ICT2014 Abstracts

Thermoelectric costs in applications in which the mean temperature (between the cold and the hot temperature) is above 275 ⁰C can be very promising [1]. The reduced costs are obtained thanks to the costless nature of the waste-heat, perfect scenarios to install thermoelectric generators. These costs convert thermoelectricity in a competitive technology, exalting its advantages: compactness, portability and robustness.

This work studies the feasibility of installing a thermoelectric generator at the exhaust channel of a combustion chamber fueled with natural gas. The combustion chamber is capable of modifying the fuel and air mass flows, obtaining variable mass flows and temperatures of the smoke from the combustion process. The prototype is composed of 48 thermoelectric modules capable of enduring up to 250 ⁰C on their hot side distributed in 12 thermoelectric units with a dissipation system each. In total, two kinds of finned dissipators and two kinds of heat pipes have been used, all of them provided with fans to make air circulate over their fins.

The thermal resistances of both sides of the thermoelectric modules determine the thermoelectric generation [2]. Therefore, a study of the influence of the heat exchangers located on the cold side over the net thermoelectric generation has been conducted; including as variables the power consumption of the fans, the geometry of the dissipation systems and the characteristics of the smoke (temperature and mass flow).

[1] LeBlanc, S., Yee, S.Y., Scullin, M.L., Dames, C., Material and manufacturing cost considerations for thermoelectrics, Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews 2014, vol. 32, pp. 313-327.

[2] Astrain, D. Vián, JG. Martínez, A. Rodríguez, A. Study of the influence of heat exchangers’ thermal resistances on a thermoelectric generation system. Energy 2010, vol. 35, pp. 602-612.