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Concentrated Solar Thermoelectric Generators Based on V-shaped Metallic Couples

Li, Xinjie
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9816-5414
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1613752123514427

Abstract Details

2020, MS, University of Cincinnati, Engineering and Applied Science: Electrical Engineering.
Solar thermoelectrics (solar TE) is an alternative solar energy technology that converts solar irradiation into heat using solar absorber, and subsequently into electricity by a thermoelectric generator. The practical use of the present solar TE technology, however, has been limited due to the low conversion efficiency, high material cost, as well as the heat sink used at the cold side, which consumes power to reduce the net efficiency and also adds substantial cost. Conventionally, a TE module is made of semiconductor elements that are vertically-standing towards the heat source, and connected via horizontal electrodes in the so-called “?”-geometry. In this work, we propose new design strategies for solar TE generator modules, in which we utilize thin wire-type metallic elements and direct junctions between them to construct the “V”-shaped couples. The proposed module design has several advantages over the conventional ones: 1) The module does not require additional electrodes to connect the TE elements, which would only add additional electrical resistances that are detrimental to the power generation performance. 2) By utilizing wire-type metallic TE materials, the TE elements can be made very long and thin, i.e. with a large aspect ratio (length: diameter), which can work as efficient heat transfer medium to enhance the air convection, and thus enhance the power output. This feature potentially eliminates the requirement of powerful heat sinks at the cold side of the TE module, thereby reducing power consumption and increasing the net conversion efficiency. 3) Metallic elements are relatively easy to process, and thus do not require high-temperature fusion bonding and high precision alignments that are needed for conventional TE module fabrication. In this thesis, we show the detailed module fabrication steps for easy and low-cost solar thermoelectric module fabrication with metallic elements. Then we perform solar thermoelectric energy conversion experiments with the developed TE modules under a solar simulator, and analyze the power output performance and convective heat transfer characteristics with three- dimensional finite element simulations. We also investigate the impacts of wind blowing at the cold side of the module as well as polymer fillers of different thicknesses between the elements on the power output. We find that the module with no polymer filler and with no wind condition produces the highest power output due to the optimized convective heat transfer to the ambient air, and the maximized end-to-end temperature difference across the elements. The maximum power density of 0.23 mW/cm2 is obtained, which is reasonably high for high power per cost, considering the substantially reduced material cost as well as the reduced operation cost with no heat sink or vacuum enclosure used. Nearly constant, near-optimal power output is obtained with 4 cm polymer filler regardless of wind speed.
Je-Hyeong Bahk, Ph.D. (Committee Chair)
Punit Boolchand, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
Marc Cahay, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
Tao Li, Ph.D. (Committee Member)
84 p.
Electrical Engineering
solar thermoelectrics; thermoelectric generator; metallic TE elements; TE module fabrication

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Li, X. (2020). Concentrated Solar Thermoelectric Generators Based on V-shaped Metallic Couples [Master's thesis, University of Cincinnati]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1613752123514427

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Li, Xinjie. Concentrated Solar Thermoelectric Generators Based on V-shaped Metallic Couples. 2020. University of Cincinnati, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1613752123514427.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Li, Xinjie. "Concentrated Solar Thermoelectric Generators Based on V-shaped Metallic Couples." Master's thesis, University of Cincinnati, 2020. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=ucin1613752123514427

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

ucin1613752123514427
238
© 2020, some rights reserved.Creative Commons License Concentrated Solar Thermoelectric Generators Based on V-shaped Metallic Couples by Xinjie Li is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. Based on a work at etd.ohiolink.edu.
This open access ETD is published by University of Cincinnati and OhioLINK.