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More About This Title Thermoelectric Energy Conversion - Basic Conceptsand Device Applications
English
Following an initial chapter that introduces the fundamentals and principles of thermoelectricity, subsequent chapters discuss the synthesis and integration of various bulk thermoelectric as well as nanostructured materials. The book then goes on to discuss characterization techniques, including various light and mechanic microscopy techniques, while also summarizing applications for thermoelectric materials, such as micro- and nano-thermoelectric generators, wearable electronics and energy conversion devices.
The result is a bridge between industry and scientific researchers seeking to develop thermoelectric generators.
English
Alireza Rezaniakolaei studied Mechanical Engineering at University of Mazandaran, Iran and, got his PhD in Energy Engineering from Aalborg University in 2012. He is an Assistant Professor in Department of Energy Technology at Aalborg University, Denmark, where he holds the position of Thermoelectric Research Programme Chair. His current research interests include fluid mechanics, thermal engineering with focus on micro heat transfer surfaces applied to thermoelectric modules, and integration of thermoelctric technology with renewable systems and sensor applications.
English
About the Editors xv
Series Editor’s Preface xvii
List of Contributors xix
1 Utilizing Phase Separation Reactions for Enhancement of the Thermoelectric Efficiency in IV–VI Alloys 1
Yaniv Gelbstein
1.1 Introduction 1
1.2 IV–VI Alloys for Waste Heat Thermoelectric Applications 2
1.3 Thermodynamically Driven Phase Separation Reactions 6
1.4 Selected IV–VI Systems with Enhanced Thermoelectric Properties Following Phase Separation Reactions 9
1.5 Concluding Remarks 11
References 11
2 Nanostructured Materials: Enhancing the Thermoelectric Performance 15
Ngo Van Nong and Le Thanh Hung
2.1 Introduction 15
2.2 Approaches for Improving ZT 16
2.3 Recent Progress in Developing Bulk Thermoelectric Materials 18
2.4 Bulk Nanostructured Thermoelectric Materials 20
2.4.1 Bi2Te3-Based Nanocomposites 20
2.4.2 PbTe-Based Nanostructured Materials 21
2.4.3 Half-Heusler Alloys 22
2.4.4 Nanostructured Skutterudite Materials 24
2.4.5 Nanostructured Oxide Materials 26
2.5 Outlook and Challenges 28
References 29
3 Organic Thermoelectric Materials 37
Simone Fabiano, Ioannis Petsagkourakis, Guillaume Fleury, Georges Hadziioannou and Xavier Crispin
3.1 Introduction 37
3.2 Seebeck Coefficient and Electronic Structure 41
3.3 Seebeck Coefficient and Charge Carrier Mobility 44
3.4 Optimization of the Figure of Merit 45
3.5 N-Doping of Conjugated Polymers 46
3.6 Elastic Thermoelectric Polymers 49
3.7 Conclusions 49
Acknowledgments 50
References 50
4 Silicon for Thermoelectric Energy Harvesting Applications 53
Dario Narducci, Luca Belsito and Alex Morata
4.1 Introduction 53
4.1.1 Silicon as a Thermoelectric Material 53
4.1.2 Current Uses of Silicon in TEGs 54
4.2 Bulk and Thin-Film Silicon 55
4.2.1 Single-Crystalline and Polycrystalline Silicon 55
4.2.2 Degenerate and Phase-Segregated Silicon 58
4.3 Nanostructured Silicon: Physics of Nanowires and Nanolayers 61
4.3.1 Introduction 61
4.3.2 Electrical Transport in Nanostructured Thermoelectric Materials 61
4.3.3 Phonon Transport in Nanostructured Thermoelectric Materials 64
4.4 Bottom-Up Nanowires 64
4.4.1 Preparation Strategies 64
4.4.2 Chemical Vapor Deposition (CVD) 65
4.4.3 Molecular Beam Epitaxy (MBE) 66
4.4.4 Laser Ablation 66
4.4.5 Solution-Based Techniques 67
4.4.6 Catalyst Materials 67
4.4.7 Catalyst Deposition Methods 68
4.5 Material Properties and Thermoelectric Efficiency 69
