is much simpler to implement in practice: in particular, the efficiency of a segmented thermoelectric generator can be estimated by evaluating equations using only hand-held calculator with this method. In addition, the method provides for determination of cascading ratios. The concept of cascading is illustrated in the figure and the definition of the cascading ratio is defined in the figure caption. An important aspect of the method is its approach to the issue of compatibility among segments, in combination with introduction of the concept of compatibility within a segment. Prior approaches involved the use of only averaged material properties. Two materials in direct contact could be examined for compatibility with each other, but there was no general framework for analysis of compatibility. The present method establishes such a framework. The mathematical derivation of the method begins with the definition of reduced efficiency of a thermoelectric generator as the ratio between (1) its thermal-to-electric power-conversion efficiency and (2) its Carnot efficiency (the maximum efficiency theoretically attainable, given its hot- and cold-side temperatures). The derivation involves calculation of the reduced efficiency of a model thermoelectric generator for which the hot-side temperature is only infinitesimally greater than the cold-side temperature. The derivation includes consideration of the ratio (u) between the

  8. Highly Efficient Segmented p-type Thermoelectric Leg

    Science.gov (United States)

    Sadia, Yatir; Ben-Yehuda, Ohad; Gelbstein, Yaniv

    In the past years, energy demands in the entire world have been constantly increasing. This fact, coupled with the requirement for decreasing the world's dependence on fossil fuels, has given rise to the need for alternative energy sources. While no single alternative energy source can solely replace the traditional fossil fuels, the combination of several alternative power sources can greatly decrease their usage. Thermoelectricity is one way to produce such energy via the harvesting of waste heat into electricity. One common example is the automobile industry which in the past few years had been looking into the option of harvesting the waste heat created by the engine, around the exhaust pipe and in the catalytic converter. Thermoelectricity is ideal for such application since it can convert the energy directly into electric current without any moving parts, thereby extending the life cycle of the operation.

  9. Thermoelectric Properties of High-Doped Silicon from Room Temperature to 900 K

    Science.gov (United States)

    Stranz, A.; Kähler, J.; Waag, A.; Peiner, E.

    2013-07-01

    Silicon is investigated as a low-cost, Earth-abundant thermoelectric material for high-temperature applications up to 900 K. For the calculation of module design the Seebeck coefficient and the electrical as well as thermal properties of silicon in the high-temperature range are of great importance. In this study, we evaluate the thermoelectric properties of low-, medium-, and high-doped silicon from room temperature to 900 K. In so doing, the Seebeck coefficient, the electrical and thermal conductivities, as well as the resulting figure of merit ZT of silicon are determined.

  10. Materials growth and characterization of thermoelectric and resistive switching devices

    Science.gov (United States)

    Norris, Kate J.

    In the 74 years since diode rectifier based radar technology helped the allied forces win WWII, semiconductors have transformed the world we live in. From our smart phones to semiconductor-based energy conversion, semiconductors touch every aspect of our lives. With this thesis I hope to expand human knowledge of semiconductor thermoelectric devices and resistive switching devices through experimentation with materials growth and subsequent materials characterization. Metal organic chemical vapor deposition (MOCVD) was the primary method of materials growth utilized in these studies. Additionally, plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (PECVD), atomic layer deposition (ALD),ion beam sputter deposition, reactive sputter deposition and electron-beam (e-beam) evaporation were also used in this research for device fabrication. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM), Transmission electron microscopy (TEM), and Electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS) were the primary characterization methods utilized for this research. Additional device and materials characterization techniques employed include: current-voltage measurements, thermoelectric measurements, x-ray diffraction (XRD), reflection absorption infra-red spectroscopy (RAIRS), atomic force microscopy (AFM), photoluminescence (PL), and raman spectroscopy. As society has become more aware of its impact on the planet and its limited resources, there has been a push toward developing technologies to sustainably produce the energy we need. Thermoelectric devices convert heat directly into electricity. Thermoelectric devices have the potential to save huge amounts of energy that we currently waste as heat, if we can make them cost-effective. Semiconducting thin films and nanowires appear to be promising avenues of research to attain this goal. Specifically, in this work we will explore the use of ErSb thin films as well as Si and InP nanowire networks for thermoelectric applications. First we will discuss the growth of

  11. High thermoelectric performances of Bi–AE–Co–O compounds directionally growth from the melt

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Juan-Carlos Diez

    2018-01-01

    Full Text Available Bi2AE2Co2Ox (AE = Ca, Sr, and Ba thermoelectric compounds were grown from the melt by the laser floating zone technique. Microstructural analysis of as-grown samples has shown the formation of well-aligned thermoelectric grains together with a relative high amount of secondary phases. On the other hand, a short (24 h thermal treatment (810 °C for Sr, 800 °C for Ca, and 750 °C for Ba under air, raises of thermoelectric phase content through the recombination of the secondary ones. These microstructural modifications led to a large decrease of electrical resistivity, improving the power factor. These results have been compared with samples prepared by the conventional solid state method and with the best values reported in the literature. From these data, it is possible to deduce that the high thermoelectric characteristics obtained in these samples make them very attractive for practical applications.

  12. High thermoelectric performances of Bi–AE–Co–O compounds directionally growth from the melt

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Diez, J.C.; Rasekh, S.; Madre, M.A.; Torres, M.A.; Sotelo, A.E.

    2018-01-01

    Bi2AE2Co2Ox (AE=Ca, Sr, and Ba) thermoelectric compounds were grown from the melt by the laser floating zone technique. Microstructural analysis of as-grown samples has shown the formation of well-aligned thermoelectric grains together with a relative high amount of secondary phases. On the other hand, a short (24h) thermal treatment (810°C for Sr, 800°C for Ca, and 750°C for Ba) under air, raises of thermoelectric phase content through the recombination of the secondary ones. These microstructural modifications led to a large decrease of electrical resistivity, improving the power factor. These results have been compared with samples prepared by the conventional solid state method and with the best values reported in the literature. From these data, it is possible to deduce that the high thermoelectric characteristics obtained in these samples make them very attractive for practical applications. [es

  13. Automotive Thermoelectric Generator impact on the efficiency of a drive system with a combustion engine

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Ziolkowski Andrzej

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Increasing the combustion engine drive systems efficiency is currently being achieved by structural changes in internal combustion engines and its equipment, which are geared towards limiting mechanical, thermal and outlet losses. For this reason, downsizing. In addition to these changes, all manner of exhaust gas energy recovery systems are being investigated and implemented, including turbocompound, turbogenerators and thermoelectric generators. The article presents the author’s idea of a thermoelectric generator system of automotive applications ATEG (Automotive Thermoelectric Generator and the study of the recovery of exhaust gas energy stream. The ATEG consists of a heat exchanger, thermoelectric modules and a cooling system. In this solution, 24 commercial thermoelectric modules based on Bi2Te3 (bismuth telluride were used. Measurements were made at two engine test sites on which SI and CI engines were installed. The exhaust gas parameters (temperature and mass flow rate, fuel consumption and operating parameters of the ATEG – the intensity and the voltage generated by the thermoelectric modules and the temperature on the walls of the heat exchanger – were all measured in the experiments. Based on the obtained results, the exhaust gas energy flow and the power of the ATEG were determined as well as its effect on the diesel engine drive system efficiency.

  14. A thermoelectric cap for seafloor hydrothermal vents

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Xie, Yu; Wu, Shi-jun; Yang, Can-jun

    2016-01-01

    Highlights: • We developed a thermoelectric cap (TC) to harvest hydrothermal energy. • The TC was deployed at a hydrothermal vent site near Kueishantao islet, Taiwan. • The TC monitored the temperature of the hydrothermal fluids during the field test. • The TC could make the thermal energy of hydrothermal fluids a viable power source. - Abstract: Long-term in situ monitoring is crucial to seafloor scientific investigations. One of the challenges of operating sensors in seabed is the lifespan of the sensors. Such sensors are commonly powered by batteries when other alternatives, such as tidal or solar energy, are unavailable. However, the batteries have a limited lifespan and must be recharged or replaced periodically, which is costly and impractical. A thermoelectric cap, which harvests the thermal energy of hydrothermal fluids through a conduction pipe and converts the heat to electrical energy by using thermoelectric generators, was developed to avoid these inconveniences. The thermoelectric cap was combined with a power and temperature measurement system that enables the thermoelectric cap to power a light-emitting diode lamp, an electronic load (60 Ω), and 16 thermocouples continuously. The thermoelectric cap was field tested at a shallow hydrothermal vent site near Kueishantao islet, which is located offshore of northeastern Taiwan. By using the thermal gradient between hydrothermal fluids and seawater, the thermoelectric cap obtained a sustained power of 0.2–0.5 W during the field test. The thermoelectric cap successfully powered the 16 thermocouples and recorded the temperature of the hydrothermal fluids during the entire field test. Our results show that the thermal energy of hydrothermal fluids can be an alternative renewable power source for oceanographic research.

  15. Carbon-Nanotube-Based Thermoelectric Materials and Devices

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Blackburn, Jeffrey L. [Chemistry and Nanoscience Center, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden CO 80401-3305 USA; Ferguson, Andrew J. [Chemistry and Nanoscience Center, National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Golden CO 80401-3305 USA; Cho, Chungyeon [Department of Mechanical Engineering, Texas A& M University, College Station TX 77843-3003 USA; Grunlan, Jaime C. [Department of Mechanical Engineering, Texas A& M University, College Station TX 77843-3003 USA

    2018-01-22

    Conversion of waste heat to voltage has the potential to significantly reduce the carbon footprint of a number of critical energy sectors, such as the transportation and electricity-generation sectors, and manufacturing processes. Thermal energy is also an abundant low-flux source that can be harnessed to power portable/wearable electronic devices and critical components in remote off-grid locations. As such, a number of different inorganic and organic materials are being explored for their potential in thermoelectric-energy-harvesting devices. Carbon-based thermoelectric materials are particularly attractive due to their use of nontoxic, abundant source-materials, their amenability to high-throughput solution-phase fabrication routes, and the high specific energy (i.e., W g-1) enabled by their low mass. Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) represent a unique 1D carbon allotrope with structural, electrical, and thermal properties that enable efficient thermoelectric-energy conversion. Here, the progress made toward understanding the fundamental thermoelectric properties of SWCNTs, nanotube-based composites, and thermoelectric devices prepared from these materials is reviewed in detail. This progress illuminates the tremendous potential that carbon-nanotube-based materials and composites have for producing high-performance next-generation devices for thermoelectric-energy harvesting.

  16. Thermoelectricity an introduction to the principles

    CERN Document Server

    MacDonald, D K C

    2006-01-01

    This introductory treatment provides an understanding of the fundamental concepts and principles involved in the study of thermoelectricity in solids and of conduction in general. Aimed at graduate-level students and those interested in basic theory, it will be especially valuable to experimental physicists working in fields connected with electron transport and to theoreticians seeking a survey of thermoelectricity and related questions.Chronicling the early history of thermoelectricity from its discovery to modern times, this text features a considerable amount of experimental data and discu

  17. Fabrication and thermoelectric properties of highly textured NaCo2O4 ceramic

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Cheng Jinguang; Sui Yu; Fu Haijin; Lu Zhe; Wei Bo; Qian Zhengnan; Miao Jipeng; Liu Zhiguo; Huang Xiqiang; Zhu Ruibin; Wang Xianjie; Su Wenhui

    2006-01-01

    Highly textured NaCo 2 O 4 polycrystalline sample was fabricated by means of the cold high-pressure compacting followed by the solid-state reaction. X-ray diffraction and scanning electron microscope were employed to show that the plate-like grains within the sample are aligned along the pressing direction. The resistivity ρ and thermoelectric power S along the preferred {0 0 1} plane were measured in the whole temperature range from 15 to 973 K in air and the correlation between thermoelectric properties and texture was investigated. It was found that both ρ and S exhibit metallic behavior in the whole temperature range and the above sample exhibits lower ρ and higher S due to high texture and density. The power factor exhibits a steep rise above 400 K and reaches 761 μW m -1 K -2 at 973 K, suggesting a promising candidate for thermoelectric application at higher temperature. The change of slope in both resistivity and thermoelectric power curves at about 450 K might arise from the spin-state transition of Co ions in the CoO 2 blocks

  18. Examination of applicability of thermoelectric power measurement for thermal aging evaluation of cast duplex stainless steel to real components in nuclear power plants

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Joubouji, Katsuo

    2006-01-01

    It is known the mechanical properties of cast duplex stainless steel, which is used for main coolant pipes of pressurized water reactor type nuclear power plants, change due to thermal aging. Non-destructive evaluation method for thermal aging using thermoelectric power measurement has been studied in INSS. And it has been found that there was some relation between mechanical properties and thermoelectric power in the case of accelerated aging sample and change in thermoelectric power was caused by change in microstructure due to thermal aging. In this study, n-site measurement of thermoelectric power of a main coolant pipe with the measurement device which has been used in a laboratory was carried out. As a result, thermoelectric power of the main coolant pipe was almost measured within the range from -2.2 to -2μ V/degC, and that was corresponding to the relation of accelerated aging samples between thermoelectric power and the product of ferrite content and aging parameter considering the standard error. Moreover, applying the measured thermoelectric power to the relation of accelerated aging samples between thermoelectric power and impact value, change in the impact value of the pipe seemed to be corresponding to about 40% of the maximum change assumed by thermal aging. (author)

  19. Development of a prototype thermoelectric space cooling system using phase change material to improve the performance

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhao, Dongliang

    The thermoelectric cooling system has advantages over conventional vapor compression cooling devices, including compact in size, light in weight, high reliability, no mechanical moving parts, no refrigerant, being powered by direct current, and easily switching between cooling and heating modes. However, it has been long suffering from its relatively high cost and low energy efficiency, which has restricted its usage to niche applications, such as space missions, portable cooling devices, scientific and medical equipment, where coefficient of performance (COP) is not as important as reliability, energy availability, and quiet operation environment. Enhancement of thermoelectric cooling system performance generally relies on two methods: improving thermoelectric material efficiency and through thermoelectric cooling system thermal design. This research has been focused on the latter one. A prototype thermoelectric cooling system integrated with phase change material (PCM) thermal energy storage unit for space cooling has been developed. The PCM thermal storage unit used for cold storage at night, functions as the thermoelectric cooling system's heat sink during daytime's cooling period and provides relatively lower hot side temperature for the thermoelectric cooling system. The experimental test of the prototype system in a reduced-scale chamber has realized an average cooling COP of 0.87, with the maximum value of 1.22. Another comparison test for efficacy of PCM thermal storage unit shows that 35.3% electrical energy has been saved from using PCM for the thermoelectric cooling system. In general, PCM faces difficulty of poor thermal conductivity at both solid and liquid phases. This system implemented a finned inner tube to increase heat transfer during PCM charging (melting) process that directly impacts thermoelectric system's performance. A simulation tool for the entire system has been developed including mathematical models for a single thermoelectric module

  20. Effective use of thermal energy at both hot and cold side of thermoelectric module for developing efficient thermoelectric water distillation system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Al-Madhhachi, Hayder; Min, Gao

    2017-01-01

    Highlights: • New distillation process using thermoelectric to assist evaporation/condensation. • Novel thermoelectric distillation system with reduced specific energy consumption. • Freshwater production by thermoelectrically assisted evaporation and condensation. - Abstract: An efficient thermoelectric distillation system has been designed and constructed for production of drinkable water. The unique design of this system is to use the heat from hot side of the thermoelectric module for water evaporation and the cold side for vapour condensation simultaneously. This novel design significantly reduces energy consumption and improves the system performance. The results of experiments show that the average water production is 28.5 mL/h with a specific energy consumption of 0.00114 kW h/mL in an evaporation chamber filled with 10 × 10 × 30 mm"3 of water. This is significantly lower than the energy consumption required by other existing thermoelectric distillation systems. The results also show that a maximum temperature difference between the hot and cold side of the thermoelectric module is 42.3 °C, which led to temperature increases of 26.4 °C and 8.4 °C in water and vapour, respectively.

  1. Structural, electronic, optical and thermoelectric investigations of antiperovskites A3SnO (A = Ca, Sr, Ba) using density functional theory

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hassan, M.; Shahid, A.; Mahmood, Q.

    2018-02-01

    Density functional theory study of the structural, electrical, optical and thermoelectric behaviors of very less investigated anti-perovskites A3SnO (A = Ca, Sr, Ba) is performed with FP-LAPW technique. The A3SnO exhibit narrow direct band gap, in contrast to the wide indirect band gap of the respective perovskites. Hence, indirect to direct band gap transformation can be realized by the structural transition from perovskite to anti-perovskite. The p-p hybridization between A and O states result in the covalent bonding. The transparency and maximum reflectivity to the certain energies, and the verification of the Penn's model indicate potential optical device applications. Thermoelectric behaviors computed within 200-800 K depict that Ca3SnO exhibits good thermoelectric performance than Ba3SnO and Sr3SnO, and all three operate at their best at 800 K suggesting high temperature thermoelectric device applications.

  2. Lunar base thermoelectric power station study

    Science.gov (United States)

    Determan, William; Frye, Patrick; Mondt, Jack; Fleurial, Jean-Pierre; Johnson, Ken; Stapfer, G.; Brooks, Michael D.; Heshmatpour, Ben

    2006-01-01

    Under NASA's Project Prometheus, the Nuclear Systems Program, the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Pratt & Whitney Rocketdyne, and Teledyne Energy Systems have teamed with a number of universities, under the Segmented Thermoelectric Multicouple Converter (STMC) program, to develop the next generation of advanced thermoelectric converters for space reactor power systems. Work on the STMC converter assembly has progressed to the point where the lower temperature stage of the segmented multicouple converter assembly is ready for laboratory testing and the upper stage materials have been identified and their properties are being characterized. One aspect of the program involves mission application studies to help define the potential benefits from the use of these STMC technologies for designated NASA missions such as the lunar base power station where kilowatts of power are required to maintain a permanent manned presence on the surface of the moon. A modular 50 kWe thermoelectric power station concept was developed to address a specific set of requirements developed for this mission. Previous lunar lander concepts had proposed the use of lunar regolith as in-situ radiation shielding material for a reactor power station with a one kilometer exclusion zone radius to minimize astronaut radiation dose rate levels. In the present concept, we will examine the benefits and requirements for a hermetically-sealed reactor thermoelectric power station module suspended within a man-made lunar surface cavity. The concept appears to maximize the shielding capabilities of the lunar regolith while minimizing its handling requirements. Both thermal and nuclear radiation levels from operation of the station, at its 100-m exclusion zone radius, were evaluated and found to be acceptable. Site preparation activities are reviewed and well as transport issues for this concept. The goal of the study was to review the entire life cycle of the unit to assess its technical problems and technology

  3. Electronic structure, magnetism and thermoelectricity in layered perovskites: Sr2SnMnO6 and Sr2SnFeO6

    Science.gov (United States)

    Khandy, Shakeel Ahmad; Gupta, Dinesh C.

    2017-11-01

    Layered structures especially perovskites have titanic potential for novel device applications and thanks to the multifunctional properties displayed in these materials. We forecast and justify the robust spin-polarized ferromagnetism in half-metallic Sr2SnFeO6 and semiconducting Sr2SnMnO6 perovskite oxides. Different approximation methods have been argued to put forward their physical properties. The intriguingly intricate electronic band structures favor the application of these materials in spintronics. The transport parameters like Seebeck coefficient, electrical and thermal conductivity, have been put together to establish their thermoelectric response. Finally, the layered oxides are found to switch their application as thermoelectric materials and hence, these concepts design the principles of the technologically desired thermoelectric and spin based devices.

  4. The application of micro-lesson in optics teaching

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yuan, Suzhen; Mao, Xuefeng; Lu, Yongle; Wang, Yan; Luo, Yuan

    2017-08-01

    In order to improve students' ability on self-study, this paper discusses the application of micro-lesson as a supplementary way in the course of optics teaching. Both geometric optics and wave optics require a lot of demos, fortunately, micro-lesson just meets this requirement. Nowadays, college education focuses on quality education, so the new nurture scheme of most universities shortened the class hours. However, the development of students and the social needs also require students to have a solid foundation. The effective way to solve this contradiction is to improve the efficiency of classroom teaching and provide the repeatable learning form, micro-lesson.

  5. Methods of synthesizing thermoelectric materials

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ren, Zhifeng; Chen, Shuo; Liu, Wei-Shu; Wang, Hengzhi; Wang, Hui; Yu, Bo; Chen, Gang

    2016-04-05

    Methods for synthesis of thermoelectric materials are disclosed. In some embodiments, a method of fabricating a thermoelectric material includes generating a plurality of nanoparticles from a starting material comprising one or more chalcogens and one or more transition metals; and consolidating the nanoparticles under elevated pressure and temperature, wherein the nanoparticles are heated and cooled at a controlled rate.

  6. The effect of doping on thermoelectric performance of p-type SnSe: Promising thermoelectric material

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Singh, Niraj Kumar; Bathula, Sivaiah; Gahtori, Bhasker [CSIR-Network of Institutes for Solar Energy, CSIR-National Physical Laboratory, Dr. K. S. Krishnan Road, New Delhi 110012 (India); Tyagi, Kriti [CSIR-Network of Institutes for Solar Energy, CSIR-National Physical Laboratory, Dr. K. S. Krishnan Road, New Delhi 110012 (India); Acdemy of Scientific and Innovative Research (AcSIR), CSIR-National Physical Laboratory (NPL) Campus, New Delhi (India); Haranath, D. [CSIR-Network of Institutes for Solar Energy, CSIR-National Physical Laboratory, Dr. K. S. Krishnan Road, New Delhi 110012 (India); Dhar, Ajay, E-mail: adhar@nplindia.org [CSIR-Network of Institutes for Solar Energy, CSIR-National Physical Laboratory, Dr. K. S. Krishnan Road, New Delhi 110012 (India)

    2016-05-25

    Tin selenide (SnSe) based thermoelectric materials are being explored for making inexpensive and efficient thermoelectric devices with improved thermoelectric efficiency. As both Sn and Se are earth abundant and relatively inexpensive and these alloys do not involve toxic materials, such as lead and expensive tellurium. Hence, in the present study, we have synthesized SnSe doped with 2 at% of aluminium (Al), lead (Pb), indium (In) and copper (Cu) individually, which is not reported in literature. Out of these, Cu doped SnSe resulted in enhancement of figure-of-merit (zT) of ∼0.7 ± 0.02 at 773 K, synthesized employing conventional fusion method followed by spark plasma sintering. This enhancement in zT is ∼16% over the existing state-of-the-art value for p-type SnSe alloy doped with expensive Ag. This enhancement in ZT is primarily due to the presence of Cu{sub 2}Se second phase associated with intrinsic nanostructure formation of SnSe. This enhancement has been corroborated with the microstructural characterization using field emission scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction studies. Also, Cu doped SnSe exhibited a higher value of carrier concentration in comparison to other samples doped with Al, Pb and In. Further, the compatibility factor of Cu doped SnSe alloys exhibited value of 1.62 V{sup −1} at 773 K and it is suitable to segment with most of the novel TE materials for obtaining the higher thermoelectric efficiencies. - Highlights: • Tin selenide (SnSe) doped with non-toxic and inexpensive dopants. • Synthesized highly dense SnSe employing Spark plasma sintering. • Enhanced thermoelectric compatibility factor of SnSe. • Enhanced thermoelectric performance of SnSe doped with Copper.

  7. Micro and nanotechnology for biological and biomedical applications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lim, Chwee Teck; Han, Jongyoon; Guck, Jochen; Espinosa, Horacio

    2010-10-01

    This special issue contains some of the current state-of-the-art development and use of micro and nanotechnological tools, devices and techniques for both biological and biomedical research and applications. These include nanoparticles for bioimaging and biosensing, optical and biophotonic techniques for probing diseases at the nanoscale, micro and nano-fabricated tools for elucidating molecular mechanisms of mechanotransduction in cell and molecular biology and cell separation microdevices and techniques for isolating and enriching targeted cells for disease detection and diagnosis. Although some of these works are still at the research stage, there is no doubt that some of the important outcomes will eventually see actual biomedical applications in the not too distant future.

  8. Thermoelectric transport in superlattices

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Reinecke, T L; Broido, D A

    1997-07-01

    The thermoelectric transport properties of superlattices have been studied using an exact solution of the Boltzmann equation. The role of heat transport along the barrier layers, of carrier tunneling through the barriers, of valley degeneracy and of the well width and energy dependences of the carrier-phonon scattering rates on the thermoelectric figure of merit are given. Calculations are given for Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 3} and for PbTe, and the results of recent experiments are discussed.

  9. Application of T2 Control Charts and Hidden Markov Models in Condition-Based Maintenance at Thermoelectric Power Plants

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Emilija Kisić

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available An innovative approach to condition-based maintenance of coal grinding subsystems at thermoelectric power plants is proposed in the paper. Coal mill grinding tables become worn over time and need to be replaced through time-based maintenance, after a certain number of service hours. At times such replacement is necessary earlier or later than prescribed, depending on the quality of the coal and of the grinding table itself. Considerable financial losses are incurred when the entire coal grinding subsystem is shut down and the grinding table found to not actually require replacement. The only way to determine whether replacement is necessary is to shut down and open the entire subsystem for visual inspection. The proposed algorithm supports condition-based maintenance and involves the application of T2 control charts to distinct acoustic signal parameters in the frequency domain and the construction of Hidden Markov Models whose observations are coded samples from the control charts. In the present research, the acoustic signals were collected by coal mill monitoring at the thermoelectric power plant “Kostolac” in Serbia. The proposed approach provides information about the current condition of the grinding table.

