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Dr. Bed R Poudel

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Research Associate ProfessorDepartment of Materials Science and Engineering, Pennsylvania State University, 421 Steidle Building, University Park, State College, PA 16802, USA
Interests: Renewable energy research such as thermoelectric, solar-thermal etc. Thermoelectric nanomaterials synthesis/characterization, Thermoelectric module design and fabrication for power generation applications

Dr. Amin Nozariasbmarz

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Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Pennsylvania State University, State College, PA, USA
Interests: renewable energies; thermoelectric materials; wearable electronics; nanomaterials; microwave processing; materials science
Special Issues, Collections and Topics in MDPI journals

Dr. Udara Saparamadu

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Postdoctoral Researcher - Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Pennsylvania State University, 219A Steidle Building, University Park, State College, PA 16802, USA
Interests: thermoelectric materials; nanomaterials synthesis and characterization; high-energy mechanical alloying; spark plasma sintering; high-temperature thermoelectric generators; flexible thermoelectric devices; high-power-factor thermoelectric materials

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Thermoelectric generators are solid-state devices that can directly convert heat to electricity. Such generators have unique advantages with respect to various power generation technologies, since they are noiseless, reliable, and require no maintaince for long periods. There has been a recent surge of interest in this technology, especially in two areas: 1) near-room-temperature applications, such as powering electronic devices, health monitors, and wireless sensors, and 2) high-temperature power generation applications, such as personal power packs, cogeneration of heat and electric power, and capture of waste heat from vehicles or industrial processes. Also, there are numerous reports on advances in materials dimensionless thermoelectric figure-of-merit, ZT, nanotechnology, and new materials compostions, which fuel the research on generators. In addition to improving ZT, material properties optimization and optimum device fabrication can open new applications for thermoelectric generators. However, there seems to be a lack of comprehenhive research bringing together the different components, i.e., materials, modules, and applications, into an integrated platform, thus making thermoelectric generator technology commercially attractive.

To better serve the thermoelectric community, Energies, an open access journal publishing energy-related scientific studies, is organizing a Special Issue on “Thermoelectric Generators”. This Special Issue of Energies aims to cover the recent advances in thermoelectric materials, device technology, and applications ranging from room to high temperatures, with a focus on device performance and their use in power generation. I would like to invite you to submit an article to this Special Issue. Your contribution can be in any of the following area: thermoelectric materials, devices, or systems.

Dr. Bed R Poudel
Dr. Amin Nozariasbmarz
Dr. Udara Saparamadu
Guest Editors

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Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a single-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Energies is an international peer-reviewed open access semimonthly journal published by MDPI.

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Keywords

Thermoelectric Materials
Nanostructures
Thermoelectric Devices
Thermal Interfaces
Thermoelectric Generators
Waste Heat Recovery
Body Power Harvesting
Co-generation
Thermal Conductivity
Energy Harvesting
Nanocomposites

Published Papers (2 papers)

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Research

11 pages, 2680 KiB

Open AccessArticle

High-Efficiency Skutterudite Modules at a Low Temperature Gradient

by Wenjie Li, David Stokes, Bed Poudel, Udara Saparamadu, Amin Nozariasbmarz, Han Byul Kang and Shashank Priya

Energies 2019, 12(22), 4292; https://doi.org/10.3390/en12224292 - 11 Nov 2019

Cited by 14 | Viewed by 2567

Abstract

Thermoelectric skutterudite materials have been widely investigated for their potential application in mid-temperature waste heat recovery that has not been efficiently utilized A large amount of research has focused on developing materials with a high thermoelectric figure of merit (zT). However, the translation of material properties to device performance has limited success. Here, we demonstrate single-filling n-type Yb_0.25Fe_0.25Co_3.75Sb₁₂ and multi-filling La_0.7Ti_0.1Ga_0.1Fe_2.7Co_1.3Sb₁₂ skutterudites with a maximum zT of ~1.3 at 740 K and ~0.97 at 760 K. The peak zT of skutterudites usually occurs above 800 K, but, as shown here, the shift in peak zT to lower temperatures is beneficial for enhancing conversion efficiency at a lower hot-side temperature. In this work, we have demonstrated that the Fe-substitution significantly reduces the thermal conductivity of n-type skutterudite, closer to p-type skutterudite thermal conductivity, resulting in a module that is more compatible to operate at elevated temperatures. A uni-couple skutterudite module was fabricated using a molybdenum electrode and Ga–Sn liquid metal as the thermal interface material. A conversion efficiency of 7.27% at a low temperature gradient of 366 K was achieved, which is among the highest efficiencies reported in the literature at this temperature gradient. These results highlight that peak zT shift and optimized module design can improve conversion efficiency of thermoelectric modules at a low temperature gradient. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Thermoelectric Generators)

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17 pages, 5318 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Experimental and Analytical Simulation Analyses on the Electrical Performance of Thermoelectric Generator Modules for Direct and Concentrated Quartz-Halogen Heat Harvesting

by Saim Memon and Khawaja Noman Tahir

Energies 2018, 11(12), 3315; https://doi.org/10.3390/en11123315 - 27 Nov 2018

Cited by 20 | Viewed by 6365

Abstract

The scope of thermoelectric generators (TEGs), in improving the electric vehicle battery performance and glass/steel manufacturing industries, could achieve wider significance by harnessing the unused radiative heat and light conversion to electrical power. This paper experimentally investigates the electrical performance correlated to concentrated quartz-halogen, with acrylic Fresnel lens and heat-light harvesting, coupled with heat sink. This study also experimentally examined the influence of extreme temperature variance on the open circuit generated voltage of the Peltier electrical failure mode, compared to the standard performance parameters of the commercial TEG module. The research results presented provide expedient perception into the testing (open circuit voltage, short circuit current, and full load power) of a commercial heat-stove TEG to understand its performance limitations. The analytical simulation and mathematical model developed in MATLAB compared the electrical performance parameters and its dependencies. The analytical simulation shows that increasing the heat-sink temperature increases the efficiency of not more than 2% at the

Δ T

of 360 K, due to the limitation of the

Z \bar{T}

of 0.43 at

Δ T

of 390 K. The maximum

Z \bar{T}

of 0.7 for Bi₂Te₃, with an achievable efficiency of 4.5% at the Seebeck coefficient of 250 µV/K, was predicted. The design of three experimental setups and results presented demonstrate the functioning of TEG in stable and unstable temperature conditions, confirming the theoretical study and stipulating a quantity of the electrical output power in relation to extreme temperature conditions. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Thermoelectric Generators)

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