IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/eee/appene/v256y2019ics0306261919316174.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Novel model and maximum power tracking algorithm for thermoelectric generators operated under constant heat flux

Author

Listed:
  • Compadre Torrecilla, Marcos
  • Montecucco, Andrea
  • Siviter, Jonathan
  • Knox, Andrew R.
  • Strain, Andrew

Abstract

Thermoelectric generators (TEGs) are solid-state devices used to convert heat into electricity. The use of TEGs in waste heat recovery systems offers a source of sustainable electricity, which helps to reduce emissions to the environment. Optimization of the electrical operating point of TEGs is important to improve the overall efficiency of TEG systems. Previous literature focused mostly on characterizing the maximum power point (MPP) of TEGs when operating at constant temperature difference. However, in most practical applications TEGs operate under constant or limited heat conditions. In fact, in waste heat recovery systems the amount of thermal energy is limited. This work presents a new simplified TEG model that simulates the dynamic response of the TEG systems with a good degree of accuracy. With the aid of this TEG model, power and control electronics have been designed to operate a TEG system, with limited input heat flux, at its optimum load. The control architecture is based on the perturb and observe maximum power point tracking (MPPT) technique and modified totake into consideration the thermal transient response of the TEG. A boost dc-dc converter is used to step-up the TEG voltage to 28 V for connection to an eight-cell Lithium-Ion battery. A microcontroller implements the control algorithm that drives the power converter. Experimental results show that the proposed algorithm outperforms two state-of-the-art algorithms (standard perturb and observe and fractional open-circuit) by 1.14% and 2.08%, respectively, when the TEG operates under constant heat flux.

Suggested Citation

  • Compadre Torrecilla, Marcos & Montecucco, Andrea & Siviter, Jonathan & Knox, Andrew R. & Strain, Andrew, 2019. "Novel model and maximum power tracking algorithm for thermoelectric generators operated under constant heat flux," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 256(C).
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:256:y:2019:i:c:s0306261919316174
    DOI: 10.1016/j.apenergy.2019.113930
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0306261919316174
    Download Restriction: Full text for ScienceDirect subscribers only
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1016/j.apenergy.2019.113930?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Kinsella, C.E. & O’Shaughnessy, S.M. & Deasy, M.J. & Duffy, M. & Robinson, A.J., 2014. "Battery charging considerations in small scale electricity generation from a thermoelectric module," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 114(C), pages 80-90.
    2. Suter, C. & Jovanovic, Z.R. & Steinfeld, A., 2012. "A 1kWe thermoelectric stack for geothermal power generation – Modeling and geometrical optimization," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 99(C), pages 379-385.
    3. Aranguren, P. & Astrain, D. & Rodríguez, A. & Martínez, A., 2015. "Experimental investigation of the applicability of a thermoelectric generator to recover waste heat from a combustion chamber," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 152(C), pages 121-130.
    4. O’Shaughnessy, S.M. & Deasy, M.J. & Doyle, J.V. & Robinson, A.J., 2015. "Performance analysis of a prototype small scale electricity-producing biomass cooking stove," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 156(C), pages 566-576.
    5. Torrecilla, Marcos Compadre & Montecucco, Andrea & Siviter, Jonathan & Strain, Andrew & Knox, Andrew R., 2018. "Transient response of a thermoelectric generator to load steps under constant heat flux," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 212(C), pages 293-303.
    6. Montecucco, Andrea & Knox, Andrew R., 2014. "Accurate simulation of thermoelectric power generating systems," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 166-172.
    7. O’Shaughnessy, S.M. & Deasy, M.J. & Kinsella, C.E. & Doyle, J.V. & Robinson, A.J., 2013. "Small scale electricity generation from a portable biomass cookstove: Prototype design and preliminary results," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 102(C), pages 374-385.
    8. Wang, Yuchao & Dai, Chuanshan & Wang, Shixue, 2013. "Theoretical analysis of a thermoelectric generator using exhaust gas of vehicles as heat source," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 112(C), pages 1171-1180.
    9. Massaguer, Eduard & Massaguer, Albert & Montoro, Lino & Gonzalez, J.R., 2015. "Modeling analysis of longitudinal thermoelectric energy harvester in low temperature waste heat recovery applications," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 140(C), pages 184-195.
    10. Twaha, Ssennoga & Zhu, Jie & Yan, Yuying & Li, Bo, 2016. "A comprehensive review of thermoelectric technology: Materials, applications, modelling and performance improvement," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 698-726.
    11. Montecucco, A. & Siviter, J. & Knox, A.R., 2017. "Combined heat and power system for stoves with thermoelectric generators," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 185(P2), pages 1336-1342.
    12. Montecucco, Andrea & Siviter, Jonathan & Knox, Andrew R., 2015. "Constant heat characterisation and geometrical optimisation of thermoelectric generators," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 149(C), pages 248-258.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Yang, Bo & Wu, Shaocong & Li, Qiang & Yan, Yingjie & Li, Danyang & Luo, Enbo & Zeng, Chunyuan & Chen, Yijun & Guo, Zhengxun & Shu, Hongchun & Li, Zilin & Wang, Jingbo, 2023. "Jellyfish search algorithm based optimal thermoelectric generation array reconfiguration under non-uniform temperature distribution condition," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 204(C), pages 197-217.
    2. Samir Ezzitouni & Pablo Fernández-Yáñez & Luis Sánchez Rodríguez & Octavio Armas & Javier de las Morenas & Eduard Massaguer & Albert Massaguer, 2021. "Electrical Modelling and Mismatch Effects of Thermoelectric Modules on Performance of a Thermoelectric Generator for Energy Recovery in Diesel Exhaust Systems," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(11), pages 1-15, May.
    3. Buchalik, Ryszard & Nowak, Grzegorz & Nowak, Iwona, 2021. "Mathematical model of a thermoelectric system based on steady- and rapid-state measurements," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 293(C).
    4. Ahmed Fathy & Hegazy Rezk & Dalia Yousri & Essam H. Houssein & Rania M. Ghoniem, 2021. "Parameter Identification of Optimized Fractional Maximum Power Point Tracking for Thermoelectric Generation Systems Using Manta Ray Foraging Optimization," Mathematics, MDPI, vol. 9(22), pages 1-18, November.
    5. He, Min & Wang, Enhua & Zhang, Yuanyin & Zhang, Wen & Zhang, Fujun & Zhao, Changlu, 2020. "Performance analysis of a multilayer thermoelectric generator for exhaust heat recovery of a heavy-duty diesel engine," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 274(C).