  10. Carbon-Nanotube-Based Thermoelectric Materials and Devices.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Blackburn, Jeffrey L; Ferguson, Andrew J; Cho, Chungyeon; Grunlan, Jaime C

    2018-03-01

    Conversion of waste heat to voltage has the potential to significantly reduce the carbon footprint of a number of critical energy sectors, such as the transportation and electricity-generation sectors, and manufacturing processes. Thermal energy is also an abundant low-flux source that can be harnessed to power portable/wearable electronic devices and critical components in remote off-grid locations. As such, a number of different inorganic and organic materials are being explored for their potential in thermoelectric-energy-harvesting devices. Carbon-based thermoelectric materials are particularly attractive due to their use of nontoxic, abundant source-materials, their amenability to high-throughput solution-phase fabrication routes, and the high specific energy (i.e., W g -1 ) enabled by their low mass. Single-walled carbon nanotubes (SWCNTs) represent a unique 1D carbon allotrope with structural, electrical, and thermal properties that enable efficient thermoelectric-energy conversion. Here, the progress made toward understanding the fundamental thermoelectric properties of SWCNTs, nanotube-based composites, and thermoelectric devices prepared from these materials is reviewed in detail. This progress illuminates the tremendous potential that carbon-nanotube-based materials and composites have for producing high-performance next-generation devices for thermoelectric-energy harvesting. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  11. A lightweight scalable agarose-gel-synthesized thermoelectric composite

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kim, Jin Ho; Fernandes, Gustavo E.; Lee, Do-Joong; Hirst, Elizabeth S.; Osgood, Richard M., III; Xu, Jimmy

    2018-03-01

    Electronic devices are now advancing beyond classical, rigid systems and moving into lighweight flexible regimes, enabling new applications such as body-wearables and ‘e-textiles’. To support this new electronic platform, composite materials that are highly conductive yet scalable, flexible, and wearable are needed. Materials with high electrical conductivity often have poor thermoelectric properties because their thermal transport is made greater by the same factors as their electronic conductivity. We demonstrate, in proof-of-principle experiments, that a novel binary composite can disrupt thermal (phononic) transport, while maintaining high electrical conductivity, thus yielding promising thermoelectric properties. Highly conductive Multi-Wall Carbon Nanotube (MWCNT) composites are combined with a low-band gap semiconductor, PbS. The work functions of the two materials are closely matched, minimizing the electrical contact resistance within the composite. Disparities in the speed of sound in MWCNTs and PbS help to inhibit phonon propagation, and boundary layer scattering at interfaces between these two materials lead to large Seebeck coefficient (> 150 μV/K) (Mott N F and Davis E A 1971 Electronic Processes in Non-crystalline Materials (Oxford: Clarendon), p 47) and a power factor as high as 10 μW/(K2 m). The overall fabrication process is not only scalable but also conformal and compatible with large-area flexible hosts including metal sheets, films, coatings, possibly arrays of fibers, textiles and fabrics. We explain the behavior of this novel thermoelectric material platform in terms of differing length scales for electrical conductivity and phononic heat transfer, and explore new material configurations for potentially lightweight and flexible thermoelectric devices that could be networked in a textile.

  12. Wafer-level micro-optics: trends in manufacturing, testing, packaging, and applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Voelkel, Reinhard; Gong, Li; Rieck, Juergen; Zheng, Alan

    2012-11-01

    Micro-optics is an indispensable key enabling technology (KET) for many products and applications today. Probably the most prestigious examples are the diffractive light shaping elements used in high-end DUV lithography steppers. Highly efficient refractive and diffractive micro-optical elements are used for precise beam and pupil shaping. Micro-optics had a major impact on the reduction of aberrations and diffraction effects in projection lithography, allowing a resolution enhancement from 250 nm to 45 nm within the last decade. Micro-optics also plays a decisive role in medical devices (endoscopes, ophthalmology), in all laser-based devices and fiber communication networks (supercomputer, ROADM), bringing high-speed internet to our homes (FTTH). Even our modern smart phones contain a variety of micro-optical elements. For example, LED flashlight shaping elements, the secondary camera, and ambient light and proximity sensors. Wherever light is involved, micro-optics offers the chance to further miniaturize a device, to improve its performance, or to reduce manufacturing and packaging costs. Wafer-scale micro-optics fabrication is based on technology established by semiconductor industry. Thousands of components are fabricated in parallel on a wafer. We report on the state of the art in wafer-based manufacturing, testing, packaging and present examples and applications for micro-optical components and systems.

  13. Direct contact thermoelectric generator (DCTEG): A concept for removing the contact resistance between thermoelectric modules and heat source

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kim, Tae Young; Negash, Assmelash; Cho, Gyubaek

    2017-01-01

    Highlights: • A design concept of a direct contact thermoelectric generator (DCTEG) is proposed. • Power generation characteristics of the DCTEG on a diesel engine are examined. • Maximum power output of ∼45 W and conversion efficiency of ∼2.0% are obtained. • Effect of clearance on energy conversion of the DCTEG is numerically investigated. • A 132% increase in output power with a flush mounted configuration is obtained. - Abstract: This paper proposes the concept of a direct contact thermoelectric generator (DCTEG) to enhance the practicality and widen the application areas of thermoelectric generators (TEGs). In the DCTEG, one thermoelectric module (TEM) surface is directly exposed to a heat source, and the other surface is in direct contact with a coolant flow. The current direct-contact configuration is beneficial for system fabrication, maintenance, long-term reliability, and maximizing energy usage in cooperation with other energy systems because of its simple configuration and lack of interfaces between the TEMs and heat sources. In order to validate the proposed concept experimentally, a DCTEG was constructed by fabricating customized TEMs and exhaust gas and coolant channels with openings to mount the TEMs. A diesel engine served as a heat source by providing hot exhaust gas into the DCTEG, while the coolant (water–ethylene glycol mixture) was pumped into the coolant channels to remove heat. Based on the experimental results obtained under various engine operating conditions, the power generation of the DCTEG was characterized in the form of current–voltage and power–voltage curves. The maximum output power of 43 W and conversion efficiency of 2.0% were obtained under the highest engine load and rotation speed conditions. A series of numerical simulations was carried out to investigate the effect of the system configuration on the DCTEG power generation performance with the clearance between the TEM surfaces and exhaust gas

  14. New Technology for Microfabrication and Testing of a Thermoelectric Device for Generating Mobile Electrical Power

    Science.gov (United States)

    Prasad, Narashimha S.; Taylor, Patrick J.; Trivedi, Sudhir B.; Kutcher, Susan

    2010-01-01

    We report the results of fabrication and testing of a thermoelectric power generation module. The module was fabricated using a new "flip-chip" module assembly technique that is scalable and modular. This technique results in a low value of contact resistivity ( surfaces. Under mild testing, a power of 22 mW/sq cm was obtained from small (electrical power of practical and usable magnitude for remote applications using thermoelectric power generation technologies.

  15. Prospects for high thermoelectric figures of merit in 2D systems

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Dresselhaus, M S; Sun, X; Cronin, S B; Koga, T; Dresselhaus, G; Wang, K L

    1997-07-01

    Enhanced ZT has been predicted theoretically and observed experimentally in 2D quantum wells, with good agreement between theory and experiment. Advantages of low dimensional systems for thermoelectric applications are described and prospects for further enhancement of ZT are discussed.

  16. Effective thermal conductivity in thermoelectric materials

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Baranowski, LL; Snyder, GJ; Toberer, ES

    2013-05-28

    Thermoelectric generators (TEGs) are solid state heat engines that generate electricity from a temperature gradient. Optimizing these devices for maximum power production can be difficult due to the many heat transport mechanisms occurring simultaneously within the TEG. In this paper, we develop a model for heat transport in thermoelectric materials in which an "effective thermal conductivity" (kappa(eff)) encompasses both the one dimensional steady-state Fourier conduction and the heat generation/consumption due to secondary thermoelectric effects. This model is especially powerful in that the value of kappa(eff) does not depend upon the operating conditions of the TEG but rather on the transport properties of the TE materials themselves. We analyze a variety of thermoelectric materials and generator designs using this concept and demonstrate that kappa(eff) predicts the heat fluxes within these devices to 5% of the exact value. (C) 2013 AIP Publishing LLC.

  17. High Performance High Temperature Thermoelectric Composites with Metallic Inclusions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ma, James M. (Inventor); Bux, Sabah K. (Inventor); Fleurial, Jean-Pierre (Inventor); Ravi, Vilupanur A. (Inventor); Firdosy, Samad A. (Inventor); Star, Kurt (Inventor); Kaner, Richard B. (Inventor)

    2017-01-01

    The present invention provides a composite thermoelectric material. The composite thermoelectric material can include a semiconductor material comprising a rare earth metal. The atomic percent of the rare earth metal in the semiconductor material can be at least about 20%. The composite thermoelectric material can further include a metal forming metallic inclusions distributed throughout the semiconductor material. The present invention also provides a method of forming this composite thermoelectric material.

  18. Deployable Thermoelectric Metamaterial Energy Harvesting Monitoring System

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration — This project will combine a novel asynchronous monitoring system with the first-of-its-kind thermoelectric metamaterial.  The thermoelectric prototype is constructed...

  19. Frequency-domain Harman technique for rapid characterization of bulk and thin film thermoelectric materials

    Science.gov (United States)

    Moran, Samuel

    Nanostructured thermoelectrics, often in the form of thin films, may potentially improve the generally poor efficiency of bulk thermoelectric power generators and coolers. In order to characterize the efficiency of these new materials it is necessary to measure their thermoelectric figure of merit, ZT. The only direct measurement of ZT is based on the Harman technique and relies on measuring the voltage drop across a sample subjected to a passing continuous current. Application of this technique to thin films is currently carried out as a time-domain measurement of the voltage as the thermal component decays after switching off an applied voltage. This work develops a technique for direct simultaneous measurement of figure of merit and Seebeck coefficient from the harmonic response of a thermoelectric material under alternating current excitation. A thermocouple mounted on the top surface measures voltage across the device as the frequency of the applied voltage is varied. A thermal model allows the sample thermal conductivity to also be determined and shows good agreement with measurements. This technique provides improved signal-to-noise ratio and accuracy compared to time-domain ZT measurements for comparable conditions while simultaneously measuring Seebeck coefficient. The technique is applied to both bulk and thin film thermoelectric samples.

  20. Convergence of valence bands for high thermoelectric performance for p-type InN

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Li, Hai-Zhu; Li, Ruo-Ping; Liu, Jun-Hui; Huang, Ming-Ju

    2015-01-01

    Band engineering to converge the bands to achieve high valley degeneracy is one of effective approaches for designing ideal thermoelectric materials. Convergence of many valleys in the valence band may lead to a high Seebeck coefficient, and induce promising thermoelectric performance of p-type InN. In the current work, we have systematically investigated the electronic structure and thermoelectric performance of wurtzite InN by using the density functional theory combined with semiclassical Boltzmann transport theory. Form the results, it can be found that intrinsic InN has a large Seebeck coefficient (254 μV/K) and the largest value of Z e T is 0.77. The transport properties of p-type InN are better than that of n-type one at the optimum carrier concentration, which mainly due to the large Seebeck coefficient for p-type InN, although the electrical conductivity of n-type InN is larger than that of p-type one. We found that the larger Seebeck coefficient for p-type InN may originate from the large valley degeneracy in the valence band. Moreover, the low minimum lattice thermal conductivity for InN is one key factor to become a good thermoelectric material. Therefore, p-type InN could be a potential material for further applications in the thermoelectric area.

  1. Applications of micro/nanoparticles in microfluidic sensors: a review.

    KAUST Repository

    Jiang, Yusheng

    2014-04-21

    This paper reviews the applications of micro/nanoparticles in microfluidics device fabrication and analytical processing. In general, researchers have focused on two properties of particles--electric behavior and magnetic behavior. The applications of micro/nanoparticles could be summarized on the chip fabrication level and on the processing level. In the fabrication of microfluidic chips (chip fabrication level), particles are good additives in polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) to prepare conductive or magnetic composites which have wide applications in sensors, valves and actuators. On the other hand, particles could be manipulated according to their electric and magnetic properties under external electric and magnetic fields when they are travelling in microchannels (processing level). Researchers have made a great progress in preparing modified PDMS and investigating the behaviors of particles in microchannels. This article attempts to present a discussion on the basis of particles applications in microfluidics.

  2. Feasibility of Thermoelectric Waste Heat Recovery from Research Reactor

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lee, Byunghee

    2015-01-01

    A thermoelectric generator has the most competitive method to regenerate the waste heat from research reactors, because it has no limitation on operating temperature. In addition, since the TEG is a solid energy conversion device converting heat to electricity directly without moving parts, the regenerating power system becomes simple and highly reliable. In this regard, a waste heat recovery using thermoelectric generator (TEG) from 15-MW pool type research reactor is suggested and the feasibility is demonstrated. The producible power from waste heat is estimated with respect to the reactor parameters, and an application of the regenerated power is suggested by performing a safety analysis with the power. The producible power from TEG is estimated with respect to the LMTD of the HX and the required heat exchange area is also calculated. By increasing LMTD from 2 K to 20K, the efficiency and the power increases greatly. Also an application of the power regeneration system is suggested by performing a safety analysis with the system, and comparing the results with reference case without the power regeneration

  3. Development in Zn4Sb-based thermoelectric materials

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Yin, Hao

    or thermopower,  the electrical conductivity, the thermal conductivity and T the absolute temperature. The best thermoelectrics are heavily doped semiconductors with high thermoelectric power factors and low thermal conductivities, known as “Phonon Glasses Electrical Crystals”. Zn4Sb3 is one such material......-section. The following part reports the effect of nano-particles on the thermoelectric properties and thermal stability of Zn4Sb3. Though TiO2 nano particles have remarkably enhanced the stability, the thermoelectric performance of all the nano-composites deteriorates. Optimization of the content of the nano...

  4. Temperature-dependent thermal and thermoelectric properties of n -type and p -type S c1 -xM gxN

    Science.gov (United States)

    Saha, Bivas; Perez-Taborda, Jaime Andres; Bahk, Je-Hyeong; Koh, Yee Rui; Shakouri, Ali; Martin-Gonzalez, Marisol; Sands, Timothy D.

    2018-02-01

    Scandium Nitride (ScN) is an emerging rocksalt semiconductor with octahedral coordination and an indirect bandgap. ScN has attracted significant attention in recent years for its potential thermoelectric applications, as a component material in epitaxial metal/semiconductor superlattices, and as a substrate for defect-free GaN growth. Sputter-deposited ScN thin films are highly degenerate n -type semiconductors and exhibit a large thermoelectric power factor of ˜3.5 ×10-3W /m -K2 at 600-800 K. Since practical thermoelectric devices require both n- and p-type materials with high thermoelectric figures-of-merit, development and demonstration of highly efficient p-type ScN is extremely important. Recently, the authors have demonstrated p-type S c1 -xM gxN thin film alloys with low M gxNy mole-fractions within the ScN matrix. In this article, we demonstrate temperature dependent thermal and thermoelectric transport properties, including large thermoelectric power factors in both n- and p-type S c1 -xM gxN thin film alloys at high temperatures (up to 850 K). Employing a combination of temperature-dependent Seebeck coefficient, electrical conductivity, and thermal conductivity measurements, as well as detailed Boltzmann transport-based modeling analyses of the transport properties, we demonstrate that p-type S c1 -xM gxN thin film alloys exhibit a maximum thermoelectric power factor of ˜0.8 ×10-3W /m -K2 at 850 K. The thermoelectric properties are tunable by adjusting the M gxNy mole-fraction inside the ScN matrix, thereby shifting the Fermi energy in the alloy films from inside the conduction band in case of undoped n -type ScN to inside the valence band in highly hole-doped p -type S c1 -xM gxN thin film alloys. The thermal conductivities of both the n- and p-type films were found to be undesirably large for thermoelectric applications. Thus, future work should address strategies to reduce the thermal conductivity of S c1 -xM gxN thin-film alloys, without affecting

  5. Silicon nanowire networks for multi-stage thermoelectric modules

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Norris, Kate J.; Garrett, Matthew P.; Zhang, Junce; Coleman, Elane; Tompa, Gary S.; Kobayashi, Nobuhiko P.

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • Fabricated flexible single, double, and quadruple stacked Si thermoelectric modules. • Measured an enhanced power production of 27%, showing vertical stacking is scalable. • Vertically scalable thermoelectric module design of semiconducting nanowires. • Design can utilize either p or n-type semiconductors, both types are not required. • ΔT increases with thickness therefore power/area can increase as modules are stacked. - Abstract: We present the fabrication and characterization of single, double, and quadruple stacked flexible silicon nanowire network based thermoelectric modules. From double to quadruple stacked modules, power production increased 27%, demonstrating that stacking multiple nanowire thermoelectric devices in series is a scalable method to generate power by supplying larger temperature gradient. We present a vertically scalable multi-stage thermoelectric module design using semiconducting nanowires, eliminating the need for both n-type and p-type semiconductors for modules

  6. Experimental evaluation of an active solar thermoelectric radiant wall system

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Liu, ZhongBing; Zhang, Ling; Gong, GuangCai; Han, TianHe

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • A novel active solar thermoelectric radiant wall are proposed and tested. • The novel wall can control thermal flux of building envelope by using solar energy. • The novel wall can eliminate building envelop thermal loads and provide cooling capacity for space cooling. • Typical application issues including connection strategies, coupling with PV system etc. are discussed. - Abstract: Active solar thermoelectric radiant wall (ASTRW) system is a new solar wall technology which integrates thermoelectric radiant cooling and photovoltaic (PV) technologies. In ASTRW system, a PV system transfers solar energy directly into electrical energy to power thermoelectric cooling modes. Both the thermoelectric cooling modes and PV system are integrated into one enclosure surface as radiant panel for space cooling and heating. Hence, ASTRW system presents fundamental shift from minimizing building envelope energy losses by optimizing the insulation thickness to a new regime where active solar envelop is designed to eliminate thermal loads and increase the building’s solar gains while providing occupant comfort in all seasons. This article presents an experimental study of an ASTRW system with a dimension of 1580 × 810 mm. Experimental results showed that the inner surface temperature of the ASTRW is 3–8 °C lower than the indoor temperature of the test room, which indicated that the ASTRW system has the ability to control thermal flux of building envelope by using solar energy and reduce the air conditioning system requirements. Based on the optimal operating current of TE modules and the analysis based upon PV modeling theories, the number and type of the electrical connections for the TE modules in ASTRW system are discussed in order to get an excellent performance in the operation of the ASTRW system

  7. Silicon fabric for multi-functional applications

    KAUST Repository

    Sevilla, Galo T.; Rojas, Jhonathan Prieto; Ahmed, Sally; Hussain, Aftab M.; Inayat, Salman Bin; Hussain, Muhammad Mustafa

    2013-01-01

    This paper reports a generic process flow to fabricate mechanically flexible and optically semi-transparent thermoelectric generators (TEGs), micro lithium-ion batteries (μLIB) and metal-oxide-semiconductor capacitors (MOSCAPs) on mono-crystalline silicon fabric platforms from standard bulk silicon (100) wafers. All the fabricated devices show outstanding mechanical flexibility and performance, making an important step towards monolithic integration of Energy Chip (self-powered devices) including energy harvesters and electronic devices on flexible platforms. We also report a recyclability process for the remaining bulk substrate after release, allowing us to achieve a low cost flexible platform for high performance applications. © 2013 IEEE.

  8. Silicon fabric for multi-functional applications

    KAUST Repository

    Sevilla, Galo T.

    2013-06-01

    This paper reports a generic process flow to fabricate mechanically flexible and optically semi-transparent thermoelectric generators (TEGs), micro lithium-ion batteries (μLIB) and metal-oxide-semiconductor capacitors (MOSCAPs) on mono-crystalline silicon fabric platforms from standard bulk silicon (100) wafers. All the fabricated devices show outstanding mechanical flexibility and performance, making an important step towards monolithic integration of Energy Chip (self-powered devices) including energy harvesters and electronic devices on flexible platforms. We also report a recyclability process for the remaining bulk substrate after release, allowing us to achieve a low cost flexible platform for high performance applications. © 2013 IEEE.

  9. Thermoelectric energy harvesting from small ambient temperature transients

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Moser, Andre

    2012-07-01

    Wireless sensor networks (WSNs) represent a key technology, used, for instance, in structural health monitoring, building automation systems, or traffic surveillance. Supplying power to a network of spatially distributed sensor nodes, especially at remote locations, is a large challenge: power grids are reliable but costly to install, whereas batteries provide a high flexibility in the installation but have a limited lifetime. This dilemma can be overcome by micro energy harvesting which offers both: reliability and flexibility. Micro energy harvesters are able to convert low grade ambient energy into useful electrical energy and thus provide power for wireless sensor networks or other electronic devices - in-situ, off-grid, and with an almost unlimited lifetime. Thermal energy is an omnipresent source of ambient energy: The day-night-cycle of the sun causes a temperature variation in the ambient air as well as arbitrary solids (soil, building walls, etc.). Unlike the air, solids have a large thermal inertia which dampens the temperature variation. This physical process leads to a temperature difference {Delta}T = T{sub air} - T{sub solid} between air and solid that can be converted directly into electrical energy by a thermoelectric generator (TEG). Thermal and electrical interfaces are necessary to connect the TEG to the thermal energy source (T{sub air}, T{sub solid}) and the electrical load (WSN). Reliable operation of the WSN may only be ensured if the harvester provides sufficient electrical energy, i.e. operates at its maximum power point. The goal of this thesis is to study, design, and test thermoelectric harvesters generating electrical energy from small ambient temperature transients in order to self-sufficiently power a WSN. Current research into thermoelectric energy harvesting, especially analytical modeling and application in the field are treated insufficiently. Therefore, a time-dependent analytical model of the harvester's output power is set

  10. Low-Temperature Thermoelectric Properties of Fe2VAl with Partial Cobalt Doping

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Chang; Morelli, Donald T.

    2012-06-01

    Ternary metallic alloy Fe2VAl with a pseudogap in its energy band structure has received intensive scrutiny for potential thermoelectric applications. Due to the sharp change in the density of states profile near the Fermi level, interesting transport properties can be triggered to render possible enhancement in the overall thermoelectric performance. Previously, this full-Heusler-type alloy was partially doped with cobalt at the iron sites to produce a series of compounds with n-type conductivity. Their thermoelectric properties in the temperature range of 300 K to 850 K were reported. In this research, efforts were made to extend the investigation on (Fe1- x Co x )2VAl to the low-temperature range. Alloy samples were prepared by arc-melting and annealing. Seebeck coefficient, electrical resistivity, and thermal conductivity measurements were performed from 80 K to room temperature. The effects of cobalt doping on the material's electronic and thermal properties are discussed.

  11. Application of benchtop micro-XRF to geological materials

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Flude, Stephanie; Haschke, Michael; Storey, Michael

    2017-01-01

    Recent developments in X-ray optics have allowed the development of a range of commercially available benchtop micro-XRF (μ-XRF) instruments that can produce X-ray spot sizes of 20–30 μm on the sample, allowing major- and trace-element analysis on a range of sample types and sizes with minimal......, by using a simple type-calibration against a reference material of similar matrix and composition. Qualitative analysis with micro-XRF can simplify and streamline sample characterization and processing for subsequent geochemical and isotopic analysis....... sample preparation. Such instruments offer quantitative analysis using fundamental parameter based 'standardless' quantification algorithms. The accuracy and precision of this quantitative analysis on geological materials, and application of micro-XRF to wider geological problems is assessed using...

  12. Portable Thermoelectric Power Generator Coupled with Phase Change Material

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Lim Chong C.

    2014-07-01

    Full Text Available Solar is the intermittent source of renewable energy and all thermal solar systems having a setback on non-functioning during the night and cloudy environment. This paper presents alternative solution for power generation using thermoelectric which is the direct conversion of temperature gradient of hot side and cold side of thermoelectric material to electric voltage. Phase change material with latent heat effect would help to prolong the temperature gradient across thermoelectric material for power generation. Besides, the concept of portability will enable different power source like solar, wasted heat from air conditioner, refrigerator, stove etc, i.e. to create temperature different on thermoelectric material for power generation. Furthermore, thermoelectric will generate direct current which is used by all the gadgets like Smartphone, tablet, laptop etc. The portable concept of renewable energy will encourage the direct usage of renewable energy for portable gadgets. The working principle and design of portable thermoelectric power generator coupled with phase change material is presented in this paper.

  13. Thermoelectric and mechanical properties of spark plasma sintered Cu3SbSe3 and Cu3SbSe4: Promising thermoelectric materials

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tyagi, Kriti; Gahtori, Bhasker; Bathula, Sivaiah; Toutam, Vijaykumar; Sharma, Sakshi; Singh, Niraj Kumar; Dhar, Ajay

    2014-12-01

    We report the synthesis of thermoelectric compounds, Cu3SbSe3 and Cu3SbSe4, employing the conventional fusion method followed by spark plasma sintering. Their thermoelectric properties indicated that despite its higher thermal conductivity, Cu3SbSe4 exhibited a much larger value of thermoelectric figure-of-merit as compared to Cu3SbSe3, which is primarily due to its higher electrical conductivity. The thermoelectric compatibility factor of Cu3SbSe4 was found to be ˜1.2 as compared to 0.2 V-1 for Cu3SbSe3 at 550 K. The results of the mechanical properties of these two compounds indicated that their microhardness and fracture toughness values were far superior to the other competing state-of-the-art thermoelectric materials.

  14. Applications and theory of electrokinetic enrichment in micro-nanofluidic chips.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chen, Xueye; Zhang, Shuai; Zhang, Lei; Yao, Zhen; Chen, Xiaodong; Zheng, Yue; Liu, Yanlin

    2017-09-01

    This review reports the progress on the recent development of electrokinetic enrichment in micro-nanofluidic chips. The governing equations of electrokinetic enrichment in micro-nanofluidic chips are given. Various enrichment applications including protein analysis, DNA analysis, bacteria analysis, viruses analysis and cell analysis are illustrated and discussed. The advantages and difficulties of each enrichment method are expatiated. This paper will provide a particularly convenient and valuable reference to those who intend to research the electrokinetic enrichment based on micro-nanofluidic chips.

  15. Criteria for extending the operation periods of thermoelectric converters based on IV-VI compounds

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Sadia, Yatir, E-mail: yatttir@yahoo.com [Department of Materials Engineering, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva (Israel); Ohaion-Raz, Tsion [Department of Chemistry, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva (Israel); Ben-Yehuda, Ohad; Korngold, Meidad; Gelbstein, Yaniv [Department of Materials Engineering, Ben-Gurion University of the Negev, Beer-Sheva (Israel)

    2016-09-15

    The recent energy demands affected by the dilution of conventional energy resources and the growing awareness of environmental considerations, had positioned the research of renewable energy conversion methods in general and of thermoelectric direct conversion of thermal into electrical energies in particular, in the forefront of the currently active applicative sciences. IV-VI thermoelectric compounds (e.g. GeTe, PbTe and SnTe) and their alloys comprise some of the most efficient thermoelectric compositions ever reported. Yet a proper utilization of such materials in practical thermoelectric devices, still requires an overcoming the so-called technological “valley of death”, including among others, transport properties' degradation, due to sublimation of volatile Te rich species, while being subjected to elevated temperatures for long periods of time. In an attempt to establish practical operation criteria for extending the operation periods of such thermoelectric converters, it is currently shown based on thermal gravimetric and metallurgical considerations that such harmful sublimation can be practically bridged over by limiting the maximal operating temperatures to the 410–430 °C range for GeTe rich alloys and to 510–530 °C for PbTe and SnTe rich alloys, depending of the thermoelectric leg's diameter. - Graphical abstract: Evaporation rate in the GeTe and PbTe system showing the measured evaporation rates and the maximal operating temperatures for different compositions. In addition, the microstructure after evaporation is shown for PbTe, TAGS-85, and doped Pb{sub 0.13}Ge{sub 087}Te. Display Omitted - Highlights: • Evaporation rates of GeTe and PbTe based thermoelectric compounds were determined. • A criterion for their maximum operating temperature was established. • The materials showed phase separations and off-stoichiometry compositions.

