The Journal of the Korea institute of electronic communication sciences (한국전자통신학회논문지)

Korea Institute of Electronic Communication Science (한국전자통신학회)
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Geometric Thermoelectric Generator Leg Shape Design for Efficient Waste Heat Recovery

효율적인 폐열 회수를 위한 기하학적 열전소자 다리 설계

  • Hyeon-Woo Kang ;
  • Jung-Hoe Kim ;
  • Young-Ki Cho ;
  • Won-Seok Choi ;
  • Hyun-Ji Lee ;
  • Hun-Kee Kim (Dept. Materials Processing and Engineering, Inha University)
  • 강현우 (인하대학교 첨단소재공정공학) ;
  • 김중회 (국방과학연구소 항공기술연구원 3부 2팀) ;
  • 조영기 (LIG넥스원 PGM 핵심기술연구소 1팀) ;
  • 최원석 (LIG넥스원 PGM 핵심기술연구소 1팀) ;
  • 이현지 (LIG넥스원 PGM 핵심기술연구소 1팀) ;
  • 김헌기 (인하대학교 첨단소재공정공학과)
  • Received : 2024.04.29
  • Accepted : 2024.06.12
  • Published : 2024.06.30
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Abstract

Thermoelectric generator (TEG) generally do not have high heat conversion efficiencies. The performance of a thermoelectric generator module depends on the shape of the legs as well as the properties of the material and the number of legs. In this study, the leg shapes of thermoelectric elements are modeled into various geometric structures such as cylinder and cube shaped to efficiently harvest waste heat, and the electrical characteristics are compared numerically. The temperature gradient and power generation according to the bridge shape are found to be highest at the existing Cube shape. As a result of comparing the power generation using the cooling effect, the Cone shape was the highest in natural convection and the Hourglass shape was highest in forced convection. Research results confirm that geometry can affect the efficiency of thermoelectric generators.

열전 발전기(TEG)는 일반적으로 열 변환 효율이 높지 않다. 열전 발전기 모듈의 성능은 재료의 특성, 다리의 개수 외에도 다리의 형상에 따라 달라진다. 본 연구에서는 폐열을 효율적으로 수확할 수 있도록 열전소자의 다리 형상을 원통형, 큐브형 등 다양한 기하학적 구조로 모델링하여 전기적 특성을 수치상으로 비교하였다. 다리 형상에 따른 온도분포 및 발전량을 비교하였고 기존 Cube 모양이 가장 높게 나타났다. 냉각효과를 적용한 발전량을 비교한 결과 자연대류에서는 Cone, 강제대류에서는 Hourglass 모양이 가장 높았다. 본 연구 결과에 따르면 기하학적 구조가 열전 발전기의 효율에 영향을 미칠 수 있음을 확인하였다

Keywords

Acknowledgement

본 논문은 2024년도 LIG Nex1과 국방과학연구소의 재원을 지원받아 수행된 연구임.

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