Using a hyperbolic structure to enhance thse dynamic performance of a thermoelectric generator

A TEG typically operates in a dynamic environment and efforts invested on furthering TEG should focus on the dynamic performance. A hyperbolically-shaped variable cross-section design is proposed to improve a TEG's performance under a sinusoidal thermal load. To this end, a transient TEG model was established in SIMULINK in which the TEG heat transfer process is simulated as an electrical circuit. Because of the mathematical equiva-lence, the transient thermal behavior can be solved and recognized by a circuit simulator in SIMULINK. The simulations indicate that when the source temperature and ambient temperature are given, the hyperbolic shape, with a shape factor beta in a range of-2.5 to 1.5, provides a higher power output and a better overall efficiency compared to the non-tapered TEG (beta = 0). Additionally, it was found that in decreasing the period of the oscillating source temperature from 60 mins to 10 mins, there are obvious improvements in both the mean output power and overall efficiency of the hyperbolic TEG.