In a recent work, we have reported a study on the figure of merit of a thermoelectric system composed by thermoelectric generators connected electrically and thermally in different configurations. In this work, we are interested in analyzing the output power delivered by a thermoelectric system for different arrays of thermoelectric materials in each configuration. Our study shows the impact of...

High performance thermoelectric materials in a wide range of temperatures are essential to broaden the application spectrum of thermoelectric devices. This paper presents experiments on the power and efficiency characteristics of lowand mid-temperature thermoelectric materials. We show that as long as an appreciable temperature difference can be created over a short thermoelectric leg, good pow...

This study suggests using thermoelectric element to generate electric energy from the heat source efficiently. This generator system consists of a Heater, the Lower Heat Transfer Plate to absorb heat from the Heater, Two-Stage Thermoelectric Device module to generate the electric power with the heat transferred from the Lower Heat Transfer Plate, the Upper Heat Transfer Plate to convey the heat...

Heat resources of small temperature difference are easily accessible, free and enormous on the Earth. Thermoelectric effects provide the technology for converting these heat resources directly into electricity. We present designs for electricity generators based on thermoelectric effects that utilize heat resources of small temperature difference, e.g., ocean water at different depths and geoth...

— Thermoelectricity is a general term for a number of effects describing the direct interconversion of heat and electricity. Thermoelectric devices are therefore promising, environmental-friendly alternatives to conventional power generators or cooling units. Since the mid-90s, research on thermoelectric properties and their applications has steadily increased. In the course of years, the devel...

By converting waste heat into electricity through the thermoelectric power of solids without producing greenhouse gas emissions, thermoelectric generators could be an important part of the solution to today’s energy challenge. There has been a resurgence in the search for new materials for advanced thermoelectric energy conversion applications. In this paper, we will review recent efforts on im...

Traditional thermoelectric cooling relies on the Peltier effect which produces a temperature drop limited by the figure of merit, zT. This cooling limit is not required from classical thermodynamics but can be traced to problems of thermoelectric compatibility. Alternatively, if a thermoelectric cooler can be designed to achieve full thermoelectric compatibility, lower temperature can be achiev...

This paper reviews materials for thermoelectric waste heat recovery, and discusses selected industrial and distributed waste heat sources as well as recovery methods that are currently applied. Thermoelectric properties, especially electrical conductivity, thermopower, thermal conductivity and the thermoelectric figures of merit, are considered when evaluating thermoelectric materials for waste...

Thermoelectric materials directly convert thermal energy into electrical energy, offering a promising solid-state solution for waste heat recovery. For thermoelectric devices to make a significant impact on energy and the environment the major impediments are the efficiency, availability and toxicity of current thermoelectric materials. Typically, efficient thermoelectric materials contain heav...

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...