Thermoelectric Properties of Two Component Composites

Abstract

ABSTRACTAn explicit expression for the bulk effective thermoelectric coefficient αe of a two component composite is derived. This coefficient is found to depend only on the bulk effective electric conductivity σe and thermal conductivity γe, as well as on the moduli of the pure components. Using this expression and making standard scaling assumptions about the forms of σe and γe, the scaling behavior of αe, and of the effective figure of merit Ze are investigated. This behavior depends strongly on the thermal and electric conductivities ratios in the pure components. Upper and lower bounds for αe are calculated from its analytical properties.