Enhanced behaviour of a passive thermoelectric generator with phase change heat exchangers and radiative cooling
Astrain, David (Universidad Pública de Navarra)
Jaramillo Fernández, Juliana (Institut Català de Nanociència i Nanotecnologia)
Araiz, Miguel (Universidad Pública de Navarra)
Francone, Achille (Institut Català de Nanociència i Nanotecnologia)
Catalán, Leyre (Universidad Pública de Navarra)
Jacobo-Martín, Alejandra (Institut Català de Nanociència i Nanotecnologia)
Alegría, Patricia (Universidad Pública de Navarra)
Sotomayor Torres, Clivia M. (Institut Català de Nanociència i Nanotecnologia)

Date:	2023
Abstract:	Heat exchangers are essential to optimize the efficiency of Thermoelectric Generators (TEGs), and heat pipes without fans have proven to be an advantageous design as it maintains the characteristic robustness of thermoelectricity, low maintenance and lack of moving parts. However, the efficiency of these heat exchangers decreases under natural convection conditions, reducing their heat transfer capacity and thus thermoelectric power production. This work reports on a novel heat exchanger that combines for the first time, phase change and radiative cooling in a thermoelectric generator to improve its efficiency and increase the production of electrical energy, specially under natural convection. For this, two thermoelectric generators with heat-pipes on their cold sides have been tested: one with the radiative coating and the other without it. Their thermal resistances have been determined and the electric power output was compared under different working conditions, namely, natural convection and forced convection indoors and outdoors. The experimental tests show a clear reduction of the heat exchanger thermal resistance thanks to the radiative coating and consequently, an increase of electric production 8. 3 % with outdoor wind velocities of 1 m/s, and up to 54. 8 % under free convection conditions. The application of the radiative surface treatment is shown to result in a more stable electrical energy production, suppressing the drastic decrease in the generated electric power that occurs in thermoelectric generators when they work under free convection.
Grants:	Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación TED2021-129359B-I00 Agencia Estatal de Investigación PGC2018-101743-B-I00 Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación PID2021-124014OB-I00 Agencia Estatal de Investigación RTI2018-093921-A-C44
Rights:	Aquest document està subjecte a una llicència d'ús Creative Commons. Es permet la reproducció total o parcial, la distribució, i la comunicació pública de l'obra, sempre que no sigui amb finalitats comercials, i sempre que es reconegui l'autoria de l'obra original. No es permet la creació d'obres derivades.
Language:	Anglès
Document:	Article ; recerca ; Versió publicada
Published in:	Applied thermal engineering, Vol. 225 (May 2023) , art. 120162, ISSN 1359-4311

DOI: 10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2023.120162

11 p, 3.9 MB

The record appears in these collections:
Research literature > UAB research groups literature > Research Centres and Groups (research output) > Experimental sciences > Catalan Institute of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology (ICN2)
Articles > Research articles
Articles > Published articles