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Collection Editors' Favorite Holiday Cookies. Collection Holiday Gift Guide. In application, thermoelectric modules in power generation work in very tough mechanical and thermal conditions. Because they operate in a very high temperature gradient, the modules are subject to large thermally induced stresses and strains for long periods of time. They also are subject to mechanical fatigue caused by large number of thermal cycles.

Thus, the junctions and materials must be selected so that they survive these tough mechanical and thermal conditions. Also, the module must be designed such that the two thermoelectric materials are thermally in parallel, but electrically in series.

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The efficiency of a thermoelectric module is greatly affected by the geometry of its design. Using thermoelectric modules, a thermoelectric system generates power by taking in heat from a source such as a hot exhaust flue. In order to do that, the system needs a large temperature gradient, which is not easy in real-world applications. The cold side must be cooled by air or water.

Heat exchangers are used on both sides of the modules to supply this heating and cooling. There are many challenges in designing a reliable TEG system that operates at high temperatures.

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Achieving high efficiency in the system requires extensive engineering design in order to balance between the heat flow through the modules and maximizing the temperature gradient across them. To do this, designing heat exchanger technologies in the system is one of the most important aspects of TEG engineering. In addition, the system requires to minimize the thermal losses due to the interfaces between materials at several places.

Another challenging constraint is avoiding large pressure drops between the heating and cooling sources. After the DC power from the TE modules passes through an inverter, the TEG produces AC power , which in turn, requires an integrated power electronics system to deliver it to the customer. Only a few known materials to date are identified as thermoelectric materials.

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Most thermoelectric materials today have a zT, the figure of merit, value of around 1, such as in Bismuth Telluride Bi 2 Te 3 at room temperature and lead telluride PbTe at K. However, in order to be competitive with other power generation systems, TEG materials should have a zT of Most research in thermoelectric materials has focused on increasing the Seebeck coefficient S and reducing the thermal conductivity, especially by manipulating the nanostructure of the thermoelectric materials. Because the thermal and electrical conductivity correlate with the charge carriers, new means must be introduced in order to conciliate the contradiction between high electrical conductivity and low thermal conductivity as indicated.


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When selecting materials for thermoelectric generation, a number of other factors need to be considered. During operation, ideally the thermoelectric generator has a large temperature gradient across it. Thermal expansion will then introduce stress in the device which may cause fracture of the thermoelectric legs, or separation from the coupling material.

The mechanical properties of the materials must be considered and the coefficient of thermal expansion of the n and p-type material must be matched reasonably well.

In segmented thermoelectric generators, the material's compatibility must also be considered. When the compatibility factor from one segment to the next differs by more than a factor of about two, the device will not operate efficiently. The material parameters determining s as well as zT are temperature dependent, so the compatibility factor may change from the hot side to the cold side of the device, even in one segment. This behavior is referred to as self-compatibility and may become important in devices design for low temperature operation.

Many TEG materials are employed in commercial applications today. These materials can be divided into three groups based on the temperature range of operation:. Although these materials still remain the cornerstone for commercial and practical applications in thermoelectric power generation, significant advances have been made in synthesizing new materials and fabricating material structures with improved thermoelectric performance. Researchers are trying to develop new thermoelectric materials for power generation by improving the figure-of-merit zT. This material is also relatively inexpensive and stable up to this temperature in a vacuum, and can be a good alternative in the temperature range between materials based on Bi 2 Te 3 and PbTe.

Beside improving the figure-of-merit, there is increasing focus to develop new materials by increasing the electrical power output, decreasing cost and developing environmentally friendly materials. The designers say LaWin panels integrate well with current glass manufacturing technologies. The channels are about a millimeter wide etchings in the glass, then another layer is laminated on top. The team hopes to commercialize the technology in the coming year. This site may earn affiliate commissions from the links on this page.

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