4.6 Top-Down Nanowires 69
4.6.1 Preparation Strategies 69
4.6.2 Material Properties and Thermoelectric Efficiency 73
4.7 Applications of Bulk and Thin-Film Silicon and SiGe Alloys to Energy Harvesting 75
4.8 Applications of Nanostructured Silicon to Energy Harvesting 77
4.8.1 Bottom-Up Nanowires 77
4.8.2 Top-Down Nanowires 78
4.9 Summary and Outlook 81
Acknowledgments 82
References 82
5 Techniques for Characterizing Thermoelectric Materials: Methods and the Challenge of Consistency 93
Hans-Fridtjof Pernau
5.1 Introduction – Hitting the Target 93
5.2 Thermal Transport in Gases and Solid-State Materials 94
5.3 The Combined Parameter ZT-Value 97
5.3.1 Electrical Conductivity 98
5.3.2 Seebeck Coefficient 101
5.3.3 Thermal Conductivity 103
5.4 Summary 107
Acknowledgments 107
References 107
6 Preparation and Characterization of TE Interfaces/Junctions 111
Gao Min and Matthew Philips
6.1 Introduction 111
6.2 Effects of Electrical and Thermal Contact Resistances 111
6.3 Preparation of Thermoelectric Interfaces 114
6.4 Characterization of Contact Resistance Using Scanning Probe 117
6.5 Characterization of Thermal Contact Using Infrared Microscope 121
6.6 Summary 123
Acknowledgments 124
References 124
7 Thermoelectric Modules: Power Output, Efficiency, and Characterization 127
Jorge García-Canadas
7.1 Introduction 127
7.1.1 Moving from Materials to a Device 127
7.1.2 Differences in Characterization 128
7.1.3 Chapter Summary 130
7.2 The Governing Equations 130
7.2.1 Particle Fluxes and the Continuity Equation 130
7.2.2 Energy Fluxes and the Heat Equation 132
7.3 Power Output and Efficiency 136
7.3.1 Power Output 137
7.3.2 Efficiency 139
7.4 Characterization of Devices 142
7.4.1 Thermal Contacts 142
7.4.2 Additional Considerations 143
7.4.3 Constant Heat Input and Constant ΔT 144
References 145
8 Integration of Heat Exchangers with Thermoelectric Modules 147
Alireza Rezaniakolaei
8.1 Introduction 147
8.2 Heat Exchanger Design – Consideration in TEG Systems 148
8.3 Cold Side Heat Exchanger for TEG Maximum Performance 150
8.4 Cooling Technologies and Design Challenges 154
8.5 Microchannel Heat Exchanger 156
8.6 Coupled and Comprehensive Simulation of TEG System 157
8.6.1 Governing Equations 157
8.6.2 Effect of Heat Exchanger Inlet/Outlet Plenums on TEG Temperature Distribution 158
8.6.3 Modified Channel Configuration 162
8.6.4 Flat-Plate Heat Exchanger versus Cross-Cut Heat Exchanger 164
8.6.5 Effect of Channel Hydraulic Diameter 167
8.7 Power–Efficiency Map 168
8.8 Section Design Optimization in TEG System 169
8.9 Conclusion 170
Acknowledgment 170
Nomenclature 170
References 172
9 Power Electronic Converters and Their Control in Thermoelectric Applications 177
Erik Schaltz and Elena A. Man
9.1 Introduction 177
9.2 Building Blocks of Power Electronics 177
9.3 Power Electronic Topologies 179
9.3.1 Buck Converter 180
9.3.2 Boost Converter 182
9.3.3 Non-Inverting Buck Boost Converter 183
9.3.4 Flyback Converter 184
9.4 Electrical Equivalent Circuit Models for Thermoelectric Modules 185
9.5 Maximum Power Point Operation and Tracking 186
9.5.1 MPPT-Methods 187
9.6 Case Study 191
9.6.1 Specifications 192
9.6.2 Requirements 193
9.6.3 Design of Passive Components 193
9.6.4 Transfer Functions 194
9.6.5 Design of Current Controller 196
9.6.6 MPPT Implementation 196
9.6.7 Design of Voltage Controller 198
9.7 Conclusion 201
References 201
10 Thermoelectric Energy Harvesting for Powering Wearable Electronics 205
Luca Francioso and Chiara De Pascali
10.1 Introduction 205
10.2 Human Body as Heat Source for Wearable TEGs 205
10.3 TEG Design for Wearable Applications: Thermal and Electrical Considerations 208
10.4 Flexible TEGs: Deposition Methods and Thermal Flow Design Approach 212
