Simulation and Optimization for System Integration of a Solar Thermoelectric Device

摘要

We established a three-dimensional (3D) finite-element model of a solar thermoelectric device (STED) based on high-performance thermoelectric materials and carried out performance analysis under different operating conditions. The effects of input energy, natural convection, radiation, contact resistance, and electric load on STED performance are taken into account. It is shown that heat losses and contact resistance have a significant impact on conversion efficiency. If contact resistance and all heat losses are neglected, the total STED efficiency can reach 9.95%.