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Wearable thermoelectric generator to harvest body heat for powering a miniaturized accelerometer

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  • Wang, Yancheng
  • Shi, Yaoguang
  • Mei, Deqing
  • Chen, Zichen

Abstract

Wearable thermoelectric generators (TEGs) enable the conversion of human body heat into microwatts to milliwatt electricity, which can be utilized to power miniaturized electronic devices for motion detection and healthcare monitoring. This paper presents a novel wearable TEG with 52 pairs of cubic-shaped thermoelectric legs to harvest human body heat. The thermoelectric legs are made of P-type and N-type Bi2Te3-based powder materials, and are connected electrically in series through soldering. The flexible printed circuit board (FPCB) with special holes is designed and used as substrate to enhance the flexibility of the TEG for wearable applications. The performances of the TEG, including the bulk thermoelectric legs, are characterized. The results show that the TEG can generate an open-circuit voltage of 37.2 mV at ΔT = 50 K, and the internal resistance of the TEG is quite low at a value of 1.8 Ω. Then the TEG was worn on a human wrist to harvest body heat and power a 3-axis miniaturized accelerometer for detection of body motion at ΔT = 18 K. The results demonstrate that the developed wearable TEG features high output performance and could be utilized for powering electronics and/or sensors by harvesting human body heat.

Suggested Citation

  • Wang, Yancheng & Shi, Yaoguang & Mei, Deqing & Chen, Zichen, 2018. "Wearable thermoelectric generator to harvest body heat for powering a miniaturized accelerometer," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 215(C), pages 690-698.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:215:y:2018:i:c:p:690-698
    DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2018.02.062
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Madan, Deepa & Wang, Zuoqian & Wright, Paul K. & Evans, James W., 2015. "Printed flexible thermoelectric generators for use on low levels of waste heat," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 156(C), pages 587-592.
    2. Suarez, Francisco & Parekh, Dishit P. & Ladd, Collin & Vashaee, Daryoosh & Dickey, Michael D. & Öztürk, Mehmet C., 2017. "Flexible thermoelectric generator using bulk legs and liquid metal interconnects for wearable electronics," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 202(C), pages 736-745.
    3. Wang, Yancheng & Shi, Yaoguang & Mei, Deqing & Chen, Zichen, 2017. "Wearable thermoelectric generator for harvesting heat on the curved human wrist," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 205(C), pages 710-719.
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