procedures for a thermoelectric generator in thermal vote a source with high thermal resistance and maintained a thermoelectric generator

摘要

The present invention relates to thermoelectric generators (TEGs) and more specifically to TEGs operated with a heat source having a high thermal resistance, more specifically to TEGs operated under conditions of non-constant heat flow and non-constant temperature difference between a hot plate (37) and a cold plate (38).;A thermoelectric generator for connection between a heat source and a heat sink comprises a thermopile unit, the thermopile unit comprising at least one thermopile stage (21), each thermopile stage comprising a number of thermocouples each having a couple of thermocouple legs, the thermocouple legs being provided in between a hot junction plane comprising the hottest junctions of the thermopile stage and a cold junction plane comprising the coldest junctions of the thermopile stage. The number of thermocouples in the thermoelectric generator is such that the thermal resistance (RTEG) of the thermoelectric generator between the hot junction plane and the cold junction plane does not deviate more than 50%, preferably not more than 5% from the thermal resistance of the ambient (Rth,amb), being the sum of the thermal resistance of the heat source, the thermal resistance of the heat sink and the thermal resistance of all parts of the thermoelectric generator serially coupled to the at least one thermopile stage, multiplied by the parasitic thermal resistance (RTEG,0,1) between the hot junction plane and the cold junction plane for a same thermoelectric generator but comprising no thermocouples or only one thermocouple leg, this product being divided by the sum of the parasitic thermal resistance (RTEG,0,1) between the hot junction plane and the cold junction plane for a same thermoelectric generator but comprising no thermocouples or only one thermocouple leg, summed with twice the thermal resistance of the ambient (Rth.0.1,amb), for a same thermoelectric generator but comprising no thermocouples or only one thermocouple leg.