Design of heat sink for improving the performance of thermoelectric generator using two-stage optimization
Design of heat sink for improving the performance of thermoelectric generator using two-stage optimization
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DOI：
10.1016/j.energy.2012.01.025
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发表时间：
2012-03-01
期刊：
影响因子：
9
通讯作者：
Chen, Wei-Hsin
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Wang, Chien-Chang;Hung, Chen-I;Chen, Wei-Hsin
热电(TE)装置可以提供清洁的能源转换，而且对环境友好；然而，关于热电发电机(TE)的空气冷却系统的优化设计的研究还很少。本文研究了三甘醇与采用两阶段优化设计的空冷系统相结合的性能。采用解析法建立了散热器的传热模型，并采用有限元数值方法对散热器的性能进行了预测。在第一阶段优化中，根据解析法得到给定散热器几何形状的最佳翅片间距。在称为折衷规划的第二阶段优化中，推荐的设计方法是通过增加散热器的正面面积(WHSHf)来减小散热器的长度。利用得到的折衷点，虽然散热器效率比优化前降低了20.93%，但三甘醇输出功率密度提高了88.70%。对散热器的设计提出了建议。此外，当散热器长度小于14.5 mm时，可以通过缩小TEG来进一步提高TEG的功率密度。(C)2012爱思唯尔有限公司。保留所有权利。
Thermoelectric (TE) devices can provide clean energy conversion and are environmentally friendly; however, little research has been published on the optimal design of air-cooling systems for thermoelectric generators (TEGs). The present study investigates the performance of a TEG combined with an air-cooling system designed using two-stage optimization. An analytical method is used to model the heat transfer of the heat sink and a numerical method with a finite element scheme is employed to predict the performance of the TEG. In the first-stage optimization, the optimal fin spacing for a given heat sink geometry is obtained in accordance with the analytical method. In the second-stage optimization, called compromise programming, decreasing the length of the heat sink by increasing its frontal area (WHSHf) is the recommended design approach. Using the obtained compromise point, though the heat sink efficiency is reduced by 20.93% compared to that without the optimal design, the TEG output power density is increased by 88.70%. It is thus recommended for the design of the heat sink. Moreover, the TEG power density can be further improved by scaling-down the TEG when the heat sink length is below 14.5 mm. (c) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.