温差发电阵列解析方法及其热失配性能研究

Study on Analytical Method and Thermal Mismatch Performance of Thermoelectric Generator Array

温差发电阵列(Thermoelectricgenerator,TEG)的热失配现象会导致器件损坏,严重影响发电单元效率和可靠性。为分析温差发电阵列的电气特性及其热失配现象对阵列的影响,通过对阵列进行基尔霍夫电压电流定律分析,提出一种温差发电阵列解析方法用于分析阵列的电气特性;同时,搭建了一个低品位热源下的温差发电阵列试验平台,基于已搭建的温差发电平台开展热失配的相关试验及分析,在常见的温度分布下对阵列进行相关试验,测量各阵列输出的最大输出功率,计算得到各阵列的损耗率,量化热失配对于温差发电的影响。最后,通过试验发现,温度失配会造成阵列功率明显下降,串并联结构(Series-parallel,SP)较其余阵列具有更高的效率,温度分布的均匀程度与温差发电的输出功率有极强的关联性,阵列连接方式的复杂程度与温差发电的输出功率也存在关联性。

The thermal mismatch phenomenon in thermoelectric generator(TEG)arrays can lead to device damage and seriously affect the efficiency and reliability of the generation units.In order to analyze the electrical characteristics of TEGs and the effects of thermal mismatch on the arrays,an analytical method is proposed to analyze the electrical characteristics of TEGs through the analysis of Kirchhoff’s voltage and current law;meanwhile,an experimental platform for TEGs with low-grade heat source is built,and the experiments and analysis of thermal mismatch are carried out based on the built TEG platform.The maximum output power of each array is measured,and the loss rate of each array is calculated to quantify the effect of thermal mismatch on temperature difference power generation.Finally,it is found that the temperature mismatch causes a significant decrease in array power,the series-parallel(SP)structure has higher efficiency than the rest of the arrays,the uniformity of temperature distribution has a strong correlation with the output power of temperature differential power generation,and the complexity of the array connection has a correlation with the output power of temperature differential power generation.