THESIS
2015
xi, 80 pages : illustrations (some color) ; 30 cm
Abstract
The studies of renewable energy have drawn a lot of attention due to the increasing serious
energy and environment crisis. Among them, thermoelectric generator is an attractive topic
which could directly transfer heat energy to electricity through a compact module. The
heat-electricity conversion is possible under residential conditions. In this study, a solar
thermoelectric generator (STEG) combined with parabolic concentrator is designed and a
simplified prototype was investigated experimentally. Heat transfer oil layer between inner
and outer shells is employed to homogenize the temperature filed in circumferential direction
and enhance the heat transfer. Flexible heating plates were used to control and simulate the
input power in the experiments.
The temperature field in oi...[
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The studies of renewable energy have drawn a lot of attention due to the increasing serious
energy and environment crisis. Among them, thermoelectric generator is an attractive topic
which could directly transfer heat energy to electricity through a compact module. The
heat-electricity conversion is possible under residential conditions. In this study, a solar
thermoelectric generator (STEG) combined with parabolic concentrator is designed and a
simplified prototype was investigated experimentally. Heat transfer oil layer between inner
and outer shells is employed to homogenize the temperature filed in circumferential direction
and enhance the heat transfer. Flexible heating plates were used to control and simulate the
input power in the experiments.
The temperature field in oil layer and inner shell were evaluated through experimental studies.
A computational model based on 2-D differential equations and standard simplified
thermoelectric model has been developed. Through experiments, temperature homogenization
and heat transfer enhancement effect by oil layer have been observed. The convection heat
transfer coefficient at steady state was estimated to be 320 W/(m
2 ∙ K) through the
combination of model and experimental data. An iteration method based on the computational
model was employed to predict the system output. Through closed-circuit experiments, the
output power of 0.3W, 0.33W and 0.26W were obtained in bottom, middle and top part
respectively in critical power points. And the iteration method shows good agreement with the
experimental results. Through simulation, it is found that adjusting the number and
distribution pattern of TEMs could further raise the output power and eliminate the
temperature mismatch.
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