Multiphysics performance evaluation of thermoelectric generator arrays

Thermoelectric generators (TEGs) are widely used nowadays in heat recovery and power generation applications. TEGs are connected in series and/or parallel configurations in an array to meet the voltage and/or current requirements of electric load. Therefore, it is necessary to examine the electrical performance of different TEG array configurations employed in TEG systems. In the present study, a hydro-thermoelectric Multiphysics computational model is experimentally validated by integrating the computational fluid mechanics (CFD) model with the TEG model to test the electrical performance of various TEG array configurations in terms of load voltage, current, associated power, and conversion efficiency. Each TEGs array configuration’s performance is evaluated by varying the hot water temperature from 27 °C to 42 °C and hot/cold water flowrate from 0.5 L/min to 2 L/min. Three various configurations including series and a combination of series and parallel connections were designed. The findings show that the series configuration of the TEGs array generates higher electric power than series and parallel combined configurations whereas the latter achieves the maximum power point at a higher electric current than the series configuration. The comparative analysis of CFD model with the experimental results indicates a maximum discrepancy of 7 %. For thermoelectric power-generating systems, the proposed model might serve as a benchmark for optimizing TEGs array configurations according to the electric load requirements.