  16. Post-CMOS FinFET integration of bismuth telluride and antimony telluride thin-film-based thermoelectric devices on SoI substrate

    KAUST Repository

    Aktakka, Ethem Erkan

    2013-10-01

    This letter reports, for the first time, heterogeneous integration of bismuth telluride (Bi2Te3) and antimony telluride (Sb 2Te3) thin-film-based thermoelectric ffect transistors) via a characterized TE-film coevaporationand shadow-mask patterning process using predeposition surface treatment methods for reduced TE-metal contact resistance. As a demonstration vehicle, a 2 × 2 mm2-sized integrated planar thermoelectric generator (TEG) is shown to harvest 0.7 μ W from 21-K temperature gradient. Transistor performance showed no significant change upon post-CMOS TEG integration, indicating, for the first time, the CMOS compatibility of the Bi2Te3 and Sb2Te3 thin films, which could be leveraged for realization of high-performance integrated micro-TE harvesters and coolers. © 2013 IEEE.

  17. Improvement In The COP Of Thermoelectric Cooler

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jatin Patel

    2015-08-01

    Full Text Available This paper described the study for heat transfer through thermoelectric cooler TEC by use of multistage thermoelectric module. To satisfy the heat dissipation of modern electronic element thermal designers have to increase fin area and fan speed to improve its cooling capacity. However the increase of fin area is restricted by the space. Besides the increase of fan speed would induce noise which damages human health. So air cooling by fan is hardly to meet the requirement of modern electronic component. Recently thermoelectric cooler TEC is applied to electronic cooling with the advantages of small size quietness and reliability. A typical thermoelectric cooler consists of p-type and n-type semiconductor pellets connected electrically in series and sandwiched between two ceramic substrates. Whenever direct current passes through the circuit it causes temperature differential between TEC sides. As a result one face of TEC which is called cold side will be cooled while its opposite face which is called hot side is simultaneously heated. The main problem over the use of TEC is the limited COP and its thermal performance. But these can be eliminated by use of multistage thermoelectric cooler.

  18. Thermoelectric Generator Power Converter System Configurations: A Review

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Man, Elena Anamaria; Schaltz, Erik; Rosendahl, Lasse

    2013-01-01

    In a Thermoelectric Generator (TEG) system, the Thermoelectric (TE) modules can be connected in series, parallel or a combination of both. Independent of the module connection, the power production of the TEG changes with the temperature gradient applied at its input. In consequence, the system...... tracking (MPPT) technique is widely used for TEG systems. The aim of this paper is to create a survey over the existing state-of-the-art TEG system configurations for TE energy harvesting. Depending on the application specifications, a suitable TEG system topology can be designed with the purpose...

  19. Strain-induced bi-thermoelectricity in tapered carbon nanotubes

    Science.gov (United States)

    Algharagholy, L. A. A.; Pope, T.; Lambert, C. J.

    2018-03-01

    We show that carbon-based nanostructured materials are a novel testbed for controlling thermoelectricity and have the potential to underpin the development of new cost-effective environmentally-friendly thermoelectric materials. In single-molecule junctions, it is known that transport resonances associated with the discrete molecular levels play a key role in the thermoelectric performance, but such resonances have not been exploited in carbon nanotubes (CNTs). Here we study junctions formed from tapered CNTs and demonstrate that such structures possess transport resonances near the Fermi level, whose energetic location can be varied by applying strain, resulting in an ability to tune the sign of their Seebeck coefficient. These results reveal that tapered CNTs form a new class of bi-thermoelectric materials, exhibiting both positive and negative thermopower. This ability to change the sign of the Seebeck coefficient allows the thermovoltage in carbon-based thermoelectric devices to be boosted by placing CNTs with alternating-sign Seebeck coefficients in tandem.

  20. Design and Fabrication of Multifunctional Portable Bi2Te3-Based Thermoelectric Camping Lamp

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhou, Yi; Li, Gongping

    2018-05-01

    Camping lamps have been widely used in the lighting, power supply, and intelligent electronic equipment fields. However, applications of traditional chemical and solar camping lamps are largely limited by the physical size of the source and operating conditions. A new prototype multifunctional portable Bi2Te3-based thermoelectric camping lamp (TECL) has been designed and fabricated. Ten parallel light-emitting diodes were lit directly by a Bi2Te3-based thermoelectric generator (TEG). The highest short-circuit current of 0.38 A and open-circuit voltage of 4.2 V were obtained at temperature difference of 115 K. This TECL is attractive for use in multifunctional and extreme applications as it integrates a portable heat source, high-performance TEG, and power management unit.

  1. Thermoelectric characterization of Sb{sub 2}Te{sub 3} thin films deposited by ALD

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zastrow, Sebastian; Schumacher, Christian; Nielsch, Kornelius [University of Hamburg (Germany); Regus, Matthias [University of Kiel (Germany); Schulz, Stephan [University of Duisburg-Essen (Germany)

    2012-07-01

    Thermoelectric materials can be used as temperature sensors or peltier cooling devices as well as to recover a part of the massive losses of energy due to the waste heat generated in fossil-fuel driven power plants and vehicles. Antimony Telluride (Sb{sub 2}Te{sub 3}) is a p-doped semiconductor and in the focus of interest for room temperature applications because of its thermoelectric peak performance at around 350 K. However, thermoelectric properties of Sb{sub 2}Te{sub 3} ALD thin films have not been reported yet. Based on the work of Pore et al., Sb{sub 2}Te{sub 3} is deposited with a home-made reactor on SiO{sub 2} by using (Et{sub 3}Si){sub 2}Te and SbCl{sub 3}. The surface roughness as well as the growth rate depend strongly on the deposition temperature as reported by Cu et al. To check the preferential growth directions and the composition, XRD and EDX measurements are carried out. The thermoelectric properties are influenced by the deposition parameters. Therefore, spatial scans of the Seebeck coefficient are performed and the electrical resistivity is measured. In order to enhance the thermoelectric performance, a first optimization by short annealing processes is done under helium atmosphere up to 570 K. The authors would like to thank the ''Karl-Vossloh-Stiftung''.

  2. Thermoelectric Performance of Na-Doped GeSe

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Shaabani, Laaya; Aminorroaya-Yamini, Sima; Byrnes, Jacob; Akbar Nezhad, Ali; Blake, Graeme R

    2017-01-01

    Recently, hole-doped GeSe materials have been predicted to exhibit extraordinary thermoelectric performance owing largely to extremely low thermal conductivity. However, experimental research on the thermoelectric properties of GeSe has received less attention. Here, we have synthesized

  3. Dielectric micro-resonator-based opto-mechanical systems for sensing applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ali, Amir Roushdy

    In recent years, whispering gallery mode (WGM), or morphology dependent optical resonances (MDR) of dielectric micro-resonators have attracted interest with proposed applications in a wide range of areas due to the high optical quality factors, Q, they can exhibit (reaching ~ 10. 9 for silica spheres). Micro-resonator WGMs have been used in applications that include those in spectroscopy, micro-cavity laser technology, optical communications (switching, filtering and multiplexing), sensors technologies and even chemical and biological sensing. The WGM of these dielectric micro-resonators are highly sensitive to morphological changes (such as the size, shape, or refractive index) of the resonance cavity and hence, can be tuned by causing a minute change in the physical condition of the surrounding. In this dissertation, we have been creating opto-mechanical systems, which at their most basic, are extraordinarily sensitive sensors. One of the ultimate goals of this dissertation is to develop sensors capable of detecting the extremely small electric field changes. To improve the performance of the sensors, we couple a polymer cantilever beam to a dielectric micro-resonator. The eventual use of such ultra sensitive electric filed sensors could include neural-machine interfaces for advanced prosthetics devices. The work presented here includes a basic analysis and experimental investigations of the electric field sensitivity and range of micro-resonators of several different materials and geometries followed by the electric field sensor design, testing, and characterization. Also, the effects of angular velocity on the WGM shifts of spherical micro-resonators are also investigated. The elastic deformation that is induced on a spinning resonator due to the centrifugal force may lead to a sufficient shift in the optical resonances and therefore interfering with its desirable operational sensor design. Furthermore, this principle could be used for the development of

  4. Industrial applications of micro/nanofabrication at Singapore Synchrotron Light Source

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Jian, L K; Casse, B D F; Heussler, S P; Kong, J R; Saw, B T; Mahmood, Shahrain bin; Moser, H O

    2006-01-01

    SSLS (Singapore Synchrotron Light Source) has set up a complete one-stop shop for micro/nanofabrication in the framework of the LIGA process. It is dubbed LiMiNT for Lithography for Micro and Nanotechnology and allows complete prototyping using the integral cycle of the LIGA process for producing micro/nanostructures from mask design/fabrication over X-ray lithography to electroplating in Ni, Cu, or Au, and, finally, hot embossing in a wide variety of plastics as one of the capabilities to cover a wide range of application fields and to go into higher volume production. The process chain also includes plasma cleaning and sputtering as well as substrate preparation processes including metal buffer layers, plating bases, and spin coating, polishing, and dicing. Furthermore, metrology using scanning electron microscopy (SEM), optical profilometry, and optical microscopy is available. LiMiNT is run as a research lab as well as a foundry. In this paper, several industrial applications will be presented, in which LiMiNT functions as a foundry to provide external customers the micro/nano fabrication services. These services include the fabrication of optical or X-ray masks, of micro/nano structures from polymers or from metals and of moulds for hot embossing or injection moulding

  5. Efficient p-n junction-based thermoelectric generator that can operate at extreme temperature conditions

    Science.gov (United States)

    Chavez, Ruben; Angst, Sebastian; Hall, Joseph; Maculewicz, Franziska; Stoetzel, Julia; Wiggers, Hartmut; Thanh Hung, Le; Van Nong, Ngo; Pryds, Nini; Span, Gerhard; Wolf, Dietrich E.; Schmechel, Roland; Schierning, Gabi

    2018-01-01

    In many industrial processes, a large proportion of energy is lost in the form of heat. Thermoelectric generators can convert this waste heat into electricity by means of the Seebeck effect. However, the use of thermoelectric generators in practical applications on an industrial scale is limited in part because electrical, thermal, and mechanical bonding contacts between the semiconductor materials and the metal electrodes in current designs are not capable of withstanding thermal-mechanical stress and alloying of the metal-semiconductor interface when exposed to the high temperatures occurring in many real-world applications. Here we demonstrate a concept for thermoelectric generators that can address this issue by replacing the metallization and electrode bonding on the hot side of the device by a p-n junction between the two semiconductor materials, making the device robust against temperature induced failure. In our proof-of-principle demonstration, a p-n junction device made from nanocrystalline silicon is at least comparable in its efficiency and power output to conventional devices of the same material and fabrication process, but with the advantage of sustaining high hot side temperatures and oxidative atmosphere.

  6. Design of thermoelectrically highly efficient Heusler compounds using phase separations and nano-composites under an economic point of view

    Science.gov (United States)

    Balke, Benjamin

    Half-Heusler (HH) compounds are one of the most promising candidates for thermoelectric materials for automotive and industrial waste heat recovery applications. In this talk, I will give an overview about our recent investigations of phase separations in HH thermoelectrics, focusing on the ternary system TiNiSn-ZrNiSn-HfNiSn. I will show how we adapted this knowledge to design a p-type HH compound which exhibits a ZT that is increased by 130% compared to the best published bulk p-type Heusler. I will also present how we used the phase separation to design thermoelectric highly efficient nano-composites of different single-phase materials. Since the price for Hafnium doubled within the last year, our research focused on the design of HH compounds without Hafnium. I will present a very recent calculation on ZT per Euro and efficiency per Euro for various materials followed by our latest very promising results for n-type Heusler compunds without Hafnium resulting in 20 times higher ZT/Euro values. These results strongly underline the importance of phase separations as a powerful tool for designing highly efficient materials for thermoelectric applications that fulfill the industrial demands for a thermoelectric converter. The author gratefully acknowledges financial support by the thermoHEUSLER2 Project (Project No. 19U15006F) of the German Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology (BMWi).

  7. Nonlinear thermoelectric effects in high-field superconductor-ferromagnet tunnel junctions

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Stefan Kolenda

    2016-11-01

    Full Text Available Background: Thermoelectric effects result from the coupling of charge and heat transport and can be used for thermometry, cooling and harvesting of thermal energy. The microscopic origin of thermoelectric effects is a broken electron–hole symmetry, which is usually quite small in metal structures. In addition, thermoelectric effects decrease towards low temperatures, which usually makes them vanishingly small in metal nanostructures in the sub-Kelvin regime.Results: We report on a combined experimental and theoretical investigation of thermoelectric effects in superconductor/ferromagnet hybrid structures. We investigate the dependence of thermoelectric currents on the thermal excitation, as well as on the presence of a dc bias voltage across the junction.Conclusion: Large thermoelectric effects are observed in superconductor/ferromagnet and superconductor/normal-metal hybrid structures. The spin-independent signals observed under finite voltage bias are shown to be reciprocal to the physics of superconductor/normal-metal microrefrigerators. The spin-dependent thermoelectric signals in the linear regime are due to the coupling of spin and heat transport, and can be used to design more efficient refrigerators.

  8. Characterization of the interface between an Fe–Cr alloy and the p-type thermoelectric oxide Ca3Co4O9

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Holgate, Tim; Han, Li; Wu, NingYu

    2014-01-01

    A customized Fe–Cr alloy that has been optimized for high temperature applications in oxidizing atmospheres has been interfaced via spark plasma sintering (SPS) with a p-type thermoelectric oxide material: calcium cobaltate (Ca3Co4O9). The properties of the alloy have been analyzed for its...... calcium and chromium in the interface that is highly resistive at room temperature, but conducting at the intended thermoelectric device hot-side operating temperature of 800 °C. As the alloy is well matched in terms of its thermal expansion and highly conducting compared to the Ca3Co4O9, it may...... be further considered as an interconnect material candidate at least with application on the hot-side of an oxide thermoelectric power generation module....

  9. The applicability of micro-filters produced by nuclear methods in the food industry

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Szabo, S.A.; Ember, G.

    1982-01-01

    Problems of the applicability in the food industry of micro-filters produced by nuclear methods are dealt with. Production methods of the polymeric micro-filters, their main characteristics as well as their most important application fields (breweries, dairies, alcoholic- and soft-drink plants, wine industry) are briefly reviewed. (author)

  10. Thermal Stress Analysis and Structure Parameter Selection for a Bi2Te3-Based Thermoelectric Module

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gao, Jun-Ling; Du, Qun-Gui; Zhang, Xiao-Dan; Jiang, Xin-Qiang

    2011-05-01

    The output power and conversion efficiency of thermoelectric modules (TEMs) are mainly determined by their material properties, i.e., Seebeck coefficient, electrical resistivity, and thermal conductivity. In practical applications, due to the influence of the harsh environment, the mechanical properties of TEMs should also be considered. Using the finite-element analysis (FEA) model in ANSYS software, we present the thermal stress distribution of a TEM based on the anisotropic mechanical properties and thermoelectric properties of hot-pressed materials. By analyzing the possibilities of damage along the cleavage plane of Bi2Te3-based thermoelectric materials and by optimizing the structure parameters, a TEM with better mechanical performance is obtained. Thus, a direction for improving the thermal stress resistance of TEMs is presented.

  11. Solar-TEP - Development of materials for thermo-electric power generators; SOLAR-TEP - Materialentwicklung fuer solarthermoelektrische Stromerzeuger - Schlussbericht 2008

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Robert, R.; Weidenkaff, A.

    2008-06-15

    This final report for the Swiss Federal Office of Energy (SFOE) reports on the development of materials for thermo-electric power generators. Cobaltate phases are discussed as being suitable materials for thermoelectric applications at high temperatures. These potential thermoelectric materials are characterised with respect to their crystal structure, microstructure, composition, and thermal stability. The Seebeck coefficient, thermal conductivity and electrical resistivity of polycrystalline cobaltates with perovskite-type and layered-cobaltite structure are evaluated for a wide temperature range. The large Seebeck coefficient exhibited by both perovskite-type and layered cobaltite phases is analysed using the Heikes formula. The work is illustrated with results obtained for various materials in graphical form.

  12. Thermoelectrical Generator for a MEMS-Fuze

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    A. K. Efremov

    2015-01-01

    Full Text Available The structure of modern fuzes includes micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS, which have such advanced devices as micro-accelerometers and micro-switches, being triggered at a specified level of setback. Independent power source (PS, as an inherent part of the MEMSfuze, charges an energy storage unit during the shot and triggers the fuze firing circuit when the shell encounters the target. Operating level of the control signal should be achieved within the time of remote arming, determined by the type of ammunition. The paper considers a possibility to develop PS as a thermoelectric generator (TEG with aerodynamic heating of hot junctions due to friction of the projectile body on the incoming airflow. The initial temperature is determined by the driving band cutting into the rifling and friction during the movement of projectile through the tube bore. The paper presents a technique for calculating the temperature field along the body of the projectile from the critical point, located at the top of the shell head. The solution of the equation of heat balance reveals the temporal development of the projectile body temperature. The proposed mathematical model of the TEG describes the process of converting heat into electrical output signal (thermo-EMF. An example of calculation for a specific artillery system – 57-mm anti-aircraft gun S-60 is given. Calculation of the TEG output signal was limited by the time, which is necessary to reach the top of the projectile trajectory. It is shown that at high altitude the temperature difference may drop to zero, thus cutting off the TEG output signal. Selection of capacitive storage parameters can be based on the reliability test conditions of the fuze firing circuit actuators, taking into account the partial storage discharge on the trajectory before the projectile encounters the target.

  13. Thermoelectric Energy Harvesting Using Phase Change Materials (PCMs) in High Temperature Environments in Aircraft

    Science.gov (United States)

    Elefsiniotis, A.; Becker, Th.; Schmid, U.

    2014-06-01

    Wireless, energy-autonomous structural health-monitoring systems in aircraft have the potential of reducing total maintenance costs. Thermoelectric energy harvesting, which seems the best choice for creating truly autonomous health monitoring sensors, is the principle behind converting waste heat to useful electrical energy through the use of thermoelectric generators. To enhance the temperature difference across the two sides of a thermoelectric generator, i.e. increasing heat flux and energy production, a phase change material acting as thermal mass is attached on one side of the thermoelectric generators while the other side is placed on the aircraft structure. The application area under investigation for this paper is the pylon aft fairing, located near the engine of an aircraft, with temperatures reaching on the inside up to 350 °C. Given these harsh operational conditions, the performance of a device, containing erythritol as a phase change material, is evaluated. The harvested energy reaching values up to 81.4 J can be regulated by a power management module capable of storing the excess energy and recovering it from the medium powering a sensor node and a wireless transceiver.

  14. MICRO-CHP System for Residential Applications

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Joseph Gerstmann

    2009-01-31

    This is the final report of progress under Phase I of a project to develop and commercialize a micro-CHP system for residential applications that provides electrical power, heating, and cooling for the home. This is the first phase of a three-phase effort in which the residential micro-CHP system will be designed (Phase I), developed and tested in the laboratory (Phase II); and further developed and field tested (Phase III). The project team consists of Advanced Mechanical Technology, Inc. (AMTI), responsible for system design and integration; Marathon Engine Systems, Inc. (MES), responsible for design of the engine-generator subsystem; AO Smith, responsible for design of the thermal storage and water heating subsystems; Trane, a business of American Standard Companies, responsible for design of the HVAC subsystem; and AirXchange, Inc., responsible for design of the mechanical ventilation and dehumidification subsystem.

  15. Electronic, phononic, and thermoelectric properties of graphyne sheets

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sevinçli, Hâldun; Sevik, Cem

    2014-01-01

    Electron, phonon, and thermoelectric transport properties of α-, β-, γ-, and 6,6,12-graphyne sheets are compared and contrasted with those of graphene. α-, β-, and 6,6,12-graphynes, with direction dependent Dirac dispersions, have higher electronic transmittance than graphene. γ-graphyne also attains better electrical conduction than graphene except at its band gap. Vibrationally, graphene conducts heat much more efficiently than graphynes, a behavior beyond an atomic density differences explanation. Seebeck coefficients of the considered Dirac materials are similar but thermoelectric power factors decrease with increasing effective speeds of light. γ-graphyne yields the highest thermoelectric efficiency with a thermoelectric figure of merit as high as ZT = 0.45, almost an order of magnitude higher than that of graphene

  16. Designing Two-Dimensional Dirac Heterointerfaces of Few-Layer Graphene and Tetradymite-Type Sb2Te3 for Thermoelectric Applications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Jang, Woosun; Lee, Jiwoo; In, Chihun; Choi, Hyunyong; Soon, Aloysius

    2017-12-06

    Despite the ubiquitous nature of the Peltier effect in low-dimensional thermoelectric devices, the influence of finite temperature on the electronic structure and transport in the Dirac heterointerfaces of the few-layer graphene and layered tetradymite, Sb 2 Te 3 (which coincidently have excellent thermoelectric properties) are not well understood. In this work, using the first-principles density-functional theory calculations, we investigate the detailed atomic and electronic structure of these Dirac heterointerfaces of graphene and Sb 2 Te 3 and further re-examine the effect of finite temperature on the electronic band structures using a phenomenological temperature-broadening model based on Fermi-Dirac statistics. We then proceed to understand the underlying charge redistribution process in this Dirac heterointerfaces and through solving the Boltzmann transport equation, we present the theoretical evidence of electron-hole asymmetry in its electrical conductivity as a consequence of this charge redistribution mechanism. We finally propose that the hexagonal-stacked Dirac heterointerfaces are useful as efficient p-n junction building blocks in the next-generation thermoelectric devices where the electron-hole asymmetry promotes the thermoelectric transport by "hot" excited charge carriers.

  17. Study of the integration of distributed generation systems in the grid: application in micro-grids

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Gaztanaga Arantzamendi, H.

    2006-12-01

    The present PhD deals with an original micro-grid concept and its application as a Renewable Energy Source's (RES) grid integration scheme. This micro-grid is composed of RES generators as well as support systems that incorporate additional functionalities in order to improve RES integration into the grid. According to this concept, two practical micro-grid applications have been studied in detail: a residential micro-grid and a wind farm supported by DFACTS systems (STATCOM and DVR). In both applications, the control structures which are implemented at different levels and applied to the different micro-grid elements have been developed, analyzed by means of off-line simulations and finally validated in real-time conditions with physical reduced-scale prototypes. (author)

  18. Thermoelectric properties of non-stoichiometric lanthanum sulfides

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Shapiro, E.; Danielson, L.R.

    1983-01-01

    The lanthanum sulfides are promising candidate materials for high-efficiency thermoelectric applications at temperatures up to 1300 0 C. The nonstoichiometric lanthanum sulfides (LaS /SUB x/ , where 1.33 2 //rho/ can be chosen. The thermal conductivity remains approximately constant with stoichiometry, so a material with an optimum value of α 2 //rho/ should possess the optimum figure-of-merit. Data for the Seebeck coefficient and electrical resistivity of non-stoichiometric lanthanum sulfides is presented, together with structural properties of these materials

  19. Terrestrial Micro Renewable Energy Applications of Space Technology

    Science.gov (United States)

    Komerath, N. M.; Komerath, P. P.

    This paper explores the synergy between technologies intended for extraterrestrial in situ resource utilization and those for terrestrial mass-market micro renewable power generation systems. The case for a micro renewable energy architecture is presented. The obstacles hindering market success are summarized, along with opportunities from recent demonstrations suggesting that the public appetite for sophisticated technology worldwide may be underappreciated by technical researchers. Technical innovations from space research are summarized along with estimates of possible conversion efficiencies. It is argued that the cost-effectiveness of micro power generation must be viewed through the value of the first few watts of available power, rather than the marginal cost per kilowatt-hour of electric power from utility power grids. This leads to the finding that the actual target cost per unit power, and efficiency, are well within reach of space technology products. Hybrid systems integrating power extraction from multiple resources, and adaptable for multiple applications, can break through mass market price barriers. Recent work to develop learning resources and test beds as part of a Micro Renewable Energy Laboratory is summarized.

  20. Thermoelectric powered wireless sensors for spent fuel monitoring

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Carstens, T.; Corradini, M.; Blanchard, J.; Ma, Z.

    2011-01-01

    This paper describes using thermoelectric generators to power wireless sensors to monitor spent nuclear fuel during dry-cask storage. OrigenArp was used to determine the decay heat of the spent fuel at different times during the service life of the dry-cask. The Engineering Equation Solver computer program modeled the temperatures inside the spent fuel storage facility during its service life. The temperature distribution in a thermoelectric generator and heat sink was calculated using the computer program Finite Element Heat Transfer. From these temperature distributions the power produced by the thermoelectric generator was determined as a function of the service life of the dry-cask. In addition, an estimation of the path loss experienced by the wireless signal can be made based on materials and thickness of the structure. Once the path loss is known, the transmission power and thermoelectric generator power requirements can be determined. This analysis estimates that a thermoelectric generator can produce enough power for a sensor to function and transmit data from inside the dry-cask throughout its service life. (authors)

  1. Integrated polymer micro-ring resonators for optical sensing applications

    OpenAIRE

    Girault , Pauline; Lorrain , Nathalie; Poffo , Luiz; Guendouz , Mohammed; Lemaitre , Jonathan; Carré , Christiane; Gadonna , Michel; Bosc , Dominique; Vignaud , Guillaume

    2015-01-01

    International audience; Micro-resonators (MR) have become a key element for integrated optical sensors due to their integration capability and their easy fabrication with low cost polymer materials. Nowadays, there is a growing need on MRs as highly sensitive and selective functions especially in the areas of food and health. The context of this work is to implement and study integrated micro-ring resonators devoted to sensing applications. They are fabricated by processing SU8 polymer as cor...

  2. High Thermoelectric Performance by Convergence of Bands in IV-VI Semiconductors, Heavily Doped PbTe, and Alloys/Nanocomposites

    Science.gov (United States)

    Snyder, G. Jeffrey (Inventor); Pei, Yanzhong (Inventor)

    2015-01-01

    The present invention teaches an effective mechanism for enhancing thermoelectric performance through additional conductive bands. Using heavily doped p-PbTe materials as an example, a quantitative explanation is disclosed, as to why and how these additional bands affect the figure of merit. A high zT of approaching 2 at high temperatures makes these simple, likely more stable (than nanostructured materials) and Tl-free materials excellent for thermoelectric applications.

