TY - JOUR
TI - Effect of core flow heat transfer enhancement on power generation characteristics of thermoelectric generators with different performances
AU - Li Yanzhe
AU - Wang Shixue
AU - Fu Yunchi
AU - Zhao Yulong
AU - Yue Like
JN - Thermal Science
PY - 2022
VL - 26
IS - 2
SP - 1785
EP - 1797
PT - Article
AB - In this study, the effect of enhancing the core flow heat transfer with metal  foam on the performance of thermoelectric generators with different power  generation characteristics is studied experimentally. Filling the core flow  area of the gas channel in a thermoelectric generator with metal foam can  greatly improve the heat transfer capacity of the gas channel with a small  pressure loss, thereby improving the power generation efficiency. The  results show that, first, the heat transfer enhancement achieved by  partially filling the core area of the gas channel with metal foam can  significantly improve the performance of thermoelectric generators, the  maximum output power is about 1.5 times higher than that of the unfilled  channel. Second, for a thermoelectric generator with different modules, the  friction coefficient for different filling ratios increases by about 16  times at most, while the Nu value increases by only three times at most, and  according to the PEC of the gas channel, metal foam with high filling rate  and low pore density is more suitable for the thermoelectric generator.  Third, it is more appropriate to use the thermoelectric module with a high  figure of merit as the selection criterion for deciding whether to adopt the  technique of enhancing heat exchange through the gas channel. The maximum  output power and efficiency of the thermoelectric generator using the high  figure of merit module are 300% and 160% higher than those of the  thermoelectric generator using the low figure of merit module, respectively.