A numerical simulation of thermoelectric effects in single-junction thermal converters

1 Abstract -Thermoelectric effects in a single-junction thermal converter (SJTC) are responsible for an ac-dc transfer difference of the order of a few parts in 10. Different thermoelectric effects are found in SJTCs. These are characterized by different timeconstants that reflect the characteristic scales of the thermoelectric effects and, hence, may give us a clue for identifying the location and the cause of the thermoelectric effects. A numerical simulation for a fast-reversed dc (FRDC) measurement was performed for the SJTC to determine the relationship between the characteristic scale of the thermoelectric effect and the characteristic time-constants associated with it. The relationship was in good agreement with a simple formula proposed for a one-dimensional thermal system. Index Terms -AC-DC difference, ac-dc transfer, thermoelectric effects, thermal converter, numerical simulation.