  3. Experimental study of a thermoelectrically-driven liquid chiller in terms of COP and cooling down period

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Faraji, Amir Yadollah; Goldsmid, H.J.; Akbarzadeh, Aliakbar

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • A COP of 0.8 is achievable for a thermoelectrically-driven water chiller. • With two market available TEC modules with ZT around 0.7 sub-zero temperatures became applicable. • Forced air convection heat exchangers have better COP and CDP compared with natural convection. • A PID controller has several advantages against on–off controller for controlling TEC module. - Abstract: To study COP and other cooling parameters of a thermoelectically-driven liquid chiller, a 430 ml capacity liquid chiller incorporating two commercially available thermoelectric modules as its active components, has been designed, built and assessed. The system can use natural or forced air convection in heat exchangers attached to the thermoelectric module surfaces. The coefficient of performance (COP) and cooling down period (CDP) of the system for different thermoelectric input voltages have been measured. The COP of the thermoelectric chiller was found to be in the range 0.2–1.4 for forced convection and 0.2–1 for natural convection at a cooled liquid temperature of 10 °C and an ambient temperature of 18 °C. For the chiller, heat pumping capacity, minimum achievable water temperature, and temperature difference across the thermoelectric surfaces were investigated for input voltages of 3 V, 5 V, 7 V, 10 V and 12 V. Furthermore, as a basis for reliable and convenient control of the chiller, a proportional integral derivative (PID) controller has been proposed

  4. Design and Optimization of Effective Segmented Thermoelectric Generator for Waste Heat Recovery

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Pham, Hoang Ngan

    ranges of 300 ‒ 700, and 900 – 1100 K are considered. The obtained results reveals that segmented thermoelectric generator comprising of Bi0.6Sb1.4Te3/Ba8Au5.3Ge40.7/PbTe-SrTe/SiGe as p-leg and either segmented Bi2Te3/PbTe/SiGe or Bi2Te3/Ba0.08La0.05Yb0.04Co4Sb12/La3Te4 as n-leg working in 300 – 1100 K...... been focused on material development, realizing high efficient thermoelectric generators from such well-developed materials is still limited. Moreover, no single thermoelectric material could withstand the wide temperature range required to boost efficiency of TEGs. By segmentation of different TE...... materials which operate optimally in each temperature range, this study aims at developing high performance segmented TEGs for medium-high (450 – 850 K) temperature application. The research is focused on the challenges in joining and minimizing the contact resistances between different TE materials...

  5. Tuning the Transport Properties of Layered Materials for Thermoelectric Applications using First-Principles Calculations

    KAUST Repository

    Saeed, Yasir

    2014-01-01

    opening and reduction of the lattice thermal conductivity. Bi2Se3 (bulk and thin film) has a larger bandgap then the well-known thermoelectric material Bi2Te3, which is important at high temperature. The structural stability, electronic structure

  6. Optimal operation of thermoelectric cooler driven by solar thermoelectric generator

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Khattab, N.M.; El Shenawy, E.T.

    2006-01-01

    The possibility of using a solar thermoelectric generator (TEG) to drive a small thermoelectric cooler (TEC) is studied in the present work. The study includes the theory of both the TEG and the TEC, giving special consideration to determination of the number of TEG modules required to power the TEC to achieve the best performance of the TEG-TEC system all year round. Commercially available thermoelectric modules (TE) are used in the system. The TEG contains 49 thermocouples and the TEC contains 127 thermocouples. A simple arrangement of plane reflectors that are designed to receive maximum solar energy during noon time is used to heat the TEG. Performance tests are conducted to determine both the physical properties and the performance curves of the available TE modules. Also, empirical relations describing the performance of the TEG and TEC modules have been established. These relations are used to develop a mathematical model simulating the TEG-TEC system to predict its performance all year round under the actual climatic conditions of Cairo, Egypt (30 deg. N latitude). The model results are used to determine the number of TEG modules required to drive a single TEC module at maximum cooling capacity. The results show that five thermocouples of the TEG can drive one thermocouple of the TEC, which coincides with the previous theory of the TEG-TEC. This means that 10 of the used TEG modules are required to power the used TEC at optimum performance most times of the year

  7. In-situ thermoelectric temperature monitoring and "Closed-loop integrated control" system for concentrator photovoltaic-thermoelectric hybrid receivers

    Science.gov (United States)

    Rolley, Matthew H.; Sweet, Tracy K. N.; Min, Gao

    2017-09-01

    This work demonstrates a new technique that capitalizes on the inherent flexibility of the thermoelectric module to provide a multifunctional platform, and exhibits a unique advantage only available within CPV-TE hybrid architectures. This system is the first to use the thermoelectric itself for hot-side temperature feedback to a PID control system, needing no additional thermocouple or thermistor to be attached to the cell - eliminating shading, and complex mechanical designs for mounting. Temperature measurement accuracy and thermoelectric active cooling functionality is preserved. Dynamic "per-cell" condition monitoring and protection is feasible using this technique, with direct cell-specific temperature measurement accurate to 1°C demonstrated over the entire experimental range. The extrapolation accuracy potential of the technique was also evaluated.

  8. Thermoelectric power and electrical conductivity of strontium-doped lanthanum manganite

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Ahlgren, E.O.; Poulsen, F.W.

    1996-01-01

    Thermoelectric power and electrical conductivity of pure and 5, 10 and 20% strontium-doped lanthanum manganite are determined as function of temperature in air and of P-O2 at 1000 degrees C. At high temperatures the thermoelectric power is negative. Both thermoelectric power and conductivity...

  9. On Study of Application of Micro-reactor in Chemistry and Chemical Field

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhang, Yunshen

    2018-02-01

    Serving as a micro-scale chemical reaction system, micro-reactor is characterized by high heat transfer efficiency and mass transfer, strictly controlled reaction time and good safety performance; compared with the traditional mixing reactor, it can effectively shorten reaction time by virtue of these advantages and greatly enhance the chemical reaction conversion rate. However, problems still exist in the process where micro-reactor is used for production in chemistry and chemical field, and relevant researchers are required to optimize and perfect the performance of micro-reactor. This paper analyzes specific application of micro-reactor in chemistry and chemical field.

  10. Development and Evaluation of Micro-Electrocorticography Arrays for Neural Interfacing Applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Schendel, Amelia Ann

    Neural interfaces have great promise for both electrophysiological research and therapeutic applications. Whether for the study of neural circuitry or for neural prosthetic or other therapeutic applications, micro-electrocorticography (micro-ECoG) arrays have proven extremely useful as neural interfacing devices. These devices strike a balance between invasiveness and signal resolution, an important step towards eventual human application. The objective of this research was to make design improvements to micro-ECoG devices to enhance both biocompatibility and device functionality. To best evaluate the effectiveness of these improvements, a cranial window imaging method for in vivo monitoring of the longitudinal tissue response post device implant was developed. Employment of this method provided valuable insight into the way tissue grows around micro-ECoG arrays after epidural implantation, spurring a study of the effects of substrate geometry on the meningeal tissue response. The results of the substrate footprint comparison suggest that a more open substrate geometry provides an easy path for the tissue to grow around to the top side of the device, whereas a solid device substrate encourages the tissue to thicken beneath the device, between the electrode sites and the brain. The formation of thick scar tissue between the recording electrode sites and the neural tissue is disadvantageous for long-term recorded signal quality, and thus future micro-ECoG device designs should incorporate open-architecture substrates for enhanced longitudinal in vivo function. In addition to investigating improvements for long-term device reliability, it was also desired to enhance the functionality of micro-ECoG devices for neural electrophysiology research applications. To achieve this goal, a completely transparent graphene-based device was fabricated for use with the cranial window imaging method and optogenetic techniques. The use of graphene as the conductive material provided

  11. Lean Maintenance Applied to Improve Maintenance Efficiency in Thermoelectric Power Plants

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Orlando Duran

    2017-10-01

    Full Text Available Thermoelectric power plants consist of a set of critical equipment that require high levels of availability and reliability. Due to this, maintenance of these physical assets is gaining momentum in industry. Maintenance is considered as an activity that contributes to improving the availability, efficiency and productivity of each piece of equipment. Several techniques have been used to achieve greater efficiencies in maintenance, among which we can find the lean maintenance philosophy. Despite the wide diffusion of lean maintenance, there is no structured method that supports the prescription of lean tools applied to the maintenance function. This paper presents the experience gathered in two lean maintenance projects in thermoelectric power plants. The application of lean techniques was based on using a previously developed multicriterial decision making process that uses the Fuzzy Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP methodology to carry out a diagnosis and prescription tasks. That methodology allowed the prescription of the appropriated lean techniques to resolve the main deficiencies in maintenance function. The results of applying such lean tools show that important results can be obtained, making the maintenance function in thermoelectric power plants more efficient and lean.

  12. Solution synthesis of telluride-based nano-barbell structures coated with PEDOT:PSS for spray-printed thermoelectric generators

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bae, Eun Jin; Kang, Young Hun; Jang, Kwang-Suk; Lee, Changjin; Cho, Song Yun

    2016-05-01

    Solution-processable telluride-based heterostructures coated with poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (Te-Bi2Te3/PEDOT:PSS) were synthesized through a solution-phase reaction at low temperatures. The water-based synthesis yielded PEDOT:PSS-coated Te-Bi2Te3 nano-barbell structures with a high Seebeck coefficient that can be stably dispersed in water. These hybrid solutions were deposited onto a substrate by the spray-printing method to prepare thermoelectric generators. The thermoelectric properties of the Te-Bi2Te3/PEDOT:PSS hybrid films were significantly enhanced by a simple acid treatment due to the increased electrical conductivity, and the power factor of those materials can be effectively tuned over a wide range depending on the acid concentration of the treatment. The power factors of the synthesized Te-Bi2Te3/PEDOT:PSS hybrids were optimized to 60.05 μW m-1 K-2 with a Seebeck coefficient of 93.63 μV K-1 and an electrical conductivity of 69.99 S cm-1. The flexible thermoelectric generator fabricated by spray-printing Te-Bi2Te3/PEDOT:PSS hybrid solutions showed an open-circuit voltage of 1.54 mV with six legs at ΔT = 10 °C. This approach presents the potential for realizing printing-processable hybrid thermoelectric materials for application in flexible thermoelectric generators.Solution-processable telluride-based heterostructures coated with poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene):poly(styrenesulfonate) (Te-Bi2Te3/PEDOT:PSS) were synthesized through a solution-phase reaction at low temperatures. The water-based synthesis yielded PEDOT:PSS-coated Te-Bi2Te3 nano-barbell structures with a high Seebeck coefficient that can be stably dispersed in water. These hybrid solutions were deposited onto a substrate by the spray-printing method to prepare thermoelectric generators. The thermoelectric properties of the Te-Bi2Te3/PEDOT:PSS hybrid films were significantly enhanced by a simple acid treatment due to the increased electrical conductivity, and

  13. Fine Art of Thermoelectricity.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Brus, Viktor V; Gluba, Marc; Rappich, Jörg; Lang, Felix; Maryanchuk, Pavlo D; Nickel, Norbert H

    2018-02-07

    A detailed study of hitherto unknown electrical and thermoelectric properties of graphite pencil traces on paper was carried out by measuring the Hall and Seebeck effects. We show that the combination of pencil-drawn graphite and brush-painted poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene) polystyrene sulfonate (PEDOT:PSS) films on regular office paper results in extremely simple, low-cost, and environmentally friendly thermoelectric power generators with promising output characteristics at low-temperature gradients. The working characteristics can be improved even further by incorporating n-type InSe flakes. The combination of pencil-drawn n-InSe:graphite nanocomposites and brush-painted PEDOT:PSS increases the power output by 1 order of magnitude.

  14. A Flue Gas Tube for Thermoelectric Generator

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    2013-01-01

    The invention relates to a flue gas tube (FGT) (1) for generation of thermoelectric power having thermoelectric elements (8) that are integrated in the tube. The FTG may be used in combined heat and power (CHP) system (13) to produce directly electricity from waste heat from, e.g. a biomass boiler...

  15. Efficient technique for computational design of thermoelectric materials

    Science.gov (United States)

    Núñez-Valdez, Maribel; Allahyari, Zahed; Fan, Tao; Oganov, Artem R.

    2018-01-01

    Efficient thermoelectric materials are highly desirable, and the quest for finding them has intensified as they could be promising alternatives to fossil energy sources. Here we present a general first-principles approach to predict, in multicomponent systems, efficient thermoelectric compounds. The method combines a robust evolutionary algorithm, a Pareto multiobjective optimization, density functional theory and a Boltzmann semi-classical calculation of thermoelectric efficiency. To test the performance and reliability of our overall framework, we use the well-known system Bi2Te3-Sb2Te3.

  16. MEMS-based micro-fuel processor for application in a cell phone

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kundu, Arunabha; Jang, Jae Hyuk; Lee, Hong Ryul; Kim, Sung-Han; Gil, Jae Hyoung; Jung, Chang Ryul; Oh, Yong Soo [Micro-Fuel Cell Team, Electro-Material and Device (eMD) Laboratory, Corporate R and D Center, Samsung Electro-Mechanics, 314 Maetan-Dong, Yeongtong-Gu, Suwon, Gyunngi-Do 443-743 (Korea, Republic of)

    2006-11-08

    The operation of a micro-electro-mechanical system (MEMS)-based micro-reformer was investigated for application in a cell phone. Different aspects like the time required to attain the desired temperature of the system, the time required to get the required hydrogen flow, catalyst durability, flow uniformity of the mixture of methanol and water and volume of the total system were considered. A loading procedure for the catalyst in the micro-reformer was developed. Catalyst deactivation was observed after operating continuously for 8h, but it regained its original activity after the reformer was shut down for at least 2h. The deactivation of the catalyst was analyzed by catalyst characterization. The comparison of the performance between a parallel channeled and serpentine channeled micro-reformer was carried out. The performance with the serpentine channeled micro-reformer was always higher than with parallel channeled micro-reformer. The shorter residence time in the parallel-channeled micro-reformer may be one of the reasons behind its low activity. (author)

  17. High exergetic modified Brayton cycle with thermoelectric energy conversion

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yazawa, Kazuaki; Fisher, Timothy S.; Groll, Eckhard A.; Shakouri, Ali

    2017-01-01

    Highlights: • Modified Brayton cycle with thermoelectric generators. • 1 kW power output scale hybrid gas turbine for residential applications. • Low profile TEGs are embedded in combustor/recuperator/heat-exchangers. • Analytical primary energy efficiency achieves more than 40%. - Abstract: A novel concept using thermoelectric direct power generators (TEGs) integrated into a 1 kW scale miniature Brayton cycle is investigated based on an analytical study. The work considers a residential scale application aiming to achieve 40% primary energy efficiency in contrast to the state-of-the-art miniature gas turbine alone, which can only achieve <16%. A topping cycle TEG for a hot gas temperature at 1600–1700 °C is embedded in the combustor scale of a kitchen stove. This TEG converts a fraction of the heat into electricity, while all the remaining thermal energy proceeds to the Brayton cycle. Turbine-inlet gas temperature regulates to 800–1100 °C by optimizing the air mixture. A second TEG is built in the recuperator; hence, the associated temperature is similar to that of a vehicle exhaust. A third TEG is used for waste heat recovery from flue gas, and then the downstream heat flow is used by a combined-heat-power system. By taking advantage of low-profile modules, the TEG embedded heat exchanges can be compact and low-cost at 0.2–0.3 $/W. The figure-of-merit of the thermoelectric materials considers ZT 1.0–1.8. Assuming that all advanced components are utilized, the primary energy efficiency predicts 42% with power output 720 W from the alternator and 325 W from the TEGs out of 0.456 g/s of a pipeline natural gas input.

  18. Nanoscale Thermoelectrics: A Study of the Absolute Seebeck Coefficient of Thin Films

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mason, Sarah J.

    The worlds demand for energy is ever increasing. Likewise, the environmental impact of climate change due generating that energy through combustion of fossil fuels is increasingly alarming. Due to these factors new sources of renewable energies are constantly being sought out. Thermoelectric devices have the ability to generate clean, renewable, energy out of waste heat. However promising that is, their inefficiency severely inhibits applicability and practical use. The usefulness of a thermoelectric material increases with the dimensionless quantity, ZT, which depends on the Seebeck coefficient and electrical and thermal conductivity. These characteristic material parameters have interdependent energy transport contributions that classically prohibit the optimization of one with out the detriment of another. Encouraging advancements of ZT have occurred in the past ten years due to the decoupling of the thermal and electrical conductivity. Further advancements are necessary in order to produce applicable devices. One auspicious way of decoupling or tuning energy transport properties, is through size reduction to the nanoscale. However, with reduced dimensions come complications in measuring material properties. Measurements of properties such as the Seebeck coefficient, S, are primarily contingent upon the measurement apparatus. The Seebeck coefficient is defined as the amount of voltage generated by a thermal gradient. Measuring a thermally generated voltage by traditional methods gives, the voltage measured as a linear function of the Seebeck coefficient of the leads and of the material being tested divided by the applied thermal gradient. If accurate values of the Seebeck coefficients of the leads are available, simple subtraction provides the answer. This is rarely the case in nanoscale measurement devices with leads exclusively made from thin film materials that do not have well known bulk-like thermopower values. We have developed a technique to directly

  19. High-temperature thermoelectric behavior of lead telluride

    Indian Academy of Sciences (India)

    Usefulness of a material in thermoelectric devices is temperature specific. The central problem in thermoelectric material research is the selection of materials with high figure-of-merit in the given temperature range of operation. It is of considerable interest to know the utility range of the material, which is decided by the ...

  20. High performance p-type half-Heusler thermoelectric materials

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yu, Junjie; Xia, Kaiyang; Zhao, Xinbing; Zhu, Tiejun

    2018-03-01

    Half-Heusler compounds, which possess robust mechanical strength, good high temperature thermal stability and multifaceted physical properties, have been verified as a class of promising thermoelectric materials. During the last two decades, great progress has been made in half-Heusler thermoelectrics. In this review, we summarize some representative work of p-type half-Heusler materials, the thermoelectric performance of which has been remarkably enhanced in recent years. We introduce the features of the crystal and electronic structures of half-Heusler compounds, and successful strategies for optimizing electrical and thermal transport in the p-type RFeSb (R  =  V, Nb, Ta) and MCoSb (M  =  Ti, Zr, Hf) based systems, including band engineering, the formation of solid solutions and hierarchical phonon scattering. The outlook for future research directions of half-Heusler thermoelectrics is also presented.

  1. Intermolecular thermoelectric-like effects in molecular nano electronic systems

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sabzyan, H.; Safari, R.

    2012-01-01

    Intramolecular thermoelectric-like coefficients are introduced and computed of a single molecule nano electronic system. Values of the electronic Intramolecular thermoelectric-like coefficients are calculated based on the density and energy transfers between different parts of the molecule using quantum theory of atoms in molecule. Since, Joule and Peltier heating are even (symmetrical) and odd (antisymmetric) functions of the external bias, it is possible to divide Intramolecular thermoelectric-like coefficients into two components, symmetrical and antisymmetrical Intramolecular thermoelectric-like coefficients, which describe the intramolecular Joule-like and Peltier-like effects, respectively. In addition, a semiclassical temperature model is presented to describe intramolecular temperature mapping (intramolecular energy distributions) in molecular nano electronic systems.

  2. Thermoelectric figure of merit of polymeric systems for low-power generators

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cigarini, Luigi; Ruini, Alice; Catellani, Alessandra; Calzolari, Arrigo

    2017-10-01

    The request of thermoelectric materials for low-power and flexible applications fosters the investigation of the intrinsic electron and thermal transport of conducting polymeric chains, which are building blocks of the complex variety of organic composites proposed in experimental samples. Using calculations from first principles and the Landauer approach for both electron and phonon carriers, we study the thermoelectric figure of merit zT of three representative and largely used polymer chains, namely poly(3,4-ethylenedioxythiophene), polyaniline and polyfluorene. Our results provide an upper-limit estimate of zT, due to the intrinsic electronic and vibrational properties of the selected compounds, and pave the way to a microscopic understanding of the mechanisms that affect their electronic and transport characteristics in terms of structural distortions and chemical doping.

  3. Test system for thermoelectric modules and materials

    Czech Academy of Sciences Publication Activity Database

    Hejtmánek, Jiří; Knížek, Karel; Švejda, V.; Horna, P.; Sikora, M.

    2014-01-01

    Roč. 43, č. 10 (2014), s. 3726-3732 ISSN 0361-5235 R&D Projects: GA ČR GA13-17538S Institutional support: RVO:68378271 Keywords : thermoelectric power module * automatic thermoelectric testing setup * heat flow measurement * power generation * heat recovery Subject RIV: BM - Solid Matter Physics ; Magnetism Impact factor: 1.798, year: 2014

  4. Effect of Thermal Cycling on Zinc Antimonide Thin Film Thermoelectric Characteristics

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Mirhosseini, M.; Rezania, A.; Rosendahl, L.

    2017-01-01

    In this study, performance and stability of zinc antimonide thin film thermoelectric sample is analyzed under transient thermal conditions. The thermoelectric materials are deposited on glass based substrate where the heat flow is parallel with the thermoelectric element length. The specimen...

  5. Potency of Thermoelectric Generator for Hybrid Vehicle

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Nandy Putra

    2010-10-01

    Full Text Available Thermoelectric Generator (TEG has been known as electricity generation for many years. If the temperature difference occurred between two difference semi conductor materials, the current will flow in the material and produced difference voltage. This principle is known as Seebeck effect that is the opposite of Peltier effect Thermoelectric Cooling (TEC. This research was conducted to test the potential of electric source from twelve peltier modules. Then, these thermoelectric generators were applied in hybrid car by using waste heat from the combustion engine. The experiment has been conducted with variations of peltier module arrangements (series and parallels and heater as heat source for the thermoelectric generator, with variations of heater voltage input (110V and 220V applied. The experimental result showed that twelve of peltier modules arranged in series and heater voltage of 220V generated power output of 8.11 Watts with average temperature difference of 42.82°C. This result shows that TEG has a bright prospect as alternative electric source.

  6. Design Methodology of Large-scale Thermoelectric Generation

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Chen, Min; Gao, Junling; Zhu, Junpeng

    2011-01-01

    A thermoelectric generation system (TEGS) consists of not only thermoelectric modules (TEMs), but also the external load circuitry and the fluidic heat sources. In this paper, a system-level model is proposed in the SPICE-compatible environment to seamlessly integrate the complete fluid-thermal-e......A thermoelectric generation system (TEGS) consists of not only thermoelectric modules (TEMs), but also the external load circuitry and the fluidic heat sources. In this paper, a system-level model is proposed in the SPICE-compatible environment to seamlessly integrate the complete fluid......-thermal-electric-circuit multiphysics behaviors. Firstly, a quasi one-dimension numerical model for the thermal fluids and their non-uniform temperature distribution as the boundary condition for TEMs is implemented in SPICE using electrothermal analogy. Secondly, the electric field calculation of the previously proposed device......-level SPICE model is upgraded to reflect the resistive behaviors of thermoelements, so that the electric connections among spatially distributed TEMs and the load circuitry can be freely combined in the simulation. Thirdly, a hierarchical and TEM-object oriented strategy is developed to make the system...

  7. Interference enhanced thermoelectricity in quinoid type structures

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Strange, M., E-mail: strange@chem.ku.dk; Solomon, G. C. [Nano-Science Center and Department of Chemistry, University of Copenhagen, Universitetsparken 5, 2100 Copenhagen Ø (Denmark); Seldenthuis, J. S.; Verzijl, C. J. O.; Thijssen, J. M. [Kavli Institute of Nanoscience, Delft University of Technology, 2628 CJ Delft (Netherlands)

    2015-02-28

    Quantum interference (QI) effects in molecular junctions may be used to obtain large thermoelectric responses. We study the electrical conductance G and the thermoelectric response of a series of molecules featuring a quinoid core using density functional theory, as well as a semi-empirical interacting model Hamiltonian describing the π-system of the molecule which we treat in the GW approximation. Molecules with a quinoid type structure are shown to have two distinct destructive QI features close to the frontier orbital energies. These manifest themselves as two dips in the transmission, that remain separated, even when either electron donating or withdrawing side groups are added. We find that the position of the dips in the transmission and the frontier molecular levels can be chemically controlled by varying the electron donating or withdrawing character of the side groups as well as the conjugation length inside the molecule. This feature results in a very high thermoelectric power factor S{sup 2}G and figure of merit ZT, where S is the Seebeck coefficient, making quinoid type molecules potential candidates for efficient thermoelectric devices.

  8. Test System for Thermoelectric Modules and Materials

    Science.gov (United States)

    Hejtmánek, J.; Knížek, K.; Švejda, V.; Horna, P.; Sikora, M.

    2014-10-01

    We present a design for a complex measuring device that enables its user to assess the parameters of power-generating thermoelectric modules (TEMs) (or bulk thermoelectric materials) under a wide range of temperatures ( T cold = 25°C to 90°C, T hot TEM, the actual heat flow through the module, and its mechanical load, which can be varied during the measurement. Key components of our testing setup are (i) a measuring chamber where the TEM/material is compressed between thermally shielded heating blocks equipped with a mechanical loading system and water-cooled copper-based cooler, (ii) an electrical load system, (iii) a type K thermocouple array connected to a data acquisition computer, and (iv) a thermostatic water-based cooling system with electronically controlled flow rate and temperature of cooling water. Our testing setup represents a useful tool able to assess, e.g., the thermoelectric parameters of newly developed TEMs and materials or to evaluate the thermoelectric parameters of commercially available modules and materials for comparison with values declared by the manufacturer.

  9. Fabrication, characterization and applications of flexible vertical InGaN micro-light emitting diode arrays.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tian, Pengfei; McKendry, Jonathan J D; Gu, Erdan; Chen, Zhizhong; Sun, Yongjian; Zhang, Guoyi; Dawson, Martin D; Liu, Ran

    2016-01-11

    Flexible vertical InGaN micro-light emitting diode (micro-LED) arrays have been fabricated and characterized for potential applications in flexible micro-displays and visible light communication. The LED epitaxial layers were transferred from initial sapphire substrates to flexible AuSn substrates by metal bonding and laser lift off techniques. The current versus voltage characteristics of flexible micro-LEDs degraded after bending the devices, but the electroluminescence spectra show little shift even under a very small bending radius 3 mm. The high thermal conductivity of flexible metal substrates enables high thermal saturation current density and high light output power of the flexible micro-LEDs, benefiting the potential applications in flexible high-brightness micro-displays and high-speed visible light communication. We have achieved ~40 MHz modulation bandwidth and 120 Mbit/s data transmission speed for a typical flexible micro-LED.

  10. Micro/Nanostructured Films and Adhesives for Biomedical Applications.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lee, Jungkyu K; Kang, Sung Min; Yang, Sung Ho; Cho, Woo Kyung

    2015-12-01

    The advanced technologies available for micro/nanofabrication have opened new avenues for interdisciplinary approaches to solve the unmet medical needs of regenerative medicine and biomedical devices. This review highlights the recent developments in micro/nanostructured adhesives and films for biomedical applications, including waterproof seals for wounds or surgery sites, drug delivery, sensing human body signals, and optical imaging of human tissues. We describe in detail the fabrication processes required to prepare the adhesives and films, such as tape-based adhesives, nanofilms, and flexible and stretchable film-based electronic devices. We also discuss their biomedical functions, performance in vitro and in vivo, and the future research needed to improve the current systems.

  11. Portable Thermoelectric Power Generator Coupled with Phase Change Material

    OpenAIRE

    Lim Chong C.; Al-Kayiem Hussain H.; Sing Chin Y.

