Effect of non-uniform illumination on performance of solar thermoelectric generators
Received date: 24 May 2017
Accepted date: 18 Sep 2017
Published date: 04 Jun 2018
Copyright
Solar thermoelectric generators (STEGs) are heat engines which can generate electricity from concentrated sunlight. The non-uniform illumination caused by the optical concentrator may affect the performance of solar thermoelectric generators. In this paper, a three-dimensional finite element model of solar thermoelectric generators is established. The two-dimensional Gaussian distribution is employed to modify the illumination profiles incident on the thermoelectric generator. Six non-uniformities of solar illumination are investigated while keeping the total energy constant. The influences of non-uniform illumination on the temperature distribution, the voltage distribution, and the maximum output power are respectively discussed. Three thermoelectric generators with 32, 18 and 8 pairs of thermocouples are compared to investigate their capability under non-uniform solar radiation. The result shows that the non-uniformity of the solar illumination has a great effect on the temperature distribution and the voltage distribution. Central thermoelectric legs can achieve a larger temperature difference and generate a larger voltage than peripheral ones. The non-uniform solar illumination will weaken the capability of the TE generator, and the maximum output power decrease by 1.4% among the range of non-uniformity studied in this paper. Reducing the number of the thermoelectric legs for non-uniform solar illumination can greatly increase the performance of the thermoelectric generator.
Ershuai YIN , Qiang LI , Yimin XUAN . Effect of non-uniform illumination on performance of solar thermoelectric generators[J]. Frontiers in Energy, 2018 , 12(2) : 239 -248 . DOI: 10.1007/s11708-018-0533-7
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