Effect of non-uniform heat flux on solar thermoelectric generator

Abstract

Solar thermoelectric generators (TEGs) need concentrators to increase the irradiation intensity, thus achieving increased generation performance. However, the irradiation intensity on the surface of the TEG is not uniform, which in turn affects the thermoelectric performance of solar thermoelectric generators. In this study, a numerical model of the TEG is constructed to study the effect of non-uniform heat flux on the performance. The results show that at a total input heat of 150 W, the temperature of the center of the module gradually increases with the increase of the unevenness of the heat flux at the hot end of the TEG. The maximum temperature difference is up to 46.2 K, while the output power is reduced by 3.8%. The effect of non-uniformity of heat flux should be considered in concentrated solar thermoelectric generation systems.

Keywords

• Non-uniform heat flow
• Thermoelectric generator
• Solar energy
• Output power