Multiobjective analyses of physical dimension on the performance of a TEG--TEC system

The influence of physical dimension of thermocouples on the performance of a thermoelectric cooler (TEC) driven by a thermoelectric generator (TEG) is investigated. The physical dimension parameters include the length and the cross-sectional area of thermocouples. The multiobjective analyses include stable electrical current, cooling capacity, coefficient of performance, maximum cooling capacity and maximum cooling temperature difference. A characteristic parameter, area length ratio, is adopted to describe the physical dimension of thermocouples, based on which the influences of the parameter are analyzed in three cases by detailed numerical examples. A practical example is proposed to show how to select appropriate thermoelectric modules (TEMs) to construct a high-performance TEG--TEC system satisfying different requests. The results show that an improvement in its performance is possible by optimizing internal physical dimension of thermocouples. The conclusion obtained could be used for the selection of TEMs and the design of TEG--TEC systems. Copyright The Author 2010. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oxfordjournals.org, Oxford University Press.