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A comprehensive review of thermoelectric technology: Materials, applications, modelling and performance improvement

Twaha, Ssennoga, Zhu, Jie, Yan, Yuying, Li, Bo (2016) A comprehensive review of thermoelectric technology: Materials, applications, modelling and performance improvement. Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, 65 . pp. 698-726. ISSN 1364-0321. (doi:10.1016/j.rser.2016.07.034) (The full text of this publication is not currently available from this repository. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided) (KAR id:87846)

The full text of this publication is not currently available from this repository. You may be able to access a copy if URLs are provided.
Official URL:
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rser.2016.07.034

Abstract

Thermoelectric (TE) technology is regarded as alternative and environmentally friendly technology for harvesting and recovering heat which is directly converted into electrical energy using thermoelectric generators (TEG). Conversely, Peltier coolers and heaters are utilised to convert electrical energy into heat energy for cooling and heating purposes The main challenge lying behind the TE technology is the low efficiency of these devices mainly due to low figure of merit (ZT) of the materials used in making them. The objective of this work is to carry out a comprehensive review of TE technology encompassing the materials, applications, modelling techniques and performance improvement. The paper has covered a wide range of topics related to TE technology subject area including the output power conditioning techniques. It is observed that the intensified research into TE technology has led to an outstanding increase in ZT, rendering the use TE devices in diversified application a reality. The performance improvements of TE devices have been mainly contributed by improved TE material research, TE device geometrical adjustments, design of integrated TE devices as well as the use of advanced TE mathematical models which have facilitated appropriate segmentation of TE modules using different materials. TE devices are observed to have booming applications in cooling, heating, electric power generation as well as hybrid applications. With the generation of electrical energy using TEG, not only does the waste heat provide heat source but also other energy sources like solar, geothermal, biomass, infra-red radiation have gained increased utilization in TE based systems. However, the main challenge remains in striking the balance between the conflicting parameters; ZT and power factor, when designing and optimizing advanced TE materials. Hence more research is necessary to overcome this and other challenge so that the performance TE device can be improved further.

Item Type: Article
DOI/Identification number: 10.1016/j.rser.2016.07.034
Uncontrolled keywords: Heating; Cooling; TEG/TEC materials; TEG Structures; TEG Modelling; TEG/TEC performance improvement
Subjects: T Technology > TJ Mechanical engineering and machinery > Control engineering
Divisions: Divisions > Division of Computing, Engineering and Mathematical Sciences > School of Engineering and Digital Arts
Depositing User: Amy Boaler
Date Deposited: 30 Apr 2021 13:32 UTC
Last Modified: 17 Aug 2022 12:22 UTC
Resource URI: https://kar.kent.ac.uk/id/eprint/87846 (The current URI for this page, for reference purposes)

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