FINITE ELEMENT ANALYSIS OF SOLID-STATE THERMOELECTRIC GENERATOR WITH VARYING CONFIGURATIONS

This project aims to design and study a high-efficiency solid-state heat to electricity conversion device using a Thermoelectric Generator (TEG). The device is proposed to be placed within the exhaust system of a car such that the electricity generated may be used to power up small electrical devices within the vehicle. TEG can also be coupled with existing solar technology to harvest energy from the sun. Finite Element Analysis is used to find the maximum electrical power and device efficiency across a wide hot junction temperature range, from 150°C to 700°C (while maintaining a cold junction temperature of 30°C). Results show that by pairing high-performance p-type thermoelectric materials, BiSbTe and PbTe with excellent n-type materials, BiTeSe and Yb-CoSb3 to build segmented legs, the TEG achieved a peak efficiency of 14.12% and 16.6% when Δ