Description
We report a numerical study on the impacts of variations in the geometry, boundary conditions, and the coefficient of thermal expansion of the materials on the maximum shearing stress in thermoelectric power generator module (TEM) for high temperature applications. The maximum shearing stress in the TEM is evaluated for different designs focusing on their dependency on the fill factor. Although predictions by the previously developed analytical modeling are in partial agreement with numerical results, simplifying assumptions for the analytical model can limit the range of validity. Our numerical analysis shows that reduction of the fill factor alone under all the circumstances will not reduce the maximum shear stress. Imposing mechanical constraints at the boundaries, increasing the number of legs (6 × 6 in the analysis), and engineering the coefficient of thermal expansion are some of the key parameters controlling the maximum shearing stress and its changes with the fill factor.
Keywords
thermoelectric module, shear stress, fill factor
DOI
10.5703/1288284315556
Included in
Designing a Mechanically Robust Thermoelectric Module for High Temperature Application
We report a numerical study on the impacts of variations in the geometry, boundary conditions, and the coefficient of thermal expansion of the materials on the maximum shearing stress in thermoelectric power generator module (TEM) for high temperature applications. The maximum shearing stress in the TEM is evaluated for different designs focusing on their dependency on the fill factor. Although predictions by the previously developed analytical modeling are in partial agreement with numerical results, simplifying assumptions for the analytical model can limit the range of validity. Our numerical analysis shows that reduction of the fill factor alone under all the circumstances will not reduce the maximum shear stress. Imposing mechanical constraints at the boundaries, increasing the number of legs (6 × 6 in the analysis), and engineering the coefficient of thermal expansion are some of the key parameters controlling the maximum shearing stress and its changes with the fill factor.