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ABSTRACT
The electric power produced by a thermoelectric generator (TEG) is strongly influenced by the applied heat sink. While a TEG is aimed at harvesting waste heat, the optimization of the efficiency of the heat sink is a key task for the design of waste heat recovery systems implementing TEG. A TEG model is proposed and implemented in an open source toolbox for field operation and manipulation (OpenFOAM) for the purpose of performing optimizations of the heat sink, using a commercially available TEG as basis. This model includes the multi-physics thermoelectric coupled effects. Conservation principles of energy and current are considered simultaneously. This includes the thermal and electric conduction, Seebeck effect, Peltier effect, Thomson effect, and Joule heating. Particular attention is given to a proper modeling of the boundary conditions. The thermoelectric model is implemented in such a way that it can readily be combined with other physical models in OpenFOAM. The model is validated by comparing the predictions to analytical results, measurements as well as the simulation data of other authors.
NOMENCLATURE
| A | = | Cross sectional area, m² |
| = | Electric field intensity vector, V/m² | |
| FEM | = | Finite Element Method |
| FVM | = | Finite Volume Method |
| I | = | Electric current, A |
| = | Electric current density vector, A/m² | |
| K | = | Thermal conductance, W/K |
| l | = | length, m |
| ORC | = | Organic Rankine Cycle |
| P | = | Electric power, W |
| Q | = | Heat flow rate, W |
| R | = | Resistance, Ω |
| T | = | Temperature, K |
| TEG | = | Thermoelectric Generator |
| x | = | material property |
| = | average material property |
Greek Symbols
| α | = | Seebeck coefficient, V/K |
| δ | = | Distance from boundary face centre to internal cell centre |
| η | = | Efficiency, % |
| λ | = | Thermal conductivity, W/mK |
| σ | = | Electric conductivity, S/m |
| ϕ | = | Electric scalar potential, V |
| ω | = | Weighting for mixed boundary condition |
Subscripts
| b | = | boundary |
| C | = | cold |
| H | = | hot |
| i | = | internal cell centre |
| iNbr | = | internal cell centre next to Nbr |
| n | = | n-type material |
| Nbr | = | neighbour boundary |
| p | = | p-type material |
| 0 | = | sink |
Additional information
Notes on contributors
Björn Pfeiffelmann
Björn Pfeiffelmann is a Ph.D. student at the Center of Flow Simulation (CFS) supervised by Prof. Benim (Düsseldorf University of Applied Sciences) and Prof. Joos (Helmut Schmidt University, Hamburg). He received a Bachelor of Engineering degree in 2010 and a Master of Science degree in 2013 from Düsseldorf University of Applied Sciences, Germany. The topic of his Master Thesis was the optimization of reaction mechanisms for oxyfuel combustion. His doctoral research is focused on the modeling of the thermoelectric generator systems.
Ali Cemal Benim
Ali Cemal Benim received his B.Sc. and M.Sc. in Mechanical Engineering from the Bosphorus University of Istanbul, Turkey, and Ph.D. degree from the University of Stuttgart, Germany in1988. Following his Postdoctoral period at the University of Stuttgart, he joined ABB Turbo Systems Ltd. in Baden, Switzerland in 1990. He was the Manager of the Computational Flow and Combustion Modelling group. Since 1996, he is Professor for Flow Simulation and Energy Technology at the Düsseldorf University of Applied Sciences, Germany. Currently, he is also affiliated with the Cracow University of Technology, Poland, as a Research Professor.
Franz Joos
Franz Joos received his Diploma (1980) and Ph.D. (1984) degrees in Mechanical Engineering from the Technical University of Munich, Germany. In the period 1984–1993, he was responsible for the development of Aero-Engine Combustors at the company MTU Aero Engines Munich. In the following period between 1993 and 1999, he was responsible for Industrial Gas Turbine Combustor development (design of the GT24/GT26 SEV combustor, development of the GT25/GT26 EV/SEV combustor) at the company ABB Power Generation Switzerland (later ALSTOM Switzerland). From 1999 to 2001, he was Professor for Aerodynamics, Thermodynamics and Turbomachinery at the Cologne University of Applied Sciences, Germany. Since 2001, he is Professor for Power Engineering at the Helmut Schmidt University/The University of the Federal Armed Forces in Hamburg, Germany, and Head of the Laboratory of Turbomachinery.