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Power generation modeling for a wearable thermoelectric energy harvester with practical limitations

Author

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  • Pietrzyk, Kyle
  • Soares, Joseph
  • Ohara, Brandon
  • Lee, Hohyun

Abstract

Recent studies on improving the thermoelectric figure of merit (ZT) have advanced research into self-powered, wearable technologies using thermoelectric generators. However, previous design approaches do not consider structurally practical heat sink and module geometries, the use of a boost converter, or the size constraint of the generator due to aesthetic appeal, all of which lower the overall power output. Additionally, the reduced efficiency in using a boost converter changes the electrical and thermal load matching conditions for maximum power. In this study, the limitations of practicality were considered for a wearable thermoelectric generator that utilizes a state-of-the-art boost converter and an optimized heat sink. Heat sink fin geometries and thermoelectric module geometries were explored to maximize the power output within a 42.0cm2 area and a 1.0cm total height, in order to justify the wearability of the energy harvester. With optimized values of fin and module heights, the system was designed to produce 0.48mW of electrical power at a boosted output voltage of 3.0V, enough to power a small heart-rate monitor.

Suggested Citation

  • Pietrzyk, Kyle & Soares, Joseph & Ohara, Brandon & Lee, Hohyun, 2016. "Power generation modeling for a wearable thermoelectric energy harvester with practical limitations," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 183(C), pages 218-228.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:183:y:2016:i:c:p:218-228
    DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2016.08.186
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    Cited by:

    1. Wu, Shuai & Luk, P.C.K. & Li, Chunfang & Zhao, Xiangyu & Jiao, Zongxia & Shang, Yaoxing, 2017. "An electromagnetic wearable 3-DoF resonance human body motion energy harvester using ferrofluid as a lubricant," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 197(C), pages 364-374.
    2. Watson, Thomas C. & Vincent, Joshua N. & Lee, Hohyun, 2019. "Effect of DC-DC voltage step-up converter impedance on thermoelectric energy harvester system design strategy," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 239(C), pages 898-907.
    3. Yuan, Jinfeng & Zhu, Rong, 2020. "A fully self-powered wearable monitoring system with systematically optimized flexible thermoelectric generator," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 271(C).
    4. Lineykin, Simon & Sitbon, Moshe & Kuperman, Alon, 2021. "Design and optimization of low-temperature gradient thermoelectric harvester for wireless sensor network node on water pipelines," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 283(C).
    5. Nithesh Naik & P. Suresh & Sanjay Yadav & M. P. Nisha & José Luis Arias-Gonzáles & Juan Carlos Cotrina-Aliaga & Ritesh Bhat & Manohara D. Jalageri & Yashaarth Kaushik & Aakif Budnar Kunjibettu, 2023. "A Review on Composite Materials for Energy Harvesting in Electric Vehicles," Energies, MDPI, vol. 16(8), pages 1-19, April.
    6. Sijing Zhu & Zheng Fan & Baoquan Feng & Runze Shi & Zexin Jiang & Ying Peng & Jie Gao & Lei Miao & Kunihito Koumoto, 2022. "Review on Wearable Thermoelectric Generators: From Devices to Applications," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(9), pages 1-27, May.
    7. Xu, Zhiheng & Liu, Yucheng & Williams, Isaiah & Li, Yan & Qian, Fengyu & Wang, Lei & Lei, Yu & Li, Baikun, 2017. "Flat enzyme-based lactate biofuel cell integrated with power management system: Towards long term in situ power supply for wearable sensors," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 194(C), pages 71-80.
    8. Lv, Jin-Ran & Ma, Jin-Lei & Dai, Lu & Yin, Tao & He, Zhi-Zhu, 2022. "A high-performance wearable thermoelectric generator with comprehensive optimization of thermal resistance and voltage boosting conversion," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 312(C).
    9. Shen, Rong & Gou, Xiaolong & Xu, Haoyu & Qiu, Kuanrong, 2017. "Dynamic performance analysis of a cascaded thermoelectric generator," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 203(C), pages 808-815.
    10. Song, Gyeong Ju & Cho, Jae Yong & Kim, Kyung-Bum & Ahn, Jung Hwan & Song, Yewon & Hwang, Wonseop & Hong, Seong Do & Sung, Tae Hyun, 2019. "Development of a pavement block piezoelectric energy harvester for self-powered walkway applications," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 256(C).
    11. Lineykin, Simon & Maslah, Kareem & Kuperman, Alon, 2020. "Manufacturer-data-only-based modeling and optimized design of thermoelectric harvesters operating at low temperature gradients," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 213(C).
    12. Park, Hwanjoo & Eom, Yoomin & Lee, Dongkeon & Kim, Jiyong & Kim, Hoon & Park, Gimin & Kim, Woochul, 2019. "High power output based on watch-strap-shaped body heat harvester using bulk thermoelectric materials," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 187(C).
    13. Liu, Shuang & Hu, Bingkun & Liu, Dawei & Li, Fu & Li, Jing-Feng & Li, Bo & Li, Liangliang & Lin, Yuan-Hua & Nan, Ce-Wen, 2018. "Micro-thermoelectric generators based on through glass pillars with high output voltage enabled by large temperature difference," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 225(C), pages 600-610.
    14. Kim, Choong Sun & Lee, Gyu Soup & Choi, Hyeongdo & Kim, Yong Jun & Yang, Hyeong Man & Lim, Se Hwan & Lee, Sang-Gug & Cho, Byung Jin, 2018. "Structural design of a flexible thermoelectric power generator for wearable applications," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 214(C), pages 131-138.

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