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Li, Bo & Huang, Kuo & Yan, Yuying & Li, Yong & Twaha, Ssennoga & Zhu, Jie, 2017. "Heat transfer enhancement of a modularised thermoelectric power generator for passenger vehicles," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 205(C), pages 868-879.
    2. Torrecilla, Marcos Compadre & Montecucco, Andrea & Siviter, Jonathan & Strain, Andrew & Knox, Andrew R., 2018. "Transient response of a thermoelectric generator to load steps under constant heat flux," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 212(C), pages 293-303.
    3. Montecucco, Andrea & Siviter, Jonathan & Knox, Andrew R., 2015. "Constant heat characterisation and geometrical optimisation of thermoelectric generators," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 149(C), pages 248-258.
    4. Montecucco, Andrea & Siviter, Jonathan & Knox, Andrew R., 2014. "The effect of temperature mismatch on thermoelectric generators electrically connected in series and parallel," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 123(C), pages 47-54.
    5. Kütt, Lauri & Millar, John & Karttunen, Antti & Lehtonen, Matti & Karppinen, Maarit, 2018. "Thermoelectric applications for energy harvesting in domestic applications and micro-production units. Part I: Thermoelectric concepts, domestic boilers and biomass stoves," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 519-544.
    6. Twaha, Ssennoga & Zhu, Jie & Yan, Yuying & Li, Bo, 2016. "A comprehensive review of thermoelectric technology: Materials, applications, modelling and performance improvement," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 65(C), pages 698-726.
    7. Montecucco, Andrea & Knox, Andrew R., 2014. "Accurate simulation of thermoelectric power generating systems," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 118(C), pages 166-172.
    8. Montecucco, A. & Siviter, J. & Knox, A.R., 2017. "Combined heat and power system for stoves with thermoelectric generators," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 185(P2), pages 1336-1342.
    9. Luo, Ding & Wang, Ruochen & Yan, Yuying & Sun, Zeyu & Zhou, Weiqi & Ding, Renkai, 2021. "Comparison of different fluid-thermal-electric multiphysics modeling approaches for thermoelectric generator systems," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 180(C), pages 1266-1277.
    10. Liu, Yi-Hua & Chiu, Yi-Hsun & Huang, Jia-Wei & Wang, Shun-Chung, 2016. "A novel maximum power point tracker for thermoelectric generation system," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 97(C), pages 306-318.
    11. Lv, Hao & Wang, Xiao-Dong & Meng, Jing-Hui & Wang, Tian-Hu & Yan, Wei-Mon, 2016. "Enhancement of maximum temperature drop across thermoelectric cooler through two-stage design and transient supercooling effect," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 175(C), pages 285-292.
    12. Högblom, Olle & Andersson, Ronnie, 2016. "A simulation framework for prediction of thermoelectric generator system performance," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 180(C), pages 472-482.
    13. Raman, Perumal & Ram, Narasimhan K. & Gupta, Ruchi, 2014. "Development, design and performance analysis of a forced draft clean combustion cookstove powered by a thermo electric generator with multi-utility options," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 69(C), pages 813-825.
    14. Björn Pfeiffelmann & Ali Cemal Benim & Franz Joos, 2021. "Water-Cooled Thermoelectric Generators for Improved Net Output Power: A Review," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(24), pages 1-29, December.
    15. Ding, L.C. & Akbarzadeh, A. & Tan, L., 2018. "A review of power generation with thermoelectric system and its alternative with solar ponds," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 81(P1), pages 799-812.
    16. Kwan, Trevor Hocksun & Wu, Xiaofeng, 2017. "The Lock-On Mechanism MPPT algorithm as applied to the hybrid photovoltaic cell and thermoelectric generator system," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 204(C), pages 873-886.
    17. Li, Guo-neng & Zhang, Shuai & Zheng, You-qu & Zhu, Ling-yun & Guo, Wen-wen, 2018. "Experimental study on a stove-powered thermoelectric generator (STEG) with self starting fan cooling," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 121(C), pages 502-512.
    18. Luo, Ding & Wang, Ruochen & Yu, Wei & Zhou, Weiqi, 2019. "Performance evaluation of a novel thermoelectric module with BiSbTeSe-based material," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 238(C), pages 1299-1311.
    19. Ding, L.C. & Akbarzadeh, A. & Date, Abhijit, 2016. "Electric power generation via plate type power generation unit from solar pond using thermoelectric cells," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 183(C), pages 61-76.
    20. Massaguer, A. & Massaguer, E. & Comamala, M. & Pujol, T. & Montoro, L. & Cardenas, M.D. & Carbonell, D. & Bueno, A.J., 2017. "Transient behavior under a normalized driving cycle of an automotive thermoelectric generator," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 206(C), pages 1282-1296.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:eee:appene:v:256:y:2019:i:c:s0306261919316174. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: Catherine Liu (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.elsevier.com/wps/find/journaldescription.cws_home/405891/description#description .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.