Experimental Study on Effect of Operating Conditions on Thermoelectric Power Generation

Effect of boundary conditions of thermal reservoirs on power generation of thermoelectric modules (TEMs) is examined experimentally. To realize the characteristics of the power generation by the TEMs, the system performance is studied over various volumetric flow rates and flow temperatures of the hot gas and in the heat sink over a wide range of electrical load. The results show a significant influence of forced convection produced by an axial fan in the heat sink in comparison with natural convection. Also, both of the temperature and volumetric flow rate of the hot gas have a substantial effect on power generation by the TEMs. Lower volumetric flow rate in the heat sink is suggested to save fan power because it is found that higher volumetric flow rates on the cold side after the optimal flow rate does not have much effect on the power generation by TEMs. The maximum power produced by tested TEMs is 4.59 W at temperature difference equal to 133.78°C.