Efficiency of Inhomogeneous Thermoelectric Generators

Abstract

We revisit the classical problem of the efficiency of inhomogeneous thermoelectric generators. The effects of different physical parameters on the efficiency of a generator are studied by solving the Domenicali's equation numerically. It is found that the efficiency of a thermoelectric generator is insensitive to both the electrical resistivity and thermal conductivity. However, the efficiency of a thermoelectric generator can be improved by various designs of the Seebeck coefficient.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 2010
Accession Number
ADA528010

Entities

People

  • Hong Zhou

Organizations

  • Naval Postgraduate School

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Applied Mathematics
  • Boundaries
  • Boundary Value Problems
  • Coefficients
  • Conductivity
  • Efficiency
  • Electric Generators
  • Electrical Properties
  • Electricity
  • Energy
  • Equations
  • Generators
  • Heat Energy
  • Heat Transmission
  • Mathematics
  • Steady State
  • Thermal Conductivity

Fields of Study

  • Materials science
  • Mathematics

Readers

  • Finite Element Method (FEM) for solving Partial Differential Equations (PDEs)
  • Solar Photovoltaics and Thermoelectric Devices.