Thermoelectric Field Analysis of Trapezoidal Thermoelectric Generator Based on the Explicit Analytical Solution of Annular Thermoelectric Generator

Abstract

The geometrical configuration is one of the main factors that affect the thermoelectric performance of a device. Research on the trapezoidal thermoelectric generator (TTEG) with varied cross section is mainly based on finite element simulation and experiment. In this paper, an explicit analytical solution of the maximum output power of annular thermoelectric generators (ATEG) is proposed, which has been proved to have high accuracy. Then, the maximum output power between ATEG and TTEG is compared. Results show that, for the appropriate geometric parameter δ, the relative error of maximum output power between explicit analytical ATEG and the simulated solution of TTEG can reach the order of 10−3. When the hot end is at the a side, the high temperature and θ is 510 K and 10°, respectively. For Bi2Te3 material and PbTe material, the relative error of maximum output power between the explicit analytical and simulated solution is 0.0261% and 0.074%, respectively. Under suitable working conditions, the explicit analytical results of ATEG can provide some reference for the performance optimization of TTEG.