10.4.1 Deposition Methods 212
10.4.2 Heat Flow Direction Design Approach in Wearable TEG 217
10.5 TEG Integration in Wearable Devices 218
10.6 Strategies for Performance Enhancements and Organic Materials 221
10.6.1 Organic Thermoelectric Materials 223
References 225
11 Thermoelectric Modules as Efficient Heat Flux Sensors 233
Gennadi Gromov
11.1 Introduction 233
11.1.1 Applications of Heat Flux Sensors 233
11.1.2 Units of Heat Flux and Characteristics of Sensors 234
11.1.3 Modern Heat Flux Sensors 235
11.1.4 Thermoelectric Heat Flux Sensors 236
11.2 Applications of Thermoelectric Modules 238
11.3 Parameters of Thermoelectric Heat Flux Sensors 240
11.3.1 Integral Sensitivity Sa 240
11.3.2 Sensitivity Se 241
11.3.3 Thermal Resistance RT 241
11.3.4 Noise Level 241
11.3.5 Sensitivity Threshold 241
11.3.6 Noise-Equivalent Power NEP 242
11.3.7 Detectivity D* 242
11.3.8 Time Constant ;;</;;;;> 243
11.4 Self-Calibration Method of Thermoelectric Heat Flux Sensors 243
11.4.1 Sensitivity 243
11.4.2 Values of NEP and D* 247
11.5 Sensor Performance and Thermoelectric Module Design 247
11.5.1 Dependence on Physical Properties 248
11.5.2 Design Parameters 248
11.6 Features of Thermoelectric Heat Flux Sensor Design 249
11.7 Optimization of Sensors Design 250
11.7.1 Properties of Thermoelectric Material 251
11.7.2 Parameters of Thermoelectric Module 251
11.7.3 Features of Real Design 255
11.8 Experimental Family of Heat Flux Sensors 257
11.8.1 HTX – Heat Flux and Temperature Sensors (HT – Heat Flux and Temperature) 257
11.8.2 HFX – Heat Flux Sensors without Temperature (HF – Heat Flux) 257
11.8.3 HRX-IR Radiation Heat Flux Sensors (HR – Heat Flux Radiation) 257
11.9 Investigation of Sensors Performance 259
11.9.1 General Provisions 259
11.9.2 Calibration of Sensor Sensitivity 259
11.9.3 Sensitivity Temperature Dependence 261
11.9.4 Thermal Resistance 263
11.9.5 Typical Temperature Dependence of the Seebeck Coefficient 264
11.9.6 Conclusions 264
11.10 Heat Flux Sensors at the Market 265
11.11 Examples of Applications 268
11.11.1 Microcalorimetry: Evaporation of Water Drop 268
11.11.2 Measurement of Heat Fluxes in Soil 269
11.11.3 Thermoelectric Ice Sensor 269
11.11.4 Laser Power Meters 274
References 278
12 Photovoltaic–Thermoelectric Hybrid Energy Conversion 283
Ning Wang
12.1 Background and Theory 283
12.1.1 Introduction 283
12.1.2 PV Efficiency 285
12.1.3 TEG Efficiency 285
12.1.4 PVTE Module Generated Power and Efficiency 285
12.1.5 Energy Loss 285
12.1.6 Cost 286
12.1.7 Overall Feasibility 289
12.2 Different Forms of PVTE Hybrid Systems: The State of the Art 292
12.2.1 PVTE Hybrid Systems Based on Dye-Sensitized Solar Cell (DSSC) 292
12.2.2 Dye-Sensitized Solar Cell with Built-in Nanoscale Bi2Te3 TEG 294
12.2.3 PVTE Using Solar Concentrator 294
12.2.4 Solar–Thermoelectric Device Based on Bi2Te3 and Carbon Nanotube Composites 296
12.3 Optimizations of PVTE Hybrid Systems 297
12.3.1 Geometry Optimization of Thermoelectric Devices in a Hybrid PVTE System 297
12.3.2 Enhancing the Overall Heat Conduction and Light Absorption 298
12.3.3 Fishnet Meta-Structure for IR Band Trapping for Enhancement of PVTE Hybrid Systems 299
12.3.4 Full-Spectrum Photon Management of Solar Cell Structures for PVTE Hybrid Systems 300
12.3.5 An Automotive PVTE Hybrid Energy System Using Maximum Power Point Tracking 301
12.4 Application of PVTE Hybrid Systems 302
12.4.1 Novel Hybrid Solar System for Photovoltaic, Thermoelectric, and Heat Utilization 303
12.4.2 Development of an Energy-Saving Module via Combination of PV Cells and TE Coolers for Green Building Applications 303
12.4.3 Performance of Solar Cells Using TE Module in Hot Sites 303
12.5 Summary 306
References 307
Index 311
