Influence of structure parameters on performance of the thermoelectric module

Abstract

A numerical model of thermoelectric module (TEM) is created by academic analysis, and the impacts of the resistance ratio and thermoelement size on the output power and thermoelectric efficiency of the TEM are analyzed by the MATLAB numerical calculation. The numerical model is validated by the ANSYS thermal, electrical, and structural coupling simulation. The effects of the variable physical property parameters and contact effect on the output power and thermoelectric efficiency are evaluated, and the concept of aspect ratio optimal domain is proposed, which provides a new design approach for the TEM.

Keywords

thermoelectric module (TEM) / thermoelement / contact effect / variable physical property parameters / output power / thermoelectric efficiency

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