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Heat Transfer in Thermoelectric Modules

A special issue of Entropy (ISSN 1099-4300). This special issue belongs to the section "Thermodynamics".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (15 October 2024) | Viewed by 3997

Special Issue Editors


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Guest Editor
Materials Science Engineering, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA 22908, USA
Interests: electron-phonon transport; thermal-to-electrical energy conversion; thermomagnetic; 2D layered materials; semiconductors; semimetals; heat management
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Guest Editor
Vitreous State Laboratory, Physics Department, The Catholic University of America, Washington, DC, 20064, USA
Interests: thermoelectric; glass-like thermal conductivity; metal-insulator transition; semiconductors; electron-phonon transport; materials design and solid-state synthesis

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Guest Editor Assistant
Department of Engineering, Sweet Briar College, Sweet Briar, VA 24595, USA
Interests: solid-state thermoelectric; solid-state thermionic energy conversion; density functional theory; 2D layered heterostructures; electron-phonon transport

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Thermoelectric modules are used for thermal-to-electrical energy conversion and heat management including refrigeration, cooling, heating, thermal switching, and designing active heat sinks. Passive heat transfer in these modules via conduction within the elements, but also from the side walls via radiation and convection, is important to include when modeling and designing these modules. The electronic component of passive heat transfer via electrons, holes, and bipolar transport, also within the module, adds to the complexity of the problem. In their active mode, under both electric current and temperature gradients, the active components, including the Peltier and Thomson currents and Joule heating, provide knobs to manipulate heat for various applications. The thermal integration of the thermoelectric modules with the heat source, heat sink, and ambient environment is essential in accurate heat management.

This Special Issue focuses on heat management and heat transfer in the context of thermoelectric modules. The Seebeck coefficient, which the basic idea of thermoelectricity relies on, is the average entropy carried by electrons. In a sense, a thermoelectric module is designed to modify the entropy of the integrated system. We invite papers considering materials design, device design, and applications with an emphasis on heat and entropy transfer.

Dr. Mona Zebarjadi
Dr. Sepideh Akhbarifar
Dr. Md Golam Rosul
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

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Keywords

  • heat transfer
  • thermoelectric materials
  • thermoelectric devices
  • thermal conductivity
  • heat management
  • cooling and refrigeration
  • power generation
  • magneto-thermoelectric

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Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

20 pages, 4848 KiB  
Article
Performance Optimization and Exergy Analysis of Thermoelectric Heat Recovery System for Gas Turbine Power Plants
by Ahmad M. Alsaghir and Je-Hyeong Bahk
Entropy 2023, 25(12), 1583; https://doi.org/10.3390/e25121583 - 25 Nov 2023
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 2059
Abstract
Thermoelectric (TE) waste heat recovery has attracted significant attention over the past decades, owing to its direct heat-to-electricity conversion capability and reliable operation. However, methods for application-specific, system-level TE design have not been thoroughly investigated. This work provides detailed design optimization strategies and [...] Read more.
Thermoelectric (TE) waste heat recovery has attracted significant attention over the past decades, owing to its direct heat-to-electricity conversion capability and reliable operation. However, methods for application-specific, system-level TE design have not been thoroughly investigated. This work provides detailed design optimization strategies and exergy analysis for TE waste heat recovery systems. To this end, we propose the use of TE system equipped on the exhaust of a gas turbine power plant for exhaust waste heat recovery and use it as a case study. A numerical tool has been developed to solve the coupled charge and heat current equations with temperature-dependent material properties and convective heat transfer at the interfaces with the exhaust gases at the hot side and with the ambient air at the heat sink side. Our calculations show that at the optimum design with 50% fill factor and 6 mm leg thickness made of state-of-the-art Bi2Te3 alloys, the proposed system can reach power output of 10.5 kW for the TE system attached on a 2 m-long, 0.5 × 0.5 m2-area exhaust duct with system efficiency of 5% and material cost per power of 0.23 $/W. Our extensive exergy analysis reveals that only 1% of the exergy content of the exhaust gas is exploited in this heat recovery process and the exergy efficiency of the TE system can reach 8% with improvement potential of 85%. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Heat Transfer in Thermoelectric Modules)
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11 pages, 2112 KiB  
Article
A Model for Material Metrics in Thermoelectric Thomson Coolers
by Mona Zebarjadi and Omid Akbari
Entropy 2023, 25(11), 1540; https://doi.org/10.3390/e25111540 - 14 Nov 2023
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1327
Abstract
Thomson heat absorption corresponding to changes in the Seebeck coefficient with respect to temperature enables the design of thermoelectric coolers wherein Thomson cooling is the dominant term, i.e., the Thomson coolers. Thomson coolers extend the working range of Peltier coolers to larger temperature [...] Read more.
Thomson heat absorption corresponding to changes in the Seebeck coefficient with respect to temperature enables the design of thermoelectric coolers wherein Thomson cooling is the dominant term, i.e., the Thomson coolers. Thomson coolers extend the working range of Peltier coolers to larger temperature differences and higher electrical currents. The Thomson coefficient is small in most materials. Recently, large Thomson coefficient values have been measured attributed to thermally induced phase change during magnetic and structural phase transitions. The large Thomson coefficient observed can result in the design of highly efficient Thomson coolers. This work analyzes the performance of Thomson coolers analytically and sets the metrics for evaluating the performance of materials as their constituent components. The maximum heat flux when the Thomson coefficient is constant is obtained and the performance is compared to Peltier coolers. Three dimensionless parameters are introduced which determine the performance of the Thomson coolers and can be used to analyze the coefficient of performance, the maximum heat flux, and the maximum temperature difference of a Thomson cooler. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Heat Transfer in Thermoelectric Modules)
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