Improving the efficiency of thermoelectric generators by using solar heat concentrators
Improving the efficiency of thermoelectric generators by using solar heat concentrators
In this paper, we propose a method of improving the efficiency of thermoelectric generators (TEGs) by using a lens to concentrate heat on the heat source of a TEG. Initial experiments performed using discrete components show about 60mV increase in the amount of voltage generated when using a magnifying lens. Simulation results on the proposed TEG configuration exhibit up to 16% efficiency when the input heat flux is increased to 500 times that of the sun’s heat flux. The effects of varying the thermoelement length, width, and membrane diameter on the TEG’s performance are also characterized. Lastly, plans to fabricate the device on a SOI wafer in the future are presented
de Leon, Maria Theresa
779b393c-38ac-47dd-b960-818eda45de2c
Taatizadeh, Pouya
d20ccadc-d4f4-4dba-93d4-ba56407684b4
Kraft, Michael
54927621-738f-4d40-af56-a027f686b59f
September 2010
de Leon, Maria Theresa
779b393c-38ac-47dd-b960-818eda45de2c
Taatizadeh, Pouya
d20ccadc-d4f4-4dba-93d4-ba56407684b4
Kraft, Michael
54927621-738f-4d40-af56-a027f686b59f
de Leon, Maria Theresa, Taatizadeh, Pouya and Kraft, Michael
(2010)
Improving the efficiency of thermoelectric generators by using solar heat concentrators.
21st Micromechanics and Microsystems Europe Workshop, Enschede, Netherlands.
26 - 29 Sep 2010.
4 pp
.
Record type:
Conference or Workshop Item
(Poster)
Abstract
In this paper, we propose a method of improving the efficiency of thermoelectric generators (TEGs) by using a lens to concentrate heat on the heat source of a TEG. Initial experiments performed using discrete components show about 60mV increase in the amount of voltage generated when using a magnifying lens. Simulation results on the proposed TEG configuration exhibit up to 16% efficiency when the input heat flux is increased to 500 times that of the sun’s heat flux. The effects of varying the thermoelement length, width, and membrane diameter on the TEG’s performance are also characterized. Lastly, plans to fabricate the device on a SOI wafer in the future are presented
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mme2010_deleon_taatizadeh_kraft_ver2.pdf
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More information
Published date: September 2010
Venue - Dates:
21st Micromechanics and Microsystems Europe Workshop, Enschede, Netherlands, 2010-09-26 - 2010-09-29
Organisations:
Nanoelectronics and Nanotechnology
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 364570
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/364570
PURE UUID: 40269078-cc7e-4bb9-9b02-7111c696fe49
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Date deposited: 08 May 2014 08:38
Last modified: 14 Mar 2024 16:37
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Contributors
Author:
Maria Theresa de Leon
Author:
Pouya Taatizadeh
Author:
Michael Kraft
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