A thermoelectric generator using loop heat pipe and design match for maximum-power generation

Huang, Bin-Juine; Hsu, Po-Chien; Tsai, Rung-Je; Hussain, Muhammad Mustafa

A thermoelectric generator using loop heat pipe and design match for maximum-power generation

Files

1-s2.0-S1359431115008558-main.pdf (1.35 MB)

Type

Article

Authors

Huang, Bin-Juine
Hsu, Po-Chien
Tsai, Rung-Je
Hussain, Muhammad Mustafa

KAUST Department

Computer, Electrical and Mathematical Sciences and Engineering (CEMSE) Division
Electrical Engineering Program
Integrated Nanotechnology Lab
Physical Science and Engineering (PSE) Division

Online Publication Date

2015-09-05

Print Publication Date

2015-12

Date

2015-09-05

Abstract

The present study focuses on the thermoelectric generator (TEG) using loop heat pipe (LHP) and design match for maximum-power generation. The TEG uses loop heat pipe, a passive cooling device, to dissipate heat without consuming power and free of noise. The experiments for a TEG with 4W rated power show that the LHP performs very well with overall thermal resistance 0.35 K W-1, from the cold side of TEG module to the ambient. The LHP is able to dissipate heat up to 110W and is maintenance free. The TEG design match for maximum-power generation, called “near maximum-power point operation (nMPPO)”, is studied to eliminate the MPPT (maximum-power point tracking controller). nMPPO is simply a system design which properly matches the output voltage of TEG with the battery. It is experimentally shown that TEG using design match for maximum-power generation (nMPPO) performs better than TEG with MPPT.

Citation

A thermoelectric generator using loop heat pipe and design match for maximum-power generation 2015 Applied Thermal Engineering