Study of thermoelectric power generator under transient and steady state conditions

• Main Author: Kew, Guan Yuan
• Other Authors: Leong Kai Choong
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2017
• Subjects: DRNTU::Engineering
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/72325
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

The thermoelectric effect is first discovered in the early 19th Century by Thomas Johann Seebeck and Jean Athanase Peltier. The thermoelectric generators had low commercial value due to its low thermoelectric conversion efficiency and figure of merit. The research on thermoelectric generators gained traction in recent years due to the advancement in technology to create more efficient modules and the increasing concern with our depleting fossil fuels along with its environmental impact. The aim of the project is to study the performance of the thermoelectric generator under steady state and transient state condition as well as to improve the thermoelectric conversion efficiency of the TEG system and test a new segmented TEG module. The result of the experiments showed the effect of the maximum power transfer had increased the thermoelectric conversion efficiency of TEG system by 45.92% and the maximum heat recovery efficiency at transient state condition had increased by 12.47%. The results had also showed the thermoelectric conversion efficiency of different TEG modules at steady state and transient state. At low temperature difference, the thermoelectric conversion efficiency of pure TEG module, Bismuth Telluride, performed 50% to 100% more efficiently as compared to segmented TEG module, Bismuth Telluride and Lead Tin Telluride. Due to the limited temperature range of the TEG system, the segmented TEG module was unable to perform at its full potential. However, there were promising results showing that the segmented TEG module was able to achieve higher thermoelectric conversion efficiency as the segmented TEG module continued to increase linearly at an input voltage of 260 V while the pure TEG module peaked and declined at an input voltage of 250 V.