Research on Performance Optimization of Semiconductor Thermoelectric Generaor Based on Phase Change Material

Abstract

In recent years, the use of phase change material (PCM) to improve the output performance of semiconductor thermoelectric generator (TEG) and maintain the long-term operation of TEG has been widely concerned. In view of the current situation that the existing PCM-TEG combination methods are complicated and lack of unified understanding, this paper established a PCM-TEG coupling mathematical model, compared the system performance when PCM is arranged on the hot side, cold side and double sides of TEG, and proposed a skeleton with PCM design and verified its effectiveness. The results show that, through the design of PCM, the output capacity of the TEG can be improved by the device thermal management, which can effectively avoid the failure of thermoelectric devices due to its own heat storage capacity. The skeleton with PCM design is superior to the conventional PCM-TEG system performance. The design of hot-side-PCM-TEG on the double-sides-PCM-TEG on double sides can effectively maintain the stable operation of TEG. Enhancing the heat transfer capacity of TEG on the cold side can make up for the defect of insufficient output performance of hot-side-PCM-TEG. The study results can provide a reference for the next research on the relevant application of PCM-TEG.

Keywords

• thermal management
• thermoelectric generator (teg)
• phase change material (pcm)
• enhanced heat transfer
• skeleton
• failure