ICT2014 Abstracts

The field of thermoelectrics has been receiving high interest, driven by the need to reduce our dependence on fossil fuels. Today, most energy resources are discharged as waste heat into the environment without practical applications. Such exhaust heat from automobiles, factories, and other sources is approximately 60% of the initial energy, but is difficult to reclaim, because the sources are small and widely dispersed.

Thermoelectric phenomena, which involves the conversion between thermal and electrical energy is expected to play an increasingly important role in global sustainable energy solution. As thermoelectric generators are solid-state devices with no moving parts, they are silent, reliable and scalable, making them ideal for small, distributed power generation. Thermoelectric generators have found niche applications for space missions, laboratory equipment, and medical applications, where cost and energy efficiency are not as important as energy availability, reliability, predictability, and the quiet operation of equipment.

This work aims to develop a dedicated mesurement system to characterise high temperature thermoelectric power generation modules (TEGs). The system will simulate real worl application conditions and acquire crucial module parameters such as efficiency, maximum power output, open circuit voltage. The system will be able to comprehensively characterise TEGs ranging from low temperature bismuth telluride, mid temperature lead telluride based modules to high temperature oxide TEGs. This will be achieved by combining controllable temperature gradient, different atmospheres, varying compression force and electric load within a specifically designed measurement system.