DESIGN OPTIMIZATION BY NUMERICAL SIMULATION OF SEGMENTED-LEGS Bi2Te3 BASED THERMOELECTRIC GENERATOR MODULE

摘要

A Bi_2Te_3 based thermoelectric generator (TEG) module has been designed to operate with a hot temperature of 170°C, using bi-segmented legs, for each conduction type, with thermoelectric alloys optimized for the hot and cold ends. A finite element approach, implemented by the ANSYS Workbench software, with independently adjusted segmentation of N- and P-type legs, has optimized the design to obtain a maximum power gain of 4% with respect to the optimized power of a TEG (40×40 mm~2, 254 legs) without segmentation. The thermomechanical simulation of the optimized module provides the temperature and stress distribution in all module elements. In particular it clarifies the role of the soldering layers. Our stress distribution results indicate that the brittle TE alloys of the optimized TEG module can withstand the temperature induced deformations and the predicted mechanical stress.