Aluminum – Graphite Thermo-electric module

Charith S Suriyakula

AS/07/08/077

Index # 2001

Objective• To design and develop a low-cost and low-tech

thermo-electric generator module.

The problem…• Fossil fuel is a limited resource of Earth. Fossil fuels are non-

renewable and is a finite resource.

• To meet the power demand of the world, people have to discover renewable energy sources.

• This is a solution for the expensive and environmentally damaging fossil fuels.

Renewable energy sources• Main source is sunlight. Also known as Solar energy

o Can directly use to light, heat homes and other buildings.

o Can be used to generate electricity

o Hot water heating

• Wind energy is captured by wind turbines to generate electricity

• Hydro power is used to rotate turbines and generate electricity

Waste Heat• In many cases, the efficiency of a process is limited due to

the energy loss as heat.

• We have to design the process to minimize the heat loss or to make use of the heat loss.

• Mechanical engines, computers generate heat which is wasted to air.

• The challenge is to convert the waste heat into a applicