Design, modeling and utilization of thermoelectrical materials and devices in energy systems

Thermoelectric generators can convert waste heat that abounds in modern societies into electricity in an environmentally-friendly and reliable manner, and many applications of thermoelectric devices can be envisaged. The research of this PhD dissertation focuses thermoelectric generator modeling at a device level as well as its applications in energy systems. The purpose is to introduce the use of thermoelectric generator into energy systems, and to indicate the impact of implementing thermoelectric generator on the design and operation of energy systems. For this purpose, this dissertation produces numerical models as versatile simulation tools to identify speci c optimum design criteria for thermoelectric generators used in various associated thermal and electrical systems, so that the generation performance can be improved due to the optimum system design.