    2014-01-01

    Solar is the intermittent source of renewable energy and all thermal solar systems having a setback on non-functioning during the night and cloudy environment. This paper presents alternative solution for power generation using thermoelectric which is the direct conversion of temperature gradient of hot side and cold side of thermoelectric material to electric voltage. Phase change material with latent heat effect would help to prolong the temperature gradient across thermoelectric material f...

  12. Research for Actively Reducing Infrared Radiation by Thermoelectric Refrigerator

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kim, Hoon; Kim, Kyomin; Kim, Woochul [Yonsei Univ., Seoul (Korea, Republic of)

    2017-03-15

    We introduced a technology for reducing infrared radiation through the active cooling of hot surfaces by using a thermoelectric refrigerator. Certain surfaces were heated by aerodynamic heating, and the heat generation processes are proposed here. We calculated the temperatures and radiations from surfaces, while using thermoelectric refrigerators to cool the surfaces. The results showed that the contrast between the radiations of certain surfaces and the ambient environments can be removed using thermoelectric refrigerators.

  13. Method of operating a thermoelectric generator

    Science.gov (United States)

    Reynolds, Michael G; Cowgill, Joshua D

    2013-11-05

    A method for operating a thermoelectric generator supplying a variable-load component includes commanding the variable-load component to operate at a first output and determining a first load current and a first load voltage to the variable-load component while operating at the commanded first output. The method also includes commanding the variable-load component to operate at a second output and determining a second load current and a second load voltage to the variable-load component while operating at the commanded second output. The method includes calculating a maximum power output of the thermoelectric generator from the determined first load current and voltage and the determined second load current and voltage, and commanding the variable-load component to operate at a third output. The commanded third output is configured to draw the calculated maximum power output from the thermoelectric generator.

  14. Potential thermoelectric material open framework Si24 from a first-principles study

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Ouyang, Tao; Zhang, Pei; Xiao, Huaping; Tang, Chao; Li, Jin; He, Chaoyu; Zhong, Jianxin

    2017-01-01

    Open framework Si 24 is a new synthesis cage-like silicon allotrope with a quasi-direct bandgap and predicted to exhibit outstanding adsorption efficiency, foreshowing the potential applications in the photovoltaic community. In this paper, the thermoelectric property of such new Si structures is investigated by combining first-principles calculation and semiclassical Boltzmann transport theory. The calculations show that the Si 24 possesses a superb Seebeck coefficient, and obviously anisotropic electronic conductivity. Owing to more energy extremums existing in the conduction band region, the power factor of Si 24 in the n-type doping is always better than that in p-type samples. Anisotropic phonon transport property is observed as well in Si 24 with average lattice thermal conductivity of 45.35 W m −1 K −1 at room temperature. Based on the electron relaxation time estimated from the experiment, the thermoelectric figure of merit of Si 24 is found to be as high as 0.69 (n-type doping at 700 K) and 0.51 (p-type doping at 700 K) along the xx crystal direction, which is about two orders of magnitude larger than that of diamond Si ( d -Si). The findings presented in this work shed light on the thermoelectric performance of Si 24 and qualify that such new Si allotrope is a promising platform for achieving the recombination of photovoltaic and thermoelectric technologies together. (paper)

  15. Development of a preprototype thermoelectric integrated membrane evaporation subsystem for water recovery

    Science.gov (United States)

    Winkler, H. E.; Roebelen, G. J., Jr.

    1980-01-01

    A three-man urine water recovery preprototype subsystem using a new concept to provide efficient potable water recovery from waste fluids on extended duration space flights has been designed, fabricated, and tested. Low power, compactness, and gravity insensitive operation are featured in this vacuum distillation subsystem that combines a hollow fiber polysulfone membrane evaporator with a thermoelectric heat pump. Application and integration of these key elements have solved problems inherent in previous reclamation subsystem designs. The hollow fiber elements provide positive liquid/gas phase control with no moving parts other than a waste liquid recirculation pump and a product water withdrawal pump. Tubular membranes provide structural integrity, improving on previous flat sheet membrane designs. A thermoelectric heat pump provides latent energy recovery.

  16. Micro-machinable polymer-derived ceramic sensors for high-temperature applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Liu, Jian; Xu, Chengying; An, Linan

    2010-04-01

    Micro-sensors are highly desired for on-line temperature/pressure monitoring in turbine engines to improve their efficiency and reduce pollution. The biggest challenge for developing this type of sensors is that the sensors have to sustain at extreme environments in turbine engine environments, such as high-temperatures (>800 °C), fluctuated pressure and oxidation/corrosion surroundings. In this paper, we describe a class of sensors made of polymer-derived ceramics (PDCs) for such applications. PDCs have the following advantages over conventional ceramics, making them particularly suitable for these applications: (i) micromachining capability, (ii) tunable electric properties, and (iii) hightemperature capability. Here, we will discuss the materials and their properties in terms of their applications for hightemperature micro-sensors, and microfabrication technologies. In addition, we will also discuss the design of a heat-flux sensor based on polymer-derived ceramics.

  17. Lead telluride with increased mechanical stability for cylindrical thermoelectric generators

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Schmitz, Andreas

    2013-01-01

    The aim of this work is to improve the mechanical stability of lead telluride (PbTe), trying to vary its mechanical properties independently from its thermoelectric properties. Thus the influence of material preparation as well as different dopants on the mechanical and thermoelectric properties of lead telluride is being analysed. When using appropriately set process parameters, milling and sintering of lead telluride increases the material's hardness. With sintering temperatures exceeding 300 C stable material of high relative density can be achieved. Milling lead telluride generates lattice defects leading to a reduction of the material's charge carrier density. These defects can be reduced by increased sintering temperatures. Contamination of the powder due to the milling process leads to bloating during thermal cycling and thus reduced density of the sintered material. In addition to that, evaporation of tellurium at elevated temperatures causes instability of the material's thermoelectric properties. Based on the experimental results obtained in this work, the best thermoelectric and mechanical properties can be obtained by sintering coarse powders at around 400 C. Within this work a concept was developed to vary the mechanical properties of lead telluride via synthesis of PbTe with electrically nondoping elements, which thus may keep the thermoelectric properties unchanged. Therefore, the mechanical and thermoelectric properties of Pb 1-x Ca x Te were investigated. Doping pure PbTe with calcium causes a significant increase of the material's hardness while only slightly decreasing the charge carrier density and thus keeping the thermoelectric properties apart from a slight reduction of the electrical conductivity nearly unchanged. The abovementioned concept is proven using sodium doped lead telluride, as it is used for thermoelectric generators: The additional doping with calcium again increases the material's hardness while its thermoelectric properties

  18. Numerical and Experimental Investigation on the Performance of a Thermoelectric Cooling Automotive Seat

    Science.gov (United States)

    Su, Chuqi; Dong, Wenbin; Deng, Yadong; Wang, Yiping; Liu, Xun

    2018-06-01

    Heating, ventilating and air conditioning (HVAC) is the most significant auxiliary load in vehicles and largely increases extra emissions. Therefore, thermoelectric cooling automotive seat, a relatively new technology, is used in an attempt to reduce HVAC consumption and improve thermal comfort. In this study, three design schemes of the thermoelectric cooler (TEC) are proposed. Then the numerical simulation is used to analyze their heat transfer performance, and evaluate the improvement of the seat cooling in terms of the occupant back thermal comfort. Moreover, an experiment is conducted to validate the accuracy of the simulation results. The experimental results show that: (1) an average reduction in air temperature of 4°C in 60 s is obtained; (2) the temperature of the occupant's back drops from 33.5°C to 25.7°C in cooperation with the HVAC system; (3) back thermal comfort is greatly improved. As expected, the thermoelectric cooling automotive seat is able to provide an improvement in the occupant's thermal comfort at a reduced energy consumption rate, which makes it promising for vehicular application.

  19. Development and Testing of an Integrated Sandia Cooler Thermoelectric Device (SCTD).

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Johnson, Terry A.; Staats, Wayne Lawrence,; Leick, Michael Thomas; Zimmerman, Mark D.; Radermacher, Reinhard; Martin, Cara; Nasuta, Dennis; Kalinowski, Paul; Hoffman, William

    2014-12-01

    This report describes a FY14 effort to develop an integrated Sandia Cooler T hermoelectric D evice (SCTD) . The project included a review of feasible thermoelectric (TE) cooling applications, baseline performance testing of an existing TE device, analysis and design development of an integrated SCTD assembly, and performance measurement and validation of the integrated SCTD prototype.

  20. Experimental nuclear thermoelectric assembly open-quotes Gammaclose quotes-a prototype of an unattended self-regulating nuclear thermoelectric station

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Buinitskii, B.A.; Kaplar, E.P.; Kondrat'ev, F.V.; Leppik, P.A.; Nafikov, D.Ya.; Pavelko, V.I.; Rychev, A.S.; Tarasov, V.P.; Khlopkin, N.S.

    1993-01-01

    At the beginning of the seventies, the concept of building small atomic power stations with direct conversion of the thermal energy of a reactor for supplying electricity and heat to consumers located at remote and inaccessible regions was developed on the basis of assessment calculations and technical studies made in the I.V. Kurchatov Institute of Atomic Energy. When new technical solutions were adopted to put this concept into practice, combined trials on a test stand were required. For this purpose, the nuclear thermoelectric test-demonstration assembly open-quotes Gammaclose quotes was built and put into operation in 1981. It is based on the three principles which determine the development of unattended self-regulating nuclear thermoelectric stations: using a water-water reactor with self-regulation of the power as a source of heat; using a cooling system without pumps but with natural circulation of the coolant in the primary and intermediate circuits for removing the hend thermoelectric conversion of heat into electricity. During the ten years of operation of the open-quotes Gammaclose quotes assembly, a research program on the principles of unattended self-regulating nuclear thermoelectric stations was carried out and the results are summarized

  1. Numerical simulations on the temperature gradient and thermal stress of a thermoelectric power generator

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Wu, Yongjia; Ming, Tingzhen; Li, Xiaohua; Pan, Tao; Peng, Keyuan; Luo, Xiaobing

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • An appropriate ceramic plate thickness is effective in alleviating the thermal stress. • A smaller distance between thermo-pins can help prolong lifecycle of the TE module. • Either a thicker or a thinner copper conducting strip effectively reduces thermal stress. • A suitable tin soldering thickness will alleviate thermal stress intensity and increase thermal efficiency. - Abstract: Thermoelectric generator is a device taking advantage of the temperature difference in thermoelectric material to generate electric power, where the higher the temperature difference of the hot-cold ends, the higher the efficiency will be. However, higher temperature or higher heat flux upon the hot end will cause strong thermal stress which will negatively influence the lifecycle of the thermoelectric module. This phenomenon is very common in industrial applications but seldom has research work been reported. In this paper, numerical analysis on the thermodynamics and thermal stress performance of the thermoelectric module has been performed, considering the variation on the thickness of materials; the influence of high heat flux on thermal efficiency, power output, and thermal stress has been examined. It is found that under high heat flux imposing upon the hot end, the thermal stress is so strong that it has a decisive effect on the life expectation of the device. To improve the module’s working condition, different geometrical configurations are tested and the optimum sizes are achieved. Besides, the side effects on the efficiency, power output, and open circuit voltage output of the thermoelectric module are taken into consideration

  2. Thermoelectric generator performance analysis: Influence of pin tapering on the first and second law efficiencies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yilbas, B.S.; Ali, H.

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • Double tapering of thermoelectric elements improves first and second law efficiency. • Pin geometric feature maximizing device output work does not maximize thermal efficiency. • Pin geometric feature maximizing first law efficiency slight alters for maximum second law efficiency. • External resistance and operating temperature ratios influence design configuration of thermoelectric generator. - Abstract: Thermoelectric generators are the important candidates for clean energy conversion from the waste heat; however, their low efficiency limits the practical applications of the devices. Tailoring the geometric configuration of the device in line with the operating conditions can improve the device performance. Consequently; in the present study, the influence of the pin geometric configuration on the thermoelectric generator performance is investigated. The dimensionless tapering parameter is introduced and its effect on the first and second law efficiencies is examined for various operating conditions including the external load resistance and the temperature ratio. It is found that the first and second law efficiencies are significantly influenced by the pin geometry. The dimensionless tapering parameter (a), increasing tapering of the thermoelectric pins, within the range of 2 ⩽ a ⩽ 4 results in improved first and second law efficiencies. However, the dimensionless tapering parameter maximizing the first and second law efficiencies does not maximize the device output power. This behavior is associated with the external load resistance which has a considerable influence on the device output power such that increasing external load resistance lowers the device output power

  3. Experimental and computational study on thermoelectric generators using thermosyphons with phase change as heat exchangers

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Araiz, M.; Martínez, A.; Astrain, D.; Aranguren, P.

    2017-01-01

    Highlights: • Thermosyphon with phase change heat exchanger computational model. • Construction and experimentation of a prototype. • ±9% of maximum deviation from experimental values of the main outputs. • Influence of the auxiliary equipment on the net power generation. - Abstract: An important issue in thermoelectric generators is the thermal design of the heat exchangers since it can improve their performance by increasing the heat absorbed or dissipated by the thermoelectric modules. Due to its several advantages, compared to conventional dissipation systems, a thermosyphon heat exchanger with phase change is proposed to be placed on the cold side of thermoelectric generators. Some of these advantages are: high heat-transfer rates; absence of moving parts and lack of auxiliary consumption (because fans or pumps are not required); and the fact that these systems are wickless. A computational model is developed to design and predict the behaviour of this heat exchangers. Furthermore, a prototype has been built and tested in order to demonstrate its performance and validate the computational model. The model predicts the thermal resistance of the heat exchanger with a relative error in the interval [−8.09; 7.83] in the 95% of the cases. Finally, the use of thermosyphons with phase change in thermoelectric generators has been studied in a waste-heat recovery application, stating that including them on the cold side of the generators improves the net thermoelectric production by 36% compared to that obtained with finned dissipators under forced convection.

  4. Investigation of doped Perovskite systems RAIO3 using density functional theory based electronic structure and thermoelectric studies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Sandeep; Ghimire, M. P.; Thapa, R. K.; Rai, D. P.; Shankar, A

    2016-01-01

    Samarium doping effects on the thermoelectric properties in Eu 1-x Sm x AlO 3 (x=0%, 50%, and 100%) were studied using first principles calculations based thermal transport property measurement. The result indicate that the compound is an intrinsic n-type material. Samarium doping has a positive effect on the overall thermoelectric performance of the Eu 1-x Sm x AlO 3 system, with sharp increase in figure of merit (ZT) observed when x=0, 50 and 100% up to 150K. Compared to x=0 and 100%, the case of x=50% was found to have more positive increment in ZT value suggesting that the doing to have positive effect on figure of merit in Eu 1-x Sm x AlO 3 . Furthermore, all the samples show stable thermoelectric compatibility factors over a broad temperature range from 700 to 1000 K, which could have great benefits for their practical applications. It is concluded that the overall thermoelectric performance of the Eu 1-x Sm x AlO 3 could be highly enhanced using doping techniques. (paper)

  5. Electronic, optical, and thermoelectric properties of Fe2+xV1−xAl

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    D. P. Rai

    2017-04-01

    Full Text Available We report the electronic, optical, and thermoelectric properties of full-Heusler alloy Fe2VAl with Fe antisite doping (Fe2+xV1−xAl as obtained from the first-principles Tran-Blaha modified Becke-Johnson potential. The results are discussed in relation to the available experimental data and show good agreements for the band gap, magnetic moment, and optical spectra. Exploring our transport data for thermoelectric applicability suggest that Fe2+xV1−xAl is a good candidate with a high figure of merit (ZT 0.75(0.65 for x = 0.25(0.50 at room temperature.

  6. Mechanical Response of Thermoelectric Materials

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Wereszczak, Andrew A. [Oak Ridge National Lab. (ORNL), Oak Ridge, TN (United States); Case, Eldon D. [Michigan State Univ., East Lansing, MI (United States)

    2015-05-01

    A sufficient mechanical response of thermoelectric materials (TEMats) to structural loadings is a prerequisite to the exploitation of any candidate TEMat's thermoelectric efficiency. If a TEMat is mechanically damaged or cracks from service-induced stresses, then its thermal and electrical functions can be compromised or even cease. Semiconductor TEMats tend to be quite brittle and have a high coefficient of thermal expansion; therefore, they can be quite susceptible to mechanical failure when subjected to operational thermal gradients. Because of this, sufficient mechanical response (vis-a-vis, mechanical properties) of any candidate TEMat must be achieved and sustained in the context of the service-induced stress state to which it is subjected. This report provides an overview of the mechanical responses of state-of-the-art TEMats; discusses the relevant properties that are associated with those responses and their measurement; and describes important, nonequilibrium phenomena that further complicate their use in thermoelectric devices. For reference purposes, the report also includes several appendixes that list published data on elastic properties and strengths of a variety of TEMats.

  7. Magnetic tunnel junction thermocouple for thermoelectric power harvesting

    Science.gov (United States)

    Böhnert, T.; Paz, E.; Ferreira, R.; Freitas, P. P.

    2018-05-01

    The thermoelectric power generated in magnetic tunnel junctions (MTJs) is determined as a function of the tunnel barrier thickness for a matched electric circuit. This study suggests that lower resistance area product and higher tunnel magnetoresistance will maximize the thermoelectric power output of the MTJ structures. Further, the thermoelectric behavior of a series of two MTJs, a MTJ thermocouple, is investigated as a function of its magnetic configurations. In an alternating magnetic configurations the thermovoltages cancel each other, while the magnetic contribution remains. A large array of MTJ thermocouples could amplify the magnetic thermovoltage signal significantly.

  8. [Micro-droplet characterization and its application for amino acid detection in droplet microfluidic system].

    Science.gov (United States)

    Yuan, Huiling; Dong, Libing; Tu, Ran; Du, Wenbin; Ji, Shiru; Wang, Qinhong

    2014-01-01

    Recently, the droplet microfluidic system attracts interests due to its high throughput and low cost to detect and screen. The picoliter micro-droplets from droplet microfluidics are uniform with respect to the size and shape, and could be used as monodispensed micro-reactors for encapsulation and detection of single cell or its metabolites. Therefore, it is indispensable to characterize micro-droplet and its application from droplet microfluidic system. We first constructed the custom-designed droplet microfluidic system for generating micro-droplets, and then used the micro-droplets to encapsulate important amino acids such as glutamic acid, phenylalanine, tryptophan or tyrosine to test the droplets' properties, including the stability, diffusivity and bio-compatibility for investigating its application for amino acid detection and sorting. The custom-designed droplet microfluidic system could generate the uniformed micro-droplets with a controllable size between 20 to 50 microm. The micro-droplets could be stable for more than 20 h without cross-contamination or fusion each other. The throughput of detection and sorting of the system is about 600 micro-droplets per minute. This study provides a high-throughput platform for the analysis and screening of amino acid-producing microorganisms.

  9. Micro optical sensor systems for sunsensing applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Leijtens, Johan; de Boom, Kees

    2017-11-01

    Optimum application of micro system technologies allows building small sensor systems that will alter procurement strategies for spacecraft manufacturers. One example is the decreased size and cost for state of the art sunsensors. Integrated sensor systems are being designed which, through use of microsystem technology, are an order of magnitutde smaller than most current sunsensors and which hold due to the large reproducibility through batch manufacturing the promise of drastic price reduction. If the Commercial Of The Shelf (COTS) approach is adopted by satellite manufacturers, this will drastically decrease mass and cost budgets associated with sunsensing applications.

  10. Design of flexible thermoelectric generator as human body sensor

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Qing, Shaowei; Rezaniakolaei, Alireza; Rosendahl, Lasse Aistrup

    2018-01-01

    Flexible thermoelectric generator (TEG) became an attractive technology that has been widely used especially for curved surfaces applications. This study aims an optimal design of a flexible TEG for human body application. The flexible TEG is part of a sensor and supplies required electrical power...... for data transmission by the sensor. The TEG module includes ink based thermoelements made of nano-carbon bismuth telluride materials. One flexible fin conducts the body heat to the TEG module and there are two fins that exchange the heat from the cold side of the TEG to the ambient. The proposed design...

  11. High Volume Manufacturing of NanoEngineered High ZT Thermoelectrics for Multiple Energy Generation Applications, Phase I

    Data.gov (United States)

    National Aeronautics and Space Administration — SMI has teamed with a leading thermoelectric (TE) research group in order to optimize and convert high-performance TE materials developed in laboratory-scale into...

  12. Peridynamic Formulation for Coupled Thermoelectric Phenomena

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Migbar Assefa

    2017-01-01

    Full Text Available Modeling of heat and electrical current flow simultaneously in thermoelectric convertor using classical theories do not consider the influence of defects in the material. This is because traditional methods are developed based on partial differential equations (PDEs and lead to infinite fluxes at the discontinuities. The usual way of solving such PDEs is by using numerical technique, like Finite Element Method (FEM. Although FEM is robust and versatile, it is not suitable to model evolving discontinuities. To avoid such shortcomings, we propose the concept of peridynamic theory to derive the balance of energy and charge equations in the coupled thermoelectric phenomena. Therefore, this paper presents the transport of heat and charge in thermoelectric material in the framework of peridynamic (PD theory. To illustrate the reliability of the PD formulation, numerical examples are presented and results are compared with those from literature, analytical solutions, or finite element solutions.

  13. High Tc Superconducting Magnet Excited by a Semiconductor Thermoelectric Element

    Science.gov (United States)

    Kuriyama, T.; Ono, M.; Tabe, S.; Oguchi, A.; Okamura, T.

    2006-04-01

    A high Tc superconducting (HTS) magnet excited by a thermal electromotive force of a thermoelectric element is studied. This HTS magnet has the advantages of compactness, lightweight and continuous excitation in comparison with conventional HTS magnets, because this HTS magnet does not need a large external power source. In this system, a heat input into the cryogenic environment is necessary to excite the thermoelectric element for constant operation. This heat generation, however, causes a rise in temperature of an HTS coil and reduces the system performance. In this paper, a newly designed magnet system which adopted a two-stage GM cryocooler was investigated. It enabled us to control the temperature of a thermoelectric element and that of an HTS coil independently. The temperature of the HTS coil could be kept at 10-20 K at the second stage of the GM cryocooler, while the thermoelectric element could be excited at higher temperature in the range of 50-70 K at the first stage, where the performance of the thermoelectric element was higher. The experimental results on this HTS magnet are shown and the possibility of the thermoelectric element as a main power source of the HTS magnets is discussed.

  14. Evaluation of Thermoelectric Performance and Durability of Functionalized Skutterudite Legs

    Science.gov (United States)

    Skomedal, Gunstein; Kristiansen, Nils R.; Sottong, Reinhard; Middleton, Hugh

    2017-04-01

    Thermoelectric generators are a promising technology for waste heat recovery. As new materials and devices enter a market penetration stage, it is of interest to employ fast and efficient measurement methods to evaluate the long-term stability of thermoelectric materials in combination with metallization and coating (functionalized thermoelectric legs). We have investigated a method for measuring several thermoelectric legs simultaneously. The legs are put under a common temperature gradient, and the electrical characteristics of each leg are measured individually during thermal cycling. Using this method, one can test different types of metallization and coating applied to skutterudite thermoelectric legs and look at the relative changes over time. Postcharacterization of these initial tests with skutterudite legs using a potential Seebeck microprobe and an electron microscope showed that oxidation and interlayer diffusion are the main reasons for the gradual increase in internal resistance and the decrease in open-circuit voltage. Although we only tested skutterudite material in this work, the method is fully capable of testing all kinds of material, metallization, and coating. It is thus a promising method for studying the relationship between failure modes and mechanisms of functionalized thermoelectric legs.

  15. Enhancement of thermoelectric power factor of Sr2CoMoO6 double perovskite by annealing in reducing atmosphere

    Science.gov (United States)

    Tanwar, Khagesh; Saxena, Mandvi; Maiti, Tanmoy

    2017-10-01

    In general, n-type thermoelectric materials are rather difficult to design. This study particularly pivoted on designing potential environmentally benign oxides based n-type thermoelectric material. We synthesized Sr2CoMoO6 (SCMO) polycrystalline ceramics via the solid-state synthesis route. XRD, SEM, and thermoelectric measurements were carried out for phase constitution, microstructure analysis, and to determine its potential for thermoelectric applications. As-sintered SCMO sample showed an insulator like behavior till 640 °C after which it exhibited an n-type non-degenerate semiconductor behavior followed by a p-n type conduction switching. To stabilize a high temperature n-type behavior, annealing of SCMO in reducing atmosphere (H2) at 1000 °C was carried out. After annealing, the SCMO demonstrated an n-type semiconductor behavior throughout the temperature range of measurement. The electrical conductivity (σ) and the power factor (S2σ) were found to be increased manifold in the annealed SCMO double perovskite.

  16. Development of a hybrid refrigerator combining thermoelectric and vapor compression technologies

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vian, J.G.; Astrain, D.

    2009-01-01

    A domestic refrigerator with three compartments has been developed: refrigerator compartment, at 4 deg. C (vapor compression cooling system); freezer compartment, at -22 deg. C (vapor compression cooling system); and a new super-conservation compartment, at 0 deg. C (thermoelectric cooling system). The thermoelectric system designed for the super-conservation compartment eliminates the oscillation of its temperature due to the start and stop compressor cycles, obtaining a constant temperature and thus, a better preservation of the food. For the design and optimization of this application, a computational model, based in the numerical method of finite differences, has been developed. This model allows to simulate the complete hybrid refrigerator (vapor compression-thermoelectricity). The accuracy of the model has been experimentally checked, with a maximum error of 1.2 deg. C for temperature values, and 8% for electric power consumption. By simulations with the computational model, the design of the refrigerator has been optimized, obtaining a final prototype highly competitive, by the features on food preservation and power consumption: 1.15 kW h per day (48.1 W) for an ambient temperature of 25 deg. C. According to European rules, this power consumption value means that this new refrigerator could be included on energy efficiency class B.

  17. Orientation control and thermoelectric properties of FeSb2 films

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Sun, Ye; Zhang, Eryun; Johnsen, Simon

    2010-01-01

    FeSb2 has a high potential for technological applications due to its colossal thermoelectric power, giant carrier mobility and large magnetoresistance. Earlier, growth of lang1 0 1rang-textured FeSb2 films on quartz (0 0 0 1) substrates has been reported. Here magnetron sputtering is used to obtain...

  18. Enhanced thermoelectric power in two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenide monolayers

    KAUST Repository

    Pu, Jiang

    2016-07-27

    The carrier-density-dependent conductance and thermoelectric properties of large-area MoS2 and WSe2 monolayers are simultaneously investigated using the electrolyte gating method. The sign of the thermoelectric power changes across the transistor off-state in the ambipolar WSe2 transistor as the majority carrier density switches from electron to hole. The thermopower and thermoelectric power factor of monolayer samples are one order of magnitude larger than that of bulk materials, and their carrier-density dependences exhibit a quantitative agreement with the semiclassical Mott relation based on the two-dimensional energy band structure, concluding the thermoelectric properties are enhanced by the low-dimensional effect.

