Performance analysis and discussion on the thermoelectric element footprint for PV–TE maximum power generation

Li, Guiqiang; Zhao, Xudong; Jin, Yi; Chen, Xiao; Ji, Jie; Shittu, Samson

Abstract

Geometrical optimisation is a valuable way to improve the efficiency of a thermoelectric element (TE). In a hybrid photovoltaic-thermoelectric (PV-TE) system, the photovoltaic (PV) and thermoelectric (TE) components have a relatively complex relationship; their individual effects mean that geometrical optimisation of the TE element alone may not be sufficient to optimize the entire PV–TE hybrid system. In this paper, we introduce a parametric optimisation of the geometry of the thermoelectric element footprint for a PV–TE system. A uni-couple TE model was built for the PV–TE using the finite element method and temperature-dependent thermoelectric material properties. Two types of PV cells were investigated in this paper and the performance of PV–TE with different lengths of TE elements and different footprint areas was analysed. The outcome showed that no matter the TE element's length and the footprint areas, the maximum power output occurs when An/Ap= 1. This finding is useful, as it provides a reference whenever PV–TE optimisation is investigated.

Citation

Li, G., Zhao, X., Jin, Y., Chen, X., Ji, J., & Shittu, S. (2018). Performance analysis and discussion on the thermoelectric element footprint for PV–TE maximum power generation. Journal of electronic materials, 47(9), 5344-5351. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-018-6421-4

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Jun 8, 2018
• Online Publication Date: Jun 12, 2018
• Publication Date: 2018-09
• Deposit Date: Jun 11, 2018
• Publicly Available Date: Jun 13, 2019
• Print ISSN: 0361-5235
• Publisher: Springer Verlag
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 47
• Issue: 9
• Pages: 5344-5351
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-018-6421-4
• Keywords: PV-TE; Footprint; Uni-couple; Geometry; Finite element method
• Public URL: https://hull-repository.worktribe.com/output/871636
• Publisher URL: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs11664-018-6421-4
• Contract Date: Jul 16, 2018