  19. Nanostructured layers of thermoelectric materials

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Urban, Jeffrey J.; Lynch, Jared; Coates, Nelson; Forster, Jason; Sahu, Ayaskanta; Chabinyc, Michael; Russ, Boris

    2018-01-30

    This disclosure provides systems, methods, and apparatus related to thermoelectric materials. In one aspect, a method includes providing a plurality of nanostructures. The plurality of nanostructures comprise a thermoelectric material, with each nanostructure of the plurality of nanostructures having first ligands disposed on a surface of the nanostructure. The plurality of nanostructures is mixed with a solution containing second ligands and a ligand exchange process occurs in which the first ligands disposed on the plurality of nanostructures are replaced with the second ligands. The plurality of nanostructures is deposited on a substrate to form a layer. The layer is thermally annealed.

  20. The thermoelectric generators use for waste heat utilization from cement plant

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Sztekler Karol

    2017-01-01

    Production often entails the formation of by-product which is waste heat. One of the equipment processing heat into electricity is a thermoelectric generator. Its operation is based on the principle of thermoelectric phenomenon, which is known as a Seebeck phenomenon. The simplicity of thermoelectric phenomena allows its use in various industries, in which the main waste product is in the form of heat with the temperature of several hundred degrees. The study analyses the possibility of the thermoelectric systems use for the waste heat utilization resulting in the cement production at the cement plant. The location and design of the thermoelectric system that could be implemented in cement plant is chosen. The analysis has been prepared in the IPSEpro software.

  1. Review on recent and advanced applications of monoliths and related porous polymer gels in micro-fluidic devices

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Vazquez, Mercedes; Paull, Brett

    2010-01-01

    This review critically summarises recent novel and advanced achievements in the application of monolithic materials and related porous polymer gels in micro-fluidic devices appearing within the literature over the period of the last 5 years (2005-2010). The range of monolithic materials has developed rapidly over the past decade, with a diverse and highly versatile class of materials now available, with each exhibiting distinct porosities, pore sizes, and a wide variety of surface functionalities. A major advantage of these materials is their ease of preparation in micro-fluidic channels by in situ polymerisation, leading to monolithic materials being increasingly utilised for a larger variety of purposes in micro-fluidic platforms. Applications of porous polymer monoliths, silica-based monoliths and related homogeneous porous polymer gels in the preparation of separation columns, ion-permeable membranes, preconcentrators, extractors, electrospray emitters, micro-valves, electrokinetic pumps, micro-reactors and micro-mixers in micro-fluidic devices are discussed herein. Procedures used in the preparation of monolithic materials in micro-channels, as well as some practical aspects of the micro-fluidic chip fabrication are addressed. Recent analytical/bioanalytical and catalytic applications of the final micro-fluidic devices incorporating monolithic materials are also reviewed.

  2. Thermoelectric skutterudite compositions and methods for producing the same

    Science.gov (United States)

    Ren, Zhifeng; Yang, Jian; Yan, Xiao; He, Qinyu; Chen, Gang; Hao, Qing

    2014-11-11

    Compositions related to skutterudite-based thermoelectric materials are disclosed. Such compositions can result in materials that have enhanced ZT values relative to one or more bulk materials from which the compositions are derived. Thermoelectric materials such as n-type and p-type skutterudites with high thermoelectric figures-of-merit can include materials with filler atoms and/or materials formed by compacting particles (e.g., nanoparticles) into a material with a plurality of grains each having a portion having a skutterudite-based structure. Methods of forming thermoelectric skutterudites, which can include the use of hot press processes to consolidate particles, are also disclosed. The particles to be consolidated can be derived from (e.g., grinded from), skutterudite-based bulk materials, elemental materials, other non-Skutterudite-based materials, or combinations of such materials.

  3. All dispenser printed flexible 3D structured thermoelectric generators

    Science.gov (United States)

    Cao, Z.; Shi, J. J.; Torah, R. N.; Tudor, M. J.; Beeby, S. P.

    2015-12-01

    This work presents a vertically fabricated 3D thermoelectric generator (TEG) by dispenser printing on flexible polyimide substrate. This direct-write technology only involves printing of electrodes, thermoelectric active materials and structure material, which needs no masks to transfer the patterns onto the substrate. The dimension for single thermoelectric element is 2 mm × 2 mm × 0.5 mm while the distance between adjacent cubes is 1.2 mm. The polymer structure layer was used to support the electrodes which are printed to connect the top ends of the thermoelectric material and ensure the flexibility as well. The advantages and the limitations of the dispenser printed 3D TEGs will also be evaluated in this paper. The proposed method is potential to be a low-cost and scalable fabrication solution for TEGs.

  4. Thermoelectric properties of bismuth antimony tellurium thin films through bilayer annealing prepared by ion beam sputtering deposition

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Zheng, Zhuang-hao [College of Physics Science and Technology, Shenzhen University, 518060 (China); Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Sensor Technology, Shenzhen 518060 (China); Fan, Ping, E-mail: fanping308@126.com [College of Physics Science and Technology, Shenzhen University, 518060 (China); Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Sensor Technology, Shenzhen 518060 (China); Luo, Jing-ting [College of Physics Science and Technology, Shenzhen University, 518060 (China); Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Sensor Technology, Shenzhen 518060 (China); Cai, Xing-min; Liang, Guang-xing; Zhang, Dong-ping [College of Physics Science and Technology, Shenzhen University, 518060 (China); Ye, Fan [Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Sensor Technology, Shenzhen 518060 (China)

    2014-07-01

    Bismuth antimony tellurium is one of the most important tellurium-based materials for high-efficient thermoelectric application. In this paper, ion beam sputtering was used to deposit Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 3} and Sb{sub 2}Te{sub 3} bilayer thin films on borosilicate substrates at room-temperature. Then the bismuth antimony tellurium thin films were synthesized via post thermal treatment of the Bi{sub 2}Te{sub 3} and Sb{sub 2}Te{sub 3} bilayer thin films. The effect of annealing temperature and compositions on the thermoelectric properties of the thin films was investigated. After the thin films were annealed from 150 °C to 350 °C for 1 h in the high vacuum condition, the Seebeck coefficient changed from a negative sign to a positive sign. The X-ray diffraction results showed that the synthesized tellurium-based thermoelectric thin film exhibited various alloys phases, which contributed different thermoelectricity conductivity to the synthesized thin film. The overall Seebeck coefficient of the synthesized thin film changed from negative sign to positive sign, which was due to the change of the primary phase of the tellurium-based materials at different annealing conditions. Similarly, the thermoelectric properties of the films were also associated with the grown phase. High-quality thin film with the Seebeck coefficient of 240 μV K{sup −1} and the power factor of 2.67 × 10{sup −3} Wm{sup −1} K{sup −2} showed a single Bi{sub 0.5}Sb{sub 1.5}Te{sub 3} phase when the Sb/Te thin film sputtering time was 40 min. - Highlights: • Bi{sub 0.5}Sb{sub 1.5}Te{sub 3} thermoelectric thin films synthesized via bilayer annealing • The film has single Bi{sub 0.5}Sb{sub 1.5}Te{sub 3} phase with best thermoelectric performance. • The film has high thermoelectric properties comparable with other best results.

  5. Micro-turbines

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Tashevski, Done

    2003-01-01

    In this paper a principle of micro-turbines operation, type of micro-turbines and their characteristics is presented. It is shown their usage in cogeneration and three generation application with the characteristics, the influence of more factors on micro-turbines operation as well as the possibility for application in Macedonia. The paper is result of the author's participation in the training program 'Micro-turbine technology' in Florida, USA. The characteristics of different types micro-turbines by several world producers are shown, with accent on US micro-turbines producers (Capstone, Elliott). By using the gathered Author's knowledge, contacts and the previous knowledge, conclusions and recommendations for implementation of micro-turbines in Macedonia are given. (Author)

  6. Application of thermoelectric generator as an alternative energy source; Utilizacao dos geradores termoeletricos como fonte de energia alternativa

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Pepino, Giovana [Newmar Energia, Rio de Janeiro, RJ (Brazil)

    2004-07-01

    This document will deal some information about the TEG and design of TEGs. Thermoelectric energy conversion is a solid state process that converts heat energy to electrical energy without moving parts. The result is a device that is characterized by a very high degree of reliability and low maintenance requirement. These characteristics lend the unit to service in remote areas where limited access is available fore service. Technicians that service the other equipment on location can be trained to service the thermoelectric generator. There are many other uses for TEGs including power supplies for supervisory control and data acquisition systems. (author)

  7. Thermoelectric materials and devices made therewith

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Moore, D.E.

    1985-01-01

    The disclosed invention includes improved devices and materials for thermoelectric conversion, particularly for operation at temperatures of 300 0 C. and below. Disordered p-type semiconductor elements incorporate compound adjuvants of silver and lead to achieve enhanced ''figure of merit'' values and corresponding increased efficiencies of thermoelectric conversion. Similar results are obtained with disordered n-type elements by employing lowered selenium contents, preferably in combination with cuprous bromide. Improved conversion devices include powder pressed elements from one or both of these materials

  8. First-principles study of thermoelectric properties of CuI

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yadav, Manoj K; Sanyal, Biplab

    2014-01-01

    Theoretical investigations of the thermoelectric properties of CuI have been carried out employing first-principles calculations followed by the calculations of transport coefficients based on Boltzmann transport theory. Among the three different phases of CuI, viz. zinc-blende, wurtzite and rock salt, the thermoelectric power factor is found to be the maximum for the rock salt phase. We have analysed the variations of Seebeck coefficients and thermoelectric power factors on the basis of calculated electronic structures near the valence band maxima of these phases. (papers)

  9. Modeling a Thermoelectric Generator Applied to Diesel Automotive Heat Recovery

    Science.gov (United States)

    Espinosa, N.; Lazard, M.; Aixala, L.; Scherrer, H.

    2010-09-01

    Thermoelectric generators (TEGs) are outstanding devices for automotive waste heat recovery. Their packaging, lack of moving parts, and direct heat to electrical conversion are the main benefits. Usually, TEGs are modeled with a constant hot-source temperature. However, energy in exhaust gases is limited, thus leading to a temperature decrease as heat is recovered. Therefore thermoelectric properties change along the TEG, affecting performance. A thermoelectric generator composed of Mg2Si/Zn4Sb3 for high temperatures followed by Bi2Te3 for low temperatures has been modeled using engineering equation solver (EES) software. The model uses the finite-difference method with a strip-fins convective heat transfer coefficient. It has been validated on a commercial module with well-known properties. The thermoelectric connection and the number of thermoelements have been addressed as well as the optimum proportion of high-temperature material for a given thermoelectric heat exchanger. TEG output power has been estimated for a typical commercial vehicle at 90°C coolant temperature.

  10. Research Update: Phonon engineering of nanocrystalline silicon thermoelectrics

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Junichiro Shiomi

    2016-10-01

    Full Text Available Nanocrystalline silicon thermoelectrics can be a solution to improve the cost-effectiveness of thermoelectric technology from both material and integration viewpoints. While their figure-of-merit is still developing, recent advances in theoretical/numerical calculations, property measurements, and structural synthesis/fabrication have opened up possibilities to develop the materials based on fundamental physics of phonon transport. Here, this is demonstrated by reviewing a series of works on nanocrystalline silicon materials using calculations of multiscale phonon transport, measurements of interfacial heat conduction, and synthesis from nanoparticles. Integration of these approaches allows us to engineer phonon transport to improve the thermoelectric performance by introducing local silicon-oxide structures.

  11. Hierarchical thermoelectrics : Crystal grain boundaries as scalable phonon scatterers

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Selli, Daniele; Boulfelfel, Salah Eddine; Schapotschnikow, PZ; Donadio, Davide; Leoni, Stefano

    2016-01-01

    Thermoelectric materials are strategically valuable for sustainable development, as they allow for the generation of electrical energy from wasted heat. In recent years several strategies have demonstrated some efficiency in improving thermoelectric properties. Dopants affect carrier

  12. Instrument for measuring metal-thermoelectric semiconductor contact resistence

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lanxner, M.; Nechmadi, M.; Meiri, B.; Schildkraut, I.

    1979-02-01

    An instrument for measuring electrical, metal-thermoelectric semiconductor contact resistance is described. The expected errors of measurement are indicated. The operation of the instrument which is based on potential traversing perpendicularly to the contact plane is illustrated for the case of contacts of palladium and bismuth telluride-based thermoelectric material

  13. Nanocluster metal films as thermoelectric material for radioisotope mini battery unit

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Borisyuk, P.V.; Krasavin, A.V.; Tkalya, E.V.; Lebedinskii, Yu.Yu.; Vasiliev, O.S.; Yakovlev, V.P.; Kozlova, T.I.; Fetisov, V.V.

    2016-01-01

    The paper is devoted to studying the thermoelectric and structural properties of films based on metal nanoclusters (Au, Pd, Pt). The experimental results of the study of single nanoclusters’ tunneling conductance obtained with scanning tunneling spectroscopy are presented. The obtained data allowed us to evaluate the thermoelectric power of thin film consisting of densely packed individual nanoclusters. It is shown that such thin films can operate as highly efficient thermoelectric materials. A scheme of miniature thermoelectric radioisotope power source based on the thorium-228 isotope is proposed. The efficiency of the radioisotope battery using thermoelectric converters based on nanocluster metal films is shown to reach values up to 1.3%. The estimated characteristics of the device are comparable with the parameters of up-to-date radioisotope batteries based on nickel-63.

  14. Phase separation and antisite defects in the thermoelectric TiNiSn half-Heusler alloys

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Kirievsky, K.; Gelbstein, Y.; Fuks, D.

    2013-01-01

    The half-Heusler TiNiSn alloys have recently gained an attention as promising candidates for thermoelectric applications. Improvement of these alloys for such applications can be obtained by both electronic and compositional optimizations. The latter can result in a miscibility gap, allowing a phase separation in the nano-scale and consequently a thermal conductivity reduction. Combination of ab initio calculations and statistical thermodynamics was applied for studying the relative stability of a number of superstructures in TiNiSn based alloys. The quasi-binary phase diagram beyond T=0 K for TiNiSn–TiNi 2 Sn solid solutions was calculated using energy parameters extracted from the total energy calculations for ordered structures in the Ni sublattice. We demonstrated that a decomposition of the off-stoichiometric Ni-rich half-Heusler alloy into the stoichiometric TiNiSn phase and into Ni deficient Heusler TiNi 2 Sn phase occurs at elevated temperatures—an effect which recently had been observed experimentally. Furthermore, favorable energetic conditions for antisite defects formation were deduced, based on calculations of the energy of formation, an effect which was explained as a cooperative process of partial disordering on the Ni sublattice. The influence of these two effects on improvement of the thermoelectric performance of TiNiSn based half Heusler compounds is discussed. - Graphical abstract: Phase separation and antisite defects in the thermoelectric TiNiSn alloy, are covered as methods for nanostructuring and thereby enhancement of the thermoelectric potential. - Highlights: • Ab initio calculations/statistical thermodynamics was applied for studying the TiNiSn system. • The phase diagram for TiNiSn–TiNi 2 Sn solid solutions was calculated. • Decomposition of the Ni-rich HH into TiNiSn and Ni deficient TiNi 2 Sn phases was observed. • Favorable energetic conditions for antisite defects formation were deduced

  15. Thermoelectric properties of SnSe compound

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Guan, Xinhong [State Key Laboratory of Information Photonics and Optical Communications, Ministry of Education, Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, P.O. Box 72, Beijing 100876 (China); Lu, Pengfei, E-mail: photon@bupt.edu.cn [State Key Laboratory of Information Photonics and Optical Communications, Ministry of Education, Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, P.O. Box 72, Beijing 100876 (China); Wu, Liyuan; Han, Lihong [State Key Laboratory of Information Photonics and Optical Communications, Ministry of Education, Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, P.O. Box 72, Beijing 100876 (China); Liu, Gang [School of Electronic Engineering, Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, Beijing 100876 (China); Song, Yuxin [State Key Laboratory of Functional Materials for Informatics, Shanghai Institute of Microsystem and Information Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200050 (China); Wang, Shumin [State Key Laboratory of Functional Materials for Informatics, Shanghai Institute of Microsystem and Information Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai 200050 (China); Photonics Laboratory, Department of Microtechnology and Nanoscience, Chalmers University of Technology, 41296 Gothenburg (Sweden)

    2015-09-15

    Highlights: • The electronic and thermoelectric properties of SnSe bulk material are studied. • The ZT can reach as high as 1.87 along yy and 1.6 along zz direction at 800k. • SnSe is an indirect-band material, and SOC has little effect on the band structure. • The high ZT can be attributed to the intrinsically ultralow thermal conductivity. - Abstract: A first-principles study and Boltzmann transport theory have been performed to evaluate the electronic structure and thermoelectric properties of SnSe compound. The energy band structure and density of states are studied in detail. The electronic transport coefficients are then calculated as a function of chemical potential or temperature within the assumption of the constant relaxation time. The figure of merit ZT is obtained with the use of calculated thermoelectric properties and can reach as high as 1.87 along yy and 1.6 along zz direction at 800 K. Our theoretical result agrees well with previous experimental data.

  16. Thermoelectric properties of SnSe compound

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Guan, Xinhong; Lu, Pengfei; Wu, Liyuan; Han, Lihong; Liu, Gang; Song, Yuxin; Wang, Shumin

    2015-01-01

    Highlights: • The electronic and thermoelectric properties of SnSe bulk material are studied. • The ZT can reach as high as 1.87 along yy and 1.6 along zz direction at 800k. • SnSe is an indirect-band material, and SOC has little effect on the band structure. • The high ZT can be attributed to the intrinsically ultralow thermal conductivity. - Abstract: A first-principles study and Boltzmann transport theory have been performed to evaluate the electronic structure and thermoelectric properties of SnSe compound. The energy band structure and density of states are studied in detail. The electronic transport coefficients are then calculated as a function of chemical potential or temperature within the assumption of the constant relaxation time. The figure of merit ZT is obtained with the use of calculated thermoelectric properties and can reach as high as 1.87 along yy and 1.6 along zz direction at 800 K. Our theoretical result agrees well with previous experimental data

  17. Graphite moderated reactor for thermoelectric generation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Akazawa, Issei; Yamada, Akira; Mizogami, Yorikata

    1998-01-01

    Fuel rods filled with cladded fuel particles distributed and filled are buried each at a predetermined distance in graphite blocks situated in a reactor core. Perforation channels for helium gas as coolants are formed to the periphery thereof passing through vertically. An alkali metal thermoelectric power generation module is disposed to the upper lid of a reactor container while being supported by a securing receptacle. Helium gas in the coolant channels in the graphite blocks in the reactor core absorbs nuclear reaction heat, to be heated to a high temperature, rises upwardly by the reduction of the specific gravity, and then flows into an upper space above the laminated graphite block layer. Then the gas collides against a ceiling and turns, and flows down in a circular gap around the circumference of the alkali metal thermoelectric generation module. In this case, it transfers heat to the alkali metal thermoelectric generation module. (I.N.)

  18. Solar Thermoelectricity via Advanced Latent Heat Storage: A Cost-Effective Small-Scale CSP Application

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Glatzmaier, Greg C.; Rea, J.; Olsen, Michele L.; Oshman, C.; Hardin, C.; Alleman, Jeff; Sharp, J.; Weigand, R.; Campo, D.; Hoeschele, G.; Parilla, Philip A.; Siegel, N. P.; Toberer, Eric S.; Ginley, David S.

    2017-06-27

    We are developing a novel concentrating solar electricity-generating technology that is both modular and dispatchable. Solar ThermoElectricity via Advanced Latent heat Storage (STEALS) uses concentrated solar flux to generate high-temperature thermal energy, which directly converts to electricity via thermoelectric generators (TEGs), stored within a phase-change material (PCM) for electricity generation at a later time, or both allowing for simultaneous charging of the PCM and electricity generation. STEALS has inherent features that drive its cost-competitive scale to be much smaller than current commercial concentrating solar power (CSP) plants. Most obvious is modularity of the solid-state TEG, which favors smaller scales in the kilowatt range as compared to CSP steam turbines, which are minimally 50 MWe for commercial power plants. Here, we present techno-economic and market analyses that show STEALS can be a cost-effective electricity-generating technology with particular appeal to small-scale microgrid applications. We evaluated levelized cost of energy (LCOE) for STEALS and for a comparable photovoltaic (PV) system with battery storage. For STEALS, we estimated capital costs and the LCOE as functions of the type of PCM including the use of recycled aluminum alloys, and evaluated the cost tradeoffs between plasma spray coatings and solution-based boron coatings that are applied to the wetted surfaces of the PCM subsystem. We developed a probabilistic cost model that accounts for uncertainties in the cost and performance inputs to the LCOE estimation. Our probabilistic model estimated LCOE for a 100-kWe STEALS system that had 5 hours of thermal storage and 8-10 hours of total daily power generation. For these cases, the solar multiple for the heliostat field varied between 1.12 and 1.5. We identified microgrids as a likely market for the STEALS system. We characterized microgrid markets in terms of nominal power, dispatchability, geographic location, and

  19. Solar thermoelectricity via advanced latent heat storage: A cost-effective small-scale CSP application

    Science.gov (United States)

    Glatzmaier, G. C.; Rea, J.; Olsen, M. L.; Oshman, C.; Hardin, C.; Alleman, J.; Sharp, J.; Weigand, R.; Campo, D.; Hoeschele, G.; Parilla, P. A.; Siegel, N. P.; Toberer, E. S.; Ginley, D. S.

    2017-06-01

    We are developing a novel concentrating solar electricity-generating technology that is both modular and dispatchable. Solar ThermoElectricity via Advanced Latent heat Storage (STEALS) uses concentrated solar flux to generate high-temperature thermal energy, which directly converts to electricity via thermoelectric generators (TEGs), stored within a phase-change material (PCM) for electricity generation at a later time, or both allowing for simultaneous charging of the PCM and electricity generation. STEALS has inherent features that drive its cost-competitive scale to be much smaller than current commercial concentrating solar power (CSP) plants. Most obvious is modularity of the solid-state TEG, which favors smaller scales in the kilowatt range as compared to CSP steam turbines, which are minimally 50 MWe for commercial power plants. Here, we present techno-economic and market analyses that show STEALS can be a cost-effective electricity-generating technology with particular appeal to small-scale microgrid applications. We evaluated levelized cost of energy (LCOE) for STEALS and for a comparable photovoltaic (PV) system with battery storage. For STEALS, we estimated capital costs and the LCOE as functions of the type of PCM including the use of recycled aluminum alloys, and evaluated the cost tradeoffs between plasma spray coatings and solution-based boron coatings that are applied to the wetted surfaces of the PCM subsystem. We developed a probabilistic cost model that accounts for uncertainties in the cost and performance inputs to the LCOE estimation. Our probabilistic model estimated LCOE for a 100-kWe STEALS system that had 5 hours of thermal storage and 8-10 hours of total daily power generation. For these cases, the solar multiple for the heliostat field varied between 1.12 and 1.5. We identified microgrids as a likely market for the STEALS system. We characterized microgrid markets in terms of nominal power, dispatchability, geographic location, and

  20. Application of micro-PIXE and imaging technology to life science (Joint research)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Satoh, Takahiro; Ishii, Keizo

    2011-03-01

    The joint research on 'Application of micro-PIXE and imaging technology to life science' supported by the Inter-organizational Atomic Energy Research Program, had been performed for three years, from 2006FY to 2009FY. Aiming to apply in-air micro-PIXE analytical system to life science, the research was consisting of 7 collaborative themes related to beam engineering for micro-PIXE and applied technology of element mapping in biological/medical fields. The system, so-called micro-PIXE camera, to acquire spatial element mapping in living cells was originally developed by collaborative research between the JAEA and the department of engineering of Tohoku University. This review covers these research results. (author)

  1. Study of thermoelectric systems applied to electric power generation

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Rodriguez, A.; Vian, J.G.; Astrain, D.; Martinez, A.

    2009-01-01

    A computational model has been developed in order to simulate the thermal and electric behavior of thermoelectric generators. This model solves the nonlinear system of equations of the thermoelectric and heat transfer equations. The inputs of the program are the thermoelectric parameters as a function of temperature and the boundary conditions, (room temperature and residual heat flux). The outputs are the temperature values of all the elements forming the thermoelectric generator, (performance, electric power, voltage and electric current generated). The model solves the equation system using the finite difference method and semi-empirical expressions for the convection coefficients. A thermoelectric electric power generation test bench has been built in order to validate and determine the accuracy of the computational model, which maximum error is lower than 5%. The objective of this study is to create a design tool that allows us to solve the system of equations involved in the electric generation process without needing to impose boundary conditions that are not known in the design phase, such as the temperature of the Peltier modules. With the computational model, we study the influence of the heat flux supplied as well as the room temperature on the electric power generated.

  2. Measurement and characterization techniques for thermoelectric materials

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tritt, T M

    1997-07-01

    Characterization of thermoelectric materials can pose many problems. A temperature difference can be established across these materials as an electrical current is passed due to the Peltier effect. The thermopower of these materials is quite large and thus large thermal voltages can contribute to many of the measurements necessary to investigate these materials. This paper will discuss the chracterization techniques necessary to investigate these materials and provide an overview of some of the potential systematic errors which can arise. It will also discuss some of the corrections one needs to consider. This should provide an introduction to the characterization and measurement of thermoelectric materials and provide references for a more in depth discussion of the concepts. It should also serve as an indication of the care that must be taken while working with thermoelectric materials.

  3. Simultaneous control of thermoelectric properties in p- and n-type materials by electric double-layer gating: New design for thermoelectric device

    Science.gov (United States)

    Takayanagi, Ryohei; Fujii, Takenori; Asamitsu, Atsushi

    2015-05-01

    We report a novel design of a thermoelectric device that can control the thermoelectric properties of p- and n-type materials simultaneously by electric double-layer gating. Here, p-type Cu2O and n-type ZnO were used as the positive and negative electrodes of the electric double-layer capacitor structure. When a gate voltage was applied between the two electrodes, holes and electrons accumulated on the surfaces of Cu2O and ZnO, respectively. The thermopower was measured by applying a thermal gradient along the accumulated layer on the electrodes. We demonstrate here that the accumulated layers worked as a p-n pair of the thermoelectric device.

  4. Soft Chemistry, Coloring and Polytypism in Filled Tetrahedral Semiconductors: Toward Enhanced Thermoelectric and Battery Materials.

    Science.gov (United States)

    White, Miles A; Medina-Gonzalez, Alan M; Vela, Javier

    2018-03-12

    Filled tetrahedral semiconductors are a rich family of compounds with tunable electronic structure, making them ideal for applications in thermoelectrics, photovoltaics, and battery anodes. Furthermore, these materials crystallize in a plethora of related structures that are very close in energy, giving rise to polytypism through the manipulation of synthetic parameters. This Minireview highlights recent advances in the solution-phase synthesis and nanostructuring of these materials. These methods enable the synthesis of metastable phases and polytypes that were previously unobtainable. Additionally, samples synthesized in solution phase have enhanced thermoelectric performance due to their decreased grain size. © 2018 Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

  5. Environmental costs associated to the electric generation: hydroelectric versus natural gas thermoelectric; Custos ambientais associados a geracao eletrica: hidreletricas versus termeletricas a gas natural

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Reis, Marcelo de Miranda

    2001-01-15

    This works presents the methodologies for valuation of the environmental costs resulting from the main damages of the cycles of electric energy arrange through hydroelectric and natural gas thermoelectric. Initially theoretical concepts are established, embracing: the description of the valuation methodologies, the possible ways of damages internalization in the value of the products, the environmental impacts of hydroelectric and natural gas thermoelectric in these fuel cycles, and the methodologies that can be applied for value the main damages caused by the impacts. Then case studies are developed, with application of the methodologies in the hydroelectric plants of Simplicio and Serra da Mesa, and in the thermoelectric complex composed for RioGen and RioGen Merchant plants. Finally, conclusions and recommendations for a better future application in Brazil of the valuation methodologies are presented. (author)

  6. Thermoelectric power generator with intermediate loop

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bell, Lon E; Crane, Douglas Todd

    2013-05-21

    A thermoelectric power generator is disclosed for use to generate electrical power from heat, typically waste heat. An intermediate heat transfer loop forms a part of the system to permit added control and adjustability in the system. This allows the thermoelectric power generator to more effectively and efficiently generate power in the face of dynamically varying temperatures and heat flux conditions, such as where the heat source is the exhaust of an automobile, or any other heat source with dynamic temperature and heat flux conditions.

  7. A new class of materials with promising thermoelectric properties: MNiSn (M=Ti, Zr, Hf)

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Hohl, H; Ramirez, A P; Kaefer, W; Fess, K; Thurner, Ch; Kloc, Ch; Bucher, E

    1997-07-01

    TiNiSn, ZrNiSn and HfNiSn are members of a large group of intermetallic compounds which crystallize in the cubic MgAgAs-type structure. Polycrystalline samples of these compounds have been prepared and investigated for their thermoelectric properties. With thermopowers of about {minus}200 {micro}V/K and resistivities of a few m{Omega}cm, power factors S{sup 2}/{rho} as high as 38 {micro}W/K{sup 2}cm were obtained at 700 K. These remarkably high power factors are, however, accompanied by a thermal conductivity, solid solutions Zr{sub 1{minus}x}Hf{sub x}NiSn, Zr{sub 1{minus}x}Ti{sub x}NiSn, and Hf{prime}{sub 1{minus}x}Ti{sub x}NiSn were formed. The figure of merit of Zr{sub 0.5}Hf{sub 0.5}NiSn at 700 K (ZT = 0.41) exceeds the end members ZrNiSn (ZT = 0.26) and HfNiSn (ZT = 0.22).

  8. Energy efficiency analysis and impact evaluation of the application of thermoelectric power cycle to today's CHP systems

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Chen, Min; Lund, Henrik; Rosendahl, Lasse

    2010-01-01

    benefits, together with the environmental impact of this deployment, will then be estimated. By using the Danish thermal energy system as a paradigm, this paper will consider the TEG application to district heating systems and power plants through the EnergyPLAN model, which has been created to design......High efficiency thermoelectric generators (TEG) can recover waste heat from both industrial and private sectors. Thus, the development and deployment of TEG may represent one of the main drives for technological change and fuel substitution. This paper will present an analysis of system efficiency...... configurations for combustion systems. The feasible deployment of TEG in various CHP plants will be examined in terms of heat source temperature range, influences on CHP power specification and thermal environment, as well as potential benefits. The overall conversion efficiency improvements and economic...

  9. Thermoelectric and mechanical properties of spark plasma sintered Cu{sub 3}SbSe{sub 3} and Cu{sub 3}SbSe{sub 4}: Promising thermoelectric materials

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Tyagi, Kriti; Gahtori, Bhasker; Bathula, Sivaiah; Toutam, Vijaykumar; Sharma, Sakshi; Singh, Niraj Kumar; Dhar, Ajay, E-mail: adhar@nplindia.org [CSIR-Network of Institutes for Solar Energy, Materials Physics and Engineering, CSIR-National Physical Laboratory, Dr. K. S. Krishnan Road, New Delhi 110012 (India)

    2014-12-29

    We report the synthesis of thermoelectric compounds, Cu{sub 3}SbSe{sub 3} and Cu{sub 3}SbSe{sub 4}, employing the conventional fusion method followed by spark plasma sintering. Their thermoelectric properties indicated that despite its higher thermal conductivity, Cu{sub 3}SbSe{sub 4} exhibited a much larger value of thermoelectric figure-of-merit as compared to Cu{sub 3}SbSe{sub 3}, which is primarily due to its higher electrical conductivity. The thermoelectric compatibility factor of Cu{sub 3}SbSe{sub 4} was found to be ∼1.2 as compared to 0.2 V{sup −1} for Cu{sub 3}SbSe{sub 3} at 550 K. The results of the mechanical properties of these two compounds indicated that their microhardness and fracture toughness values were far superior to the other competing state-of-the-art thermoelectric materials.

  10. Pathways for acceleration of development and commercialization of novel thermoelectric materials

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Jovovic, Vladimir; Heian, Ellen M.; Harris, Fred R.; Sootsman, Joseph; Kossakovski, Dmitri [ZT Plus, Azusa, CA (United States)

    2011-07-01

    Efficient and robust thermoelectric (TE) materials are the cornerstone of any future TE generator system implementation. Today, efforts at commercialization of TE materials often lack the rigor and speed necessary for market readiness of any new material. Here we present the requirements for optimizing a thermoelectric material through a defined development process. We discuss the optimization process, tools that assist in rapid evaluation of thermoelectric performance, and the reproducibility of samples when these methods are employed. The results from our case study demonstrate the feasibility of this approach to prepare reproducible commercial quantities of advanced thermoelectric materials. (orig.)

  11. Thermoelectrical power analysis of precipitation in 6013 aluminum alloy

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Abdala, M.R.W.S.; Garcia de Blas, J.C.; Barbosa, C.; Acselrad, O.

    2008-01-01

    The 6013 aluminum alloy was first developed for application in the aircraft industry and, more recently, as a replacement option for the use of the 6061 alloy in the automotive industry. The present work describes the evolution of the process of formation and dissolution of different kinds of precipitates in 6013 aluminum alloy, subjected to different conditions of heat treatment, using for this purpose measurements of thermoelectrical power, Vickers microhardness and differential scanning calorimeter (DSC). Although in the last years many works have been published on the use of thermoelectrical power (TEP) measurements for the analysis of precipitation process in traditional alloys such as 6061, there is still little information related to 6013 alloy. The results obtained are compared with a previous characterization work on the same alloy using transmission electron microscopy. It was observed that TEP measurements are very sensitive to precipitation phenomena in this alloy, and it has been found that there is an inverse relation between TEP and Vickers microhardness values, which allowed proposing a precipitation sequence for 6013 aluminum alloy

  12. Thermoelectric Properties of Two-Dimensional Molybdenum-based MXenes

    KAUST Repository

    Kim, Hyunho

    2017-07-05

    MXenes are an interesting class of 2D materials consisting of transition metal carbides and nitrides, which are currently a subject of extensive studies. Although there have been theoretical calculations estimating the thermoelectric properties of MXenes, no experimental measurements have been reported so far. In this report, three compositions of Mo-based MXenes (Mo2CTx, Mo2TiC2Tx, and Mo2Ti2C3Tx) have been synthesized and processed into free-standing binder-free papers by vacuum-assisted filtration, and their electrical and thermoelectric properties are measured. Upon heating to 800 K, these MXene papers exhibit high conductivity and n-type Seebeck coefficient. The thermoelectric power reaches 3.09×10-4 W m-1 K-2 at 803 K for the Mo2TiC2Tx MXene. While the thermoelectric properties of MXenes do not reach that of the best materials, they exceed their parent ternary and quaternary layered carbides. Mo2TiC2Tx shows the highest electrical conductivity in combination with the largest Seebeck coefficient of the three 2D materials studied.

  13. AUTOMATIC BIOMASS BOILER WITH AN EXTERNAL THERMOELECTRIC GENERATOR

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marian Brázdil

    2014-02-01

    Full Text Available This paper presents the design and test results of an external thermoelectric generator that utilizes the waste heat from a small-scale domestic biomass boiler with nominal rated heat output of 25 kW. The low-temperature Bi2Te3 generator based on thermoelectric modules has the potential to recover waste heat from gas combustion products as effective energy. The small-scale generator is constructed from independent segments. Measurements have shown that up to 11 W of electricity can be generated by one segment. Higher output power can be achieved by linking thermoelectric segments. The maximum output power is given by the dew point of the flue gas. The electrical energy that is generated can be used, e.g., for power supply or for charging batteries. In the near future, thermoelectric generators could completely eliminate the dependence an automated domestic boiler system on the power supply from the electricity grid, and could ensure comfortable operation in the event of an unexpected power grid failure.

  14. Enhanced thermoelectric property of oxygen deficient nickel doped SnO2 for high temperature application

    Science.gov (United States)

    Paulson, Anju; Sabeer, N. A. Muhammad; Pradyumnan, P. P.

    2018-04-01

    Motivated by the detailed investigation on the thermoelectric performance of oxide materials our work concentrated on the influence of acceptor dopants and defect density in the lattice plane for the enhancement of thermoelectric power. The series of Sn1‑x Nix O2 (0.01 ≤ x ≤ 0.05) compositions were prepared by solid state reaction mechanism and found that 3 atomic percentage Ni doped SnO2 can be considered as a good candidate due to its promising electrical and transport properties. Defect lattices were introduced in the sample and the deviation from oxygen stochiometry was ensured using photoluminescence measurement. High power factor was obtained for the 3 atomic percentage nickel doped SnO2 due to the effective number of charge carrier concentration and the depletion of oxygen rich layers. Defect centered and acceptor doped SnO2 lattice opens a new door for energy harvesting at higher temperatures.

  15. Exploring the thermoelectric and magnetic properties of uranium selenides: Tl2Ag2USe4 and Tl3Cu4USe6

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Azam, Sikander; Khan, Saleem Ayaz; Din, Haleem Ud; Khenata, Rabah; Goumri-Said, Souraya

    2016-01-01

    The electronic, magnetic and thermoelectric properties of Tl 2 Ag 2 USe 4 and Tl 3 Cu 4 USe 6 compounds were investigated using the full potential linear augmented plane wave (FP-LAPW) method based on the density functional theory (DFT). The exchange correlation was treated with the generalized gradient approximation plus optimized effective Hubbard parameter and spin–orbit coupling (GGA+U+SOC). The present uranium selenides show narrow direct energy band gap values of 0.7 and 0.875 eV for Tl 2 Ag 2 USe 4 and Tl 3 Cu 4 USe 6 respectively. For both selenides U-d/f states are responsible for electrical transport properties. Uranium atoms were the most contributors in the magnetic moment compared to other atoms and show ferromagnetic nature. The spin density isosurfaces show the polarization of neighboring atoms of Uranium, such as silver/copper and selenium. Thermoelectric calculations reveal that Tl 3 Cu 4 USe 6 is more suitable for thermoelectric device applications than Tl 2 Ag 2 USe 4 . - Highlights: • Electronic, magnetic and thermoelectric properties of uranium selenides are investigated with DFT. • They show a narrow direct energy band gap of 0.7 and 0.875 eV. • U-d/f states are responsible for electrical transport properties. • Tl 3 Cu 4 USe 6 is more suitable for thermoelectric device applications than Tl 2 Ag 2 USe 4 .

  16. Double quantum dot as a minimal thermoelectric generator

    OpenAIRE

    Donsa, S.; Andergassen, S.; Held, K.

    2014-01-01

    Based on numerical renormalization group calculations, we demonstrate that experimentally realized double quantum dots constitute a minimal thermoelectric generator. In the Kondo regime, one quantum dot acts as an n-type and the other one as a p-type thermoelectric device. Properly connected the double quantum dot provides a miniature power supply utilizing the thermal energy of the environment.

  17. Knudsen pump driven by a thermoelectric material

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Pharas, Kunal; McNamara, Shamus

    2010-01-01

    The first use of a thermoelectric material in the bidirectional operation of a gas pump using thermal transpiration has been demonstrated. The thermoelectric material maintains a higher temperature difference which favors thermal transpiration and thus increases the efficiency of gas pumping. Since the hot and cold sides of the thermoelectric material are reversible, the direction of the pump may be changed by reversing the electrical current direction. Two different pump designs are presented that illustrate some of the design tradeoffs. The pumps are characterized by measuring the pressure difference that may be generated and by measuring the flow rate in the forward and reverse directions. For a pump composed of a porous material with a pore size of 100 nm, a maximum flow rate of 0.74 cm 3 min −1 and a maximum pressure of 1.69 kPa are achieved

  18. Electrical aspects of argon micro-cell plasma with applications in bio-medical technology

    NARCIS (Netherlands)

    Horiuchi, Y.; Dijk, van J.; Makabe, T.

    2003-01-01

    Argon micro-cell plasma (MCP) is believed to be a viable tool for performing micro-surgery. The non-thermal nature of the discharge allows an effective treatment of pathological tissue without causing thermal damage to its surroundings. This bio-medical application imposes a number of design

  19. Thermoelectric performance of functionalized Sc2C MXenes

    KAUST Repository

    Kumar, S.; Schwingenschlö gl, Udo

    2016-01-01

    Functionalization of the MXene Sc2C, which has the rare property to realize semiconducting states for various functionalizations including O, F, and OH, is studied with respect to the electronic and thermal behavior. The lowest lattice thermal conductivity is obtained for OH functionalization and an additional 30% decrease can be achieved by confining the phonon mean free path to 100 nm. Despite a relatively low Seebeck coefficient, Sc2C(OH)2 is a candidate for intermediate-temperature thermoelectric applications due to compensation by a high electrical conductivity and very low lattice thermal conductivity.

  20. Thermoelectric performance of functionalized Sc2C MXenes

    KAUST Repository

    Kumar, S.

    2016-07-05

    Functionalization of the MXene Sc2C, which has the rare property to realize semiconducting states for various functionalizations including O, F, and OH, is studied with respect to the electronic and thermal behavior. The lowest lattice thermal conductivity is obtained for OH functionalization and an additional 30% decrease can be achieved by confining the phonon mean free path to 100 nm. Despite a relatively low Seebeck coefficient, Sc2C(OH)2 is a candidate for intermediate-temperature thermoelectric applications due to compensation by a high electrical conductivity and very low lattice thermal conductivity.

  1. A note on the electrochemical nature of the thermoelectric power

    Science.gov (United States)

    Apertet, Y.; Ouerdane, H.; Goupil, C.; Lecoeur, Ph.

    2016-04-01

    While thermoelectric transport theory is well established and widely applied, it is not always clear in the literature whether the Seebeck coefficient, which is a measure of the strength of the mutual interaction between electric charge transport and heat transport, is to be related to the gradient of the system's chemical potential or to the gradient of its electrochemical potential. The present article aims to clarify the thermodynamic definition of the thermoelectric coupling. First, we recall how the Seebeck coefficient is experimentally determined. We then turn to the analysis of the relationship between the thermoelectric power and the relevant potentials in the thermoelectric system: As the definitions of the chemical and electrochemical potentials are clarified, we show that, with a proper consideration of each potential, one may derive the Seebeck coefficient of a non-degenerate semiconductor without the need to introduce a contact potential as seen sometimes in the literature. Furthermore, we demonstrate that the phenomenological expression of the electrical current resulting from thermoelectric effects may be directly obtained from the drift-diffusion equation.

  2. Application of blue-green and ultraviolet micro-LEDs to biological imaging and detection

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Xu, H; Zhang, J; Nurmikko, A V; Davitt, K M; Song, Y-K

    2008-01-01

    This paper reviews authors' laboratory's work on the development of nitride-based blue-green and ultraviolet microscale LED devices with particular classes of imaging and spectroscopic applications in cellular level biology. Starting from neuroscience, we illustrate the utility of blue-green micro-LEDs for voltage-sensitive dye imaging of individual neural cells, as well as their ultraviolet counterparts for photostimulation of neurons. Arrays of micro-LEDs are also shown to be useful in projecting spatiotemporal patterns of photoexcitation to study the visual system development in living animals. As another illustration of the utility of the emerging nitride microdevice technology, we demonstrate the application of UV micro-LED arrays in bio-sensing technology as the core of a real-time fluorescence spectroscopy biowarning system. (invited paper)

  3. Electrochemically synthesized Si nano wire arrays and thermoelectric nano structures

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Khuan, N.I.; Ying, K.K.; Nur Ubaidah Saidin; Foo, C.T.

    2012-01-01

    Thermoelectric nano structures hold great promise for capturing and directly converting into electricity some vast amount of low-grade waste heats now being lost to the environment (for example from nuclear power plant, fossil fuel burning, automotive and household appliances). In this study, large-area vertically-aligned silicon nano wire (SiNW) arrays were synthesized in an aqueous solution containing AgNO 3 and HF on p-type Si (100) substrate by self-selective electroless etching process. The etching conditions were systematically varied in order to achieve different stages of nano wire formation. Diameters of the SiNWs obtained varied from approximately 50 to 200 nm and their lengths ranged from several to a few tens of μm. Te/ Bi 2 Te 3 -Si thermoelectric core-shell nano structures were subsequently obtained via galvanic displacement of SiNWs in acidic HF electrolytes containing HTeO 2 + and Bi 3+ / HTeO 2 + ions. The reactions were basically a nano-electrochemical process due to the difference in redox potentials between the materials. the surface-modified SiNWs of core-shell structures had roughened surface morphologies and therefore, higher surface-t-bulk ratios compared to unmodified SiNWs. They have potential applications in sensors, photovoltaic and thermoelectric nano devices. Growth study on the SiNWs and core-shell nano structures produced is presented using various microscopy, diffraction and probe-based techniques for microstructural, morphological and chemical characterizations. (Author)

  4. A study of hear sink performance in air and soil for use in a thermoelectric energy harvesting device

    Science.gov (United States)

    Snyder, J.; Lawrence, E. E.

    2002-01-01

    A suggested application of a thermoelectric generator is to exploit the natural temperature difference between the air and the soil to generate small amounts of electrical energy. Since the conversion efficiency of even the best thermoelectric generators available is very low, the performance of the heat sinks providing the heat flow is critical. By providing a constant heat input to various heat sinks, field tests of their thermal conductances in soil and in air were performed. Aprototype device without a thermoelectric generator was constructed, buried, and monitored to experimentally measure the heat flow achievable in such a system. Theoretical considerations for design and selection of improved heat sinks are also presented. In particular, the method of shape factoranalysis is used to give rough estimates and upper bounds for the thermal conductance of a passive heat sink buried in soil.

  5. Applications of a Navigation Instrument Based on a Micro-Motor Driven by Photons

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Jorge VALENZUELA

    2011-12-01

    Full Text Available We report potential applications of a novel design of a micro-motor driven by light. The design, based on a scale of micro-machines fabrication, takes into consideration the concept of radiation pressure as a method of actuation. The micro-motor of diameter 15 mm is designed to be made in Silicon wafer. To decrease the weight of the rotational part, we designed a hollow structure metalized by Aluminum. To reduce friction, we suggest the use of octadecylphosphonic acid (ODPA as Aluminium coating and perfluoropolyoxyalkane (Z-DOL as Silicon coating. The materials selected lower friction by approximately 50 % and increase reflectivity, allowing a better conversion of the radiant energy into movement. Our design targets altimeter and inclinometer as major applications. It is clear that other applications such as measurement of light intensity, identification of wavelength of incident light, measurement of degree of polarization of light and others can be served by this design.

  6. Numerical analysis of the performance prediction for a thermoelectric generator

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Kim, Chang Nyung [Kyung Hee University, Yongin (Korea, Republic of)

    2015-09-15

    The present study develops a two-dimensional numerical code that can predict the performance of a thermoelectric generator module including a p-leg/n-leg pair and top and bottom electrodes. The present code can simulate the detailed thermoelectric phenomena including the heat flow, electric current, Joule heating, Peltier heating, and Thomson heating, together with the efficiency of the modules whose properties depend on the temperature. The present numerical code can be used for the design optimization of a thermoelectric power generator.

  7. The thermoelectric figure of merit of poor thermal conductors

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Dixon, A.J.

    1977-01-01

    Calculations are given to show that for low thermal conductivity materials the radiation losses at even moderate temperatures preclude the use of the Harman technique for measuring the thermoelectric figure of merit. Measurements on liquid Tl 66 Se 34 , which has suitable thermoelectric properties, confirm this. (author)

  8. Anomalous thermoelectric phenomena in lattice models of multi-Weyl semimetals

    Science.gov (United States)

    Gorbar, E. V.; Miransky, V. A.; Shovkovy, I. A.; Sukhachov, P. O.

    2017-10-01

    The thermoelectric transport coefficients are calculated in a generic lattice model of multi-Weyl semimetals with a broken time-reversal symmetry by using the Kubo's linear response theory. The contributions connected with the Berry curvature-induced electromagnetic orbital and heat magnetizations are systematically taken into account. It is shown that the thermoelectric transport is profoundly affected by the nontrivial topology of multi-Weyl semimetals. In particular, the calculation reveals a number of thermal coefficients of the topological origin which describe the anomalous Nernst and thermal Hall effects in the absence of background magnetic fields. Similarly to the anomalous Hall effect, all anomalous thermoelectric coefficients are proportional to the integer topological charge of the Weyl nodes. The dependence of the thermoelectric coefficients on the chemical potential and temperature is also studied.

  9. Development of a polymer based fully flexible electrode tip for neuronal micro-stimulation applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    David, Romain; Miki, Norihisa

    2017-06-01

    Neural stimulation systems design is highly impacted by the overall resolution and adaptability of the device to the targeted application and area to stimulate. In this paper, we report a novel design for neural micro-stimulation electrode presenting high resolution and adaptability to any targeted area via a high flexibility. We propose the use of liquid metal micro-channels encapsulated into a polymer volume, achieving micro-stimulation pads at the tip of the channels. It presents a high degree of patternability to match different possible targeted applications, and good flexibility and mechanic properties to make it insertable and adaptable into soft tissues. A stable fabrication process, including insertion of the liquid alloy into 50 µm half-channels, the necessity of the U-shape to produce functional conductive micro-channels and the mechanical integrity of the device are discussed.

  10. Thermoelectric generators incorporating phase-change materials for waste heat recovery from engine exhaust

    Science.gov (United States)

    Meisner, Gregory P; Yang, Jihui

    2014-02-11

    Thermoelectric devices, intended for placement in the exhaust of a hydrocarbon fuelled combustion device and particularly suited for use in the exhaust gas stream of an internal combustion engine propelling a vehicle, are described. Exhaust gas passing through the device is in thermal communication with one side of a thermoelectric module while the other side of the thermoelectric module is in thermal communication with a lower temperature environment. The heat extracted from the exhaust gasses is converted to electrical energy by the thermoelectric module. The performance of the generator is enhanced by thermally coupling the hot and cold junctions of the thermoelectric modules to phase-change materials which transform at a temperature compatible with the preferred operating temperatures of the thermoelectric modules. In a second embodiment, a plurality of thermoelectric modules, each with a preferred operating temperature and each with a uniquely-matched phase-change material may be used to compensate for the progressive lowering of the exhaust gas temperature as it traverses the length of the exhaust pipe.

  11. Micro-Optical Distributed Sensors for Aero Propulsion Applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Arnold, S.; Otugen, V.

    2003-01-01

    The objective of this research is to develop micro-opto-mechanical system (MOMS)-based sensors for time- and space-resolved measurements of flow properties in aerodynamics applications. The measurement technique we propose uses optical resonances in dielectric micro-spheres that can be excited by radiation tunneling from optical fibers. It exploits the tunneling-induced and morphology-dependent shifts in the resonant frequencies. The shift in the resonant frequency is dependent on the size, shape, and index of refraction of the micro-sphere. A physical change in the environment surrounding a micro-bead can change one or more of these properties of the sphere thereby causing a shift in frequency of resonance. The change of the resonance frequency can be detected with high resolution by scanning a frequency-tunable laser that is coupled into the fiber and observing the transmission spectrum at the output of the fiber. It is expected that, in the future, the measurement concept will lead to a system of distributed micro-sensors providing spatial data resolved in time and space. The present project focuses on the development and demonstration of temperature sensors using the morphology-dependent optical resonances although in the latter part of the work, we will also develop a pressure sensor. During the period covered in this report, the optical and electronic equipment necessary for the experimental work was assembled and the experimental setup was designed for the single sensor temperature measurements. Software was developed for real-time tracking of the optical resonance shifts. Some preliminary experiments were also carried out to detect temperature using a single bead in a water bath.

  12. High Temperature Thermoelectric Properties of ZnO Based Materials

    DEFF Research Database (Denmark)

    Han, Li

    of the dopants and dopant concentrations, a large power factor was obtainable. The sample with the composition of Zn0.9Cd0.1Sc0.01O obtained the highest zT ∼0.3 @1173 K, ~0.24 @1073K, and a good average zT which is better than the state-of-the-art n-type thermoelectric oxide materials. Meanwhile, Sc-doped Zn......This thesis investigated the high temperature thermoelectric properties of ZnO based materials. The investigation first focused on the doping mechanisms of Al-doped ZnO, and then the influence of spark plasma sintering conditions on the thermoelectric properties of Al, Ga-dually doped Zn......O. Following that, the nanostructuring effect for Al-doped ZnO was systematically investigated using samples with different microstructure morphologies. At last, the newly developed ZnCdO materials with superior thermoelectric properties and thermal stability were introduced as promising substitutions...

  13. Thermoelectric flux effect in superconducting indium

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Van Harlingen, D.J.

    1977-01-01

    In this paper we discuss a thermoelectric effect in superconductors which provides a mechanism for studying quasiparticle relaxation and scattering processes in non-equilibrium superconductors by transport measurements. We report measurements of the thermoelecric flux effect in samples consisting of indium and lead near the In transition temperature; in this temperature range, the contribution to DELTA/sub TAU/ from the Pb is insignificant and so values of OMEGA(T) are obtained for indium. The results of our experiments may be summarized as follows: (1) we have a thermally-generated flux effect in 5 superconducting In-Pb toroidal samples, (2) experimental tests suggest that the observed effect does indeed arise from the proposed thermoelectric flux effect, (3) OMEGA(T) for indium is found to diverge as (T/sub c/ - T)/sup -3/2/ more rapidly than predicted by simple theory, (4) OMEGA(T) at T/T sub c/ = .999 is nearly 10/sup 5/ larger than initially expected, (5) OMEGA (T) roughly correlates with the magnitude of the normal state thermoelectric coefficient for our samples

  14. Nano/micro-scale magnetophoretic devices for biomedical applications

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Lim, Byeonghwa; Kim, CheolGi; Vavassori, Paolo; Sooryakumar, R

    2017-01-01

    In recent years there have been tremendous advances in the versatility of magnetic shuttle technology using nano/micro-scale magnets for digital magnetophoresis. While the technology has been used for a wide variety of single-cell manipulation tasks such as selection, capture, transport, encapsulation, transfection, or lysing of magnetically labeled and unlabeled cells, it has also expanded to include parallel actuation and study of multiple bio-entities. The use of nano/micro-patterned magnetic structures that enable remote control of the applied forces has greatly facilitated integration of the technology with microfluidics, thereby fostering applications in the biomedical arena. The basic design and fabrication of various scaled magnets for remote manipulation of individual and multiple beads/cells, and their associated energies and forces that underlie the broad functionalities of this approach, are presented. One of the most useful features enabled by such advanced integrated engineering is the capacity to remotely tune the magnetic field gradient and energy landscape, permitting such multipurpose shuttles to be implemented within lab-on-chip platforms for a wide range of applications at the intersection of cellular biology and biotechnology. (topical review)

  15. Nano/micro-scale magnetophoretic devices for biomedical applications

    Science.gov (United States)

    Lim, Byeonghwa; Vavassori, Paolo; Sooryakumar, R.; Kim, CheolGi

    2017-01-01

    In recent years there have been tremendous advances in the versatility of magnetic shuttle technology using nano/micro-scale magnets for digital magnetophoresis. While the technology has been used for a wide variety of single-cell manipulation tasks such as selection, capture, transport, encapsulation, transfection, or lysing of magnetically labeled and unlabeled cells, it has also expanded to include parallel actuation and study of multiple bio-entities. The use of nano/micro-patterned magnetic structures that enable remote control of the applied forces has greatly facilitated integration of the technology with microfluidics, thereby fostering applications in the biomedical arena. The basic design and fabrication of various scaled magnets for remote manipulation of individual and multiple beads/cells, and their associated energies and forces that underlie the broad functionalities of this approach, are presented. One of the most useful features enabled by such advanced integrated engineering is the capacity to remotely tune the magnetic field gradient and energy landscape, permitting such multipurpose shuttles to be implemented within lab-on-chip platforms for a wide range of applications at the intersection of cellular biology and biotechnology.

  16. Synthesis, Processing, and Thermoelectric Properties of Germanium-Antimony-Tellurium Based Compounds and Alloys

    Science.gov (United States)

    Williams, Jared Brett

    Society has become increasingly more aware of the negative impacts which nonrenewable energy sources have on the environment, and therefore the search for new and more efficient means of energy production has become an important research endeavor. Thermoelectric modules possess the unique ability to convert wasted heat into useful electrical energy via solid state processes, which could vastly improve the efficiency of a number of applications. The materials which accomplish this are typically comprised of semiconductors which exhibit high electrical conductivity, Seebeck coefficient, and thermal resistivity. Together these properties give us a gauge for the overall efficiency of the thermal to electrical energy conversion. Phase change materials are a class of materials primarily used for optical data storage in CDs, DVDs, and Blu-Ray discs. Today's state of the art phase change materials are based on alloys of GeTe and Sb2Te3. These materials have also been found to exhibit high thermoelectric efficiencies. These high efficiencies stem from their complex crystal structure and degenerate semiconducting nature. The purpose of this work was to study and engineer the thermoelectric properties of various alloys and compounds which belong to this family of materials. Specifically studied were the compounds Ge4SbTe5 and Ge17Sb2Te20. In each case various synthesis and processing strategies were implemented to increase the thermoelectric performance and better understand the fundamental electrical and thermal properties. Finally various proposals for future work on these materials are presented, all of which are based on the findings described herein.

  17. Design Optimization of a Thermoelectric Cooling Module Using Finite Element Simulations

    Science.gov (United States)

    Abid, Muhammad; Somdalen, Ragnar; Rodrigo, Marina Sancho

    2018-05-01

    The thermoelectric industry is concerned about the size reduction, cooling performance and, ultimately, the production cost of thermoelectric modules. Optimization of the size and performance of a commercially available thermoelectric cooling module is considered using finite element simulations. Numerical simulations are performed on eight different three-dimensional geometries of a single thermocouple, and the results are further extended for a whole module as well. The maximum temperature rise at the hot and cold sides of a thermocouple is determined by altering its height and cross-sectional area. The influence of the soldering layer is analyzed numerically using temperature dependent and temperature independent thermoelectric properties of the solder material and the semiconductor pellets. Experiments are conducted to test the cooling performance of the thermoelectric module and the results are compared with the results obtained through simulations. Finally, cooling rate and maximum coefficient of performance (COPmax) are computed using convective and non-convective boundary conditions.

  18. Enhanced thermoelectric power in two-dimensional transition metal dichalcogenide monolayers

    KAUST Repository

    Pu, Jiang; Kanahashi, Kaito; Cuong, Nguyen Thanh; Chen, Chang-Hsiao; Li, Lain-Jong; Okada, Susumu; Ohta, Hiromichi; Takenobu, Taishi

    2016-01-01

    The carrier-density-dependent conductance and thermoelectric properties of large-area MoS2 and WSe2 monolayers are simultaneously investigated using the electrolyte gating method. The sign of the thermoelectric power changes across the transistor

  19. Some thermoelectric properties of the light rare earth sesquiselenides (R2Se/sub 3-x/)

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Takeshita, T.; Beaudry, B.J.; Gschneidner, K.A. Jr.

    1981-01-01

    Rare earth sesquiselenides of the Th 3 P 4 structure show variable electric properties over their homogeneity range, i.e., ranging from metallic (R 3 Se 4 ) to semimetallic (R 2 Se/sub 3-x/, where 0.14 > x > 0) to semiconducting (R 2 Se 3 ). The composition change is due to the formation of metal vacancies in the Th 3 P 4 structure with no vacancies at R 3 Se 4 and 4.75 at. % vacancies at R 2 Se 3 . The rare earth sesquiselenides are also refractory materials and therefore are of interest for high temperature thermoelectric applications. Preliminary results of thermoelectric power and electrical resistivity measurements on the light lanthanide sesquiselenides (La through Sm) are presented

  20. Magnetism, optical, and thermoelectric response of CdFe2O4 by using DFT scheme

    Science.gov (United States)

    Mahmood, Q.; Yaseen, M.; Bhamu, K. C.; Mahmood, Asif; Javed, Y.; Ramay, Shahid M.

    2018-03-01

    Comparative analysis of electronic, magnetic, optical, and thermoelectric properties of CdFe2O4, calculated by employing PBEsol + mBJ has been done. The PBEsol reveals metallic nature, while TB-mBJ illustrates ferromagnetic semiconducting behavior. The reasons behind the origin of ferromagnetism are explored by observing the exchange, crystal field, and John–Teller energies. The optical nature is investigated by analyzing dielectric constants, refraction, absorption coefficient, reflectivity, and optical conductivity. Finally, thermoelectric properties are elaborated by describing the electrical and thermal conductivities, Seebeck coefficient, and power factor. The strong absorption for the visible energy and high power factor suggest CdFe2O4 as the potential candidate for renewable energy applications.

  1. Power-Generation Characteristics After Vibration and Thermal Stresses of Thermoelectric Unicouples with CoSb3/Ti/Mo(Cu) Interfaces

    Science.gov (United States)

    Bae, Kwang Ho; Choi, Soon-Mok; Kim, Kyung-Hun; Choi, Hyoung-Seuk; Seo, Won-Seon; Kim, Il-Ho; Lee, Soonil; Hwang, Hae Jin

    2015-06-01

    Reliability tests for thermoelectric unicouples were carried out to investigate the adhesion properties of CoSb3/Ti/Mo(Cu) interfaces. The n-type In0.25 Co3.95Ni0.05Sb12 and p-type In0.25Co3FeSb12 bulks were prepared for fabricating a thermoelectric unicouple (one p- n couple) by an induction melting and a spark plasma sintering process. Mo-Cu alloy was selected as an electrode for the unicouples due to its high melting temperature and proper work function value. Many thermoelectric unicouples with the CoSb3/Ti/Mo(Cu) interfaces were fabricated with the proper brazing materials by means of a repeated firing process. Reliability of the unicouples with the interfaces was evaluated by a vibration test and a thermal cycling test. After the thermal cycling and vibration tests, the power-generation characteristics of the unicouples were compared with the unicouples before the tests. Even after the vibration test, electrical power with a power density of 0.5 W/cm2 was generated. The Ti-interlayer is considered as a possible candidate for making a reliable unicouple with high adhesion strength. With the thermal cycling test, the resistance of the unicouple increased and the electrical power from the unicouple decreased. A failure mode by the thermal cycling test was ascribed to a complex effect of micro-cracks originated from the thermal stress and oxidation problem of the thermoelectric materials; that is, a thick oxide layer more than 300 μm was detected after a high-temperature durability test of n-type In0.25Co3.95Ni0.05Sb12 material at 773 K in air for 7 days.

  2. Experimental investigation of a portable desalination unit configured by a thermoelectric cooler

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Yıldırım, Cihan; Soylu, Sezgi Koçak; Atmaca, İbrahim; Solmuş, İsmail

    2014-01-01

    Highlights: • Portable humidification–dehumidification desalination system configured by a thermoelectric cooler is experimentally studied. • Effect of feed water mass flow rate and air flow velocity on COP value of TEC and system productivity are investigated. • Maximum daily yield of system and COP value of TEC unit were recorded as 143.6 g and 0.78, respectively. - Abstract: Possible use of a novel portable desalination system was investigated experimentally. The system is based on humidification–dehumidification principle and thermoelectric cooling technique. A thermoelectric cooler was integrated into the system to enhance the process of both humidification and dehumidification. A prototype was fabricated and its performance was tested for various working conditions of the prototype to observe complex relation between psychrometric and thermoelectric phenomena. The effect of feed water mass flow rate and air flow velocity on the COP value of the thermoelectric cooler and clean water production of the system were examined. The maximum daily yield of the system and the COP value of the thermoelectric cooler unit were recorded as 143.6 g and 0.78, respectively

  3. Influence of heat pipe operating temperature on exhaust heat thermoelectric generation

    OpenAIRE

    Brito, F. P.; Martins, Jorge; Gonçalves, L. M.; Antunes, Nuno; Sousa, Diogo

    2013-01-01

    Increasingly stringent targets on energy efficiency and emissions, as well as growing vehicle electrification are making attractive the electric recovery of the energy normally wasted through the tailpipe of Internal Combustion Engines. Recent developments in thermoelectrics (TE) may soon make them a viable solution for such applications. This team has been exploring the potential of using TE modules in combination with variable conductance heat pipes for transferring the exhaust heat to ...

  4. Half-Heusler Alloys as Promising Thermoelectric Materials

    Science.gov (United States)

    Page, Alexander A.

    This thesis describes Ph.D. research on the half-Heusler class of thermoelectric materials. Half-Heusler alloys are a versatile class of materials that have been studied for use in photovoltaics, phase change memory, and thermoelectric power generation. With respect to thermoelectric power generation, new approaches were recently developed in order to improve the thermoelectric figure of merit, ZT, of half-Heusler alloys. Two of the strategies discussed in this work are adding excess Ni within MNiSn (M = Ti, Zr, or Hf) compounds to form full-Heusler nanostructures and using isoelectronic substitution of Ti, Zr, and Hf in MNiSn compounds to create microscale grain boundaries. This work uses computational simulations based on density functional theory, combined with the cluster expansion method, to predict the stable phases of pseudo-binary and pseudo-ternary composition systems. Statistical mechanics methods were used to calculate temperature-composition phase diagrams that relate the equilibrium phases. It is shown that full-Heusler nanostructures are predicted to remain stable even at high temperatures, and the microscale grain boundaries observed in (Ti,Zr,Hf)NiSn materials are found to be thermodynamically unstable at equilibrium. A new strategy of combining MNiSn materials with ZrNiPb has also recently emerged, and theoretical and experimental work show that a solid solution of the two materials is stable.

  5. Thermoelectric effect in nano-scaled lanthanides doped ZnO

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Otal, E H; Canepa, H R; Walsoee de Reca, N E [Centro de Investigacion en Solidos, CITEFA, San Juan Bautista de La Salle 4397 (B1603ALO) Villa Martelli, Buenos Aires (Argentina); Schaeuble, N; Aguirre, M H, E-mail: canepa@citefa.gov.a, E-mail: myriam.aguirre@empa.c [Solid State Chemistry and Catalysis, Empa, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Testing and Research, Ueberlandstrasse 129, CH-8600 Duebendorf (Switzerland)

    2009-05-01

    Start Nano-scaled ZnO with 1% Er doping was prepared by soft chemistry methods. The synthesis was carried out in anhydrous polar solvent to achieve a crystal size of a few nanometers. Resulting particles were processed as precipitates or multi layer films. Structural characterization was evaluated by X-Ray diffraction and transmission and scanning electron microscopy. In the case of films, UV-Vis characterization was made. The thermoelectrical properties of ZnO:Er were evaluated and compared with a typical good thermoelectric material ZnO:Al. Both materials have also shown high Seebeck coefficients and they can be considered as potential compounds for thermoelectric conversion.

  6. Fabrication of a Flexible Micro CO Sensor for Micro Reformer Applications

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Yi-Man Lo

    2010-11-01

    Full Text Available Integration of a reformer and a proton exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC is problematic due to the presence in the gas from the reforming process of a slight amount of carbon monoxide. Carbon monoxide poisons the catalyst of the proton exchange membrane fuel cell subsequently degrading the fuel cell performance, and necessitating the sublimation of the reaction gas before supplying to fuel cells. Based on the use of micro-electro-mechanical systems (MEMS technology to manufacture flexible micro CO sensors, this study elucidates the relation between a micro CO sensor and different SnO2 thin film thicknesses. Experimental results indicate that the sensitivity increases at temperatures ranging from 100–300 °C. Additionally, the best sensitivity is obtained at a specific temperature. For instance, the best sensitivity of SnO2 thin film thickness of 100 nm at 300 °C is 59.3%. Moreover, a flexible micro CO sensor is embedded into a micro reformer to determine the CO concentration in each part of a micro reformer in the future, demonstrating the inner reaction of a micro reformer in depth and immediate detection.

  7. DEVELOPMENT OF VACUUM SUBLIMATION DRYERS USING THERMOELECTRIC MODULES

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    R. A. Barykin

    2014-01-01

    Full Text Available Summary. The main directions of use of freeze-dryed products and ingredients are revealed. The analysis of sales markets of freeze-dryed products is provided. It is shown that introduction of innovative production technologies will allow to develop dynamically not only to the large companies, but also small firms that will create prerequisites for growth of the Russian market of freeze-dryed products. Tendencies of development of the freeze-drying equipment are analysed. Relevance of development of energy saving freeze-dryers is proved The integrated approach to creation of competitive domestic technologies and the equipment for sublimation dehydration of thermolabile products consists in use of the effective combined remedies of a power supply, a process intensification, reduction of specific energy consumption and, as a result, decrease in product cost at achievement of high quality indicators. Advantages of thermoelectric modules as alternative direction to existing vapor-compression and absorbing refrigerating appliances are given. Researches of process of freeze-drying dehydration with use of thermoelectric modules are conducted. It is scientifically confirmed, that the thermoelectric module working at Peltier effect, promotes increase in refrigerating capacity due to use of the principle of the thermal pump. Options of use of thermoelectric modules in designs of dryers are offered. Optimum operating modes and number of modules in section are defined. Ways of increase of power efficiency of freeze-dryers with use of thermoelectric modules are specified. The received results will allow to make engineering calculations and design of progressive freeze-drying installations with various ways of a power supply.

  8. Strategies for discovery and optimization of thermoelectric materials: Role of real objects and local fields

    Science.gov (United States)

    Zhu, Hao; Xiao, Chong

    2018-06-01

    Thermoelectric materials provide a renewable and eco-friendly solution to mitigate energy shortages and to reduce environmental pollution via direct heat-to-electricity conversion. Discovery of the novel thermoelectric materials and optimization of the state-of-the-art material systems lie at the core of the thermoelectric society, the basic concept behind these being comprehension and manipulation of the physical principles and transport properties regarding thermoelectric materials. In this mini-review, certain examples for designing high-performance bulk thermoelectric materials are presented from the perspectives of both real objects and local fields. The highlights of this topic involve the Rashba effect, Peierls distortion, local magnetic field, and local stress field, which cover several aspects in the field of thermoelectric research. We conclude with an overview of future developments in thermoelectricity.

  9. Scientific and Technical Challenges in Thermal Transport and Thermoelectric Materials and Devices

    KAUST Repository

    O'Dwyer, Colm

    2017-01-19

    This paper considers the state-of-the-art and open scientific and technological questions in thermoelectric materials and devices, from phonon engineering and scattering methods, to new and complex materials and their thermoelectric behavior. The paper also describes recent approaches to create structural and compositional material systems designed to enhance the thermoelectric figure of merit and power factors. We also summarize and contextualize recent advances in the use of superlattice structures and porosity or roughness to influence phonon scattering mechanisms and detail some advances in integrated thermoelectric materials for generators and coolers for thermally stable photonic devices.

  10. Scientific and Technical Challenges in Thermal Transport and Thermoelectric Materials and Devices

    KAUST Repository

    O'Dwyer, Colm; Chen, Renkun; He, Jr-Hau; Lee, Jaeho; Razeeb, Kafil M.

    2017-01-01

    This paper considers the state-of-the-art and open scientific and technological questions in thermoelectric materials and devices, from phonon engineering and scattering methods, to new and complex materials and their thermoelectric behavior. The paper also describes recent approaches to create structural and compositional material systems designed to enhance the thermoelectric figure of merit and power factors. We also summarize and contextualize recent advances in the use of superlattice structures and porosity or roughness to influence phonon scattering mechanisms and detail some advances in integrated thermoelectric materials for generators and coolers for thermally stable photonic devices.

  11. Technologies for micro- and precision machining applications: Presentation held at International Specialized Exhibition Metalloobrabotka, 23.-27.05.2016, Moscow

    OpenAIRE

    Kugler, Till; Blau, Peter; Edelmann, Jan; Eckert, Udo; Koriath, Hans-Joachim; Bogachev, Yuri P.; Sakharova, Olga P.

    2016-01-01

    The use of microstructures or functional surfaces in powertrain components or molds and dies has attained increasing significance. Also the relevance of micro parts for various applications is still growing worldwide. Technologies for micro and precision machining applications are also becoming increasingly important in batch production. Main applications are primarily in the micro-analysis, automotive, medical engineering and watch-making industries. Customers are increasingly demanding equi...

  12. Research on a power management system for thermoelectric generators to drive wireless sensors on a spindle unit.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Li, Sheng; Yao, Xinhua; Fu, Jianzhong

    2014-07-16

    Thermoelectric energy harvesting is emerging as a promising alternative energy source to drive wireless sensors in mechanical systems. Typically, the waste heat from spindle units in machine tools creates potential for thermoelectric generation. However, the problem of low and fluctuant ambient temperature differences in spindle units limits the application of thermoelectric generation to drive a wireless sensor. This study is devoted to presenting a transformer-based power management system and its associated control strategy to make the wireless sensor work stably at different speeds of the spindle. The charging/discharging time of capacitors is optimized through this energy-harvesting strategy. A rotating spindle platform is set up to test the performance of the power management system at different speeds. The experimental results show that a longer sampling cycle time will increase the stability of the wireless sensor. The experiments also prove that utilizing the optimal time can make the power management system work more effectively compared with other systems using the same sample cycle.

  13. Searching for new thermoelectrics in chemically and structurally complex bismuth chalcogenides

    Energy Technology Data Exchange (ETDEWEB)

    Chung, D Y; Hogan, T; Schindler, J; Iordanidis, L; Brazis, P; Kannewurf, C R; Chen, B; Uher, C; Kanatzidis, M G

    1997-07-01

    A solid state chemistry synthetic approach towards identifying new materials with potentially superior thermoelectric properties is presented. Materials with complex compositions and structures also have complex electronic structures which may give rise to high thermoelectric powers and at the same time possess low thermal conductivities. The structures and thermoelectric properties of several new promising compounds with K-Bi-Se, K-Bi-S, Ba-Bi-Te, Cs-Bi-Te, and Rb-bi-Te are reported.

  14. Optimized Design of Thermoelectric Energy Harvesting Systems for Waste Heat Recovery from Exhaust Pipes

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Marco Nesarajah

    2017-06-01

    Full Text Available With the increasing interest in energy efficiency and resource protection, waste heat recovery processes have gained importance. Thereby, one possibility is the conversion of the heat energy into electrical energy by thermoelectric generators. Here, a thermoelectric energy harvesting system is developed to convert the waste heat from exhaust pipes, which are very often used to transport the heat, e.g., in automobiles, in industrial facilities or in heating systems. That is why a mockup of a heating is built-up, and the developed energy harvesting system is attached. To build-up this system, a model-based development process is used. The setup of the developed energy harvesting system is very flexible to test different variants and an optimized system can be found in order to increase the energy yield for concrete application examples. A corresponding simulation model is also presented, based on previously developed libraries in Modelica®/Dymola®. In the end, it can be shown—with measurement and simulation results—that a thermoelectric energy harvesting system on the exhaust pipe of a heating system delivers extra energy and thus delivers a contribution for a more efficient usage of the inserted primary energy carrier.

  15. BiCuSeO Thermoelectrics: An Update on Recent Progress and Perspective

    Directory of Open Access Journals (Sweden)

    Xiaoxuan Zhang

    2017-02-01

    Full Text Available A BiCuSeO system has been reported as a promising thermoelectric material and has attracted great attention in the thermoelectric community since 2010. Recently, several remarkable studies have been reported and the ZT of BiCuSeO was pushed to a higher level. It motivates us to systematically summarize the recent reports on the BiCuSeO system. In this short review, we start with several attempts to optimize thermoelectric properties of BiCuSeO. Then, we introduce several opinions to explore the origins of low thermal conductivity for BiCuSeO. Several approaches to enhance thermoelectric performance are also summarized, including modulation doping, introducing dual-vacancies, and dual-doping, etc. At last, we propose some possible strategies for enhancing thermoelectric performance of BiCuSeO in future research.

  16. Temperature dependent thermoelectric properties of chemically derived gallium zinc oxide thin films

    KAUST Repository

    Barasheed, Abeer Z.; Sarath Kumar, S. R.; Alshareef, Husam N.

    2013-01-01

    In this study, the temperature dependent thermoelectric properties of sol-gel prepared ZnO and 3% Ga-doped ZnO (GZO) thin films have been explored. The power factor of GZO films, as compared to ZnO, is improved by nearly 17% at high temperature. A stabilization anneal, prior to thermoelectric measurements, in a strongly reducing Ar/H2 (95/5) atmosphere at 500°C was found to effectively stabilize the chemically derived films, practically eliminating hysteresis during thermoelectric measurements. Subtle changes in the thermoelectric properties of stabilized films have been correlated to oxygen vacancies and excitonic levels that are known to exist in ZnO-based thin films. The role of Ga dopants and defects, formed upon annealing, in driving the observed complex temperature dependence of the thermoelectric properties is discussed. © The Royal Society of Chemistry 2013.

  17. A thermoelectric voltage effect in polyethylene oxide

    International Nuclear Information System (INIS)

    Martin, Bjoern; Wagner, Achim; Kliem, Herbert

    2003-01-01

    The conductivity of polyethylene oxide (PEO) is described with a three-dimensional hopping model considering electrostatic interactions between the ions. Ions fluctuate over energy-barriers in a multi-well potential. To decide whether positive or negative charges are responsible for this conductivity, the thermoelectric voltage is measured. The samples are embedded between two aluminium-electrodes. The oxide on the interface between the electrodes and the PEO serves as a blocking layer. The temperature of each electrode is controlled by a Peltier element. A temperature step is applied to one electrode by changing the temperature of one of the Peltier elements. Due to this temperature gradient, the mobile charges fluctuate thermally activated from the warmer side to the colder side of the sample. The direction of the measured thermoelectric voltage indicates the type of mobile charges. It is found that positive charges are mobile. Further, it is shown that the absolute value of the thermoelectric voltage depends on the energy-barrier heights in the multi-well potential

  18. A thermoelectric voltage effect in polyethylene oxide

    CERN Document Server

    Martin, B; Kliem, H

    2003-01-01

    The conductivity of polyethylene oxide (PEO) is described with a three-dimensional hopping model considering electrostatic interactions between the ions. Ions fluctuate over energy-barriers in a multi-well potential. To decide whether positive or negative charges are responsible for this conductivity, the thermoelectric voltage is measured. The samples are embedded between two aluminium-electrodes. The oxide on the interface between the electrodes and the PEO serves as a blocking layer. The temperature of each electrode is controlled by a Peltier element. A temperature step is applied to one electrode by changing the temperature of one of the Peltier elements. Due to this temperature gradient, the mobile charges fluctuate thermally activated from the warmer side to the colder side of the sample. The direction of the measured thermoelectric voltage indicates the type of mobile charges. It is found that positive charges are mobile. Further, it is shown that the absolute value of the thermoelectric voltage depen...

  19. Nano-materials Enabled Thermoelectricity from Window Glasses

    KAUST Repository

    Inayat, Salman Bin

    2012-11-13

    With a projection of nearly doubling up the world population by 2050, we need wide variety of renewable and clean energy sources to meet the increased energy demand. Solar energy is considered as the leading promising alternate energy source with the pertinent challenge of off sunshine period and uneven worldwide distribution of usable sun light. Although thermoelectricity is considered as a reasonable renewable energy from wasted heat, its mass scale usage is yet to be developed. Here we show, large scale integration of nano-manufactured pellets of thermoelectric nano-materials, embedded into window glasses to generate thermoelectricity using the temperature difference between hot outside and cool inside. For the first time, this work offers an opportunity to potentially generate 304 watts of usable power from 9 m2 window at a 206C temperature gradient. If a natural temperature gradient exists, this can serve as a sustainable energy source for green building technology.

  20. Application of X-ray micro-CT for micro-structural characterization of APCVD deposited SiC coatings on graphite conduit.

    Science.gov (United States)

    Agrawal, A K; Sarkar, P S; Singh, B; Kashyap, Y S; Rao, P T; Sinha, A

    2016-02-01

    SiC coatings are commonly used as oxidation protective materials in high-temperature applications. The operational performance of the coating depends on its microstructure and uniformity. This study explores the feasibility of applying tabletop X-ray micro-CT for the micro-structural characterization of SiC coating. The coating is deposited over the internal surface of pipe structured graphite fuel tube, which is a prototype of potential components of compact high-temperature reactor (CHTR). The coating is deposited using atmospheric pressure chemical vapor deposition (APCVD) and properties such as morphology, porosity, thickness variation are evaluated. Micro-structural differences in the coating caused by substrate distance from precursor inlet in a CVD reactor are also studied. The study finds micro-CT a potential tool for characterization of SiC coating during its future course of engineering. We show that depletion of reactants at larger distances causes development of larger pores in the coating, which affects its morphology, density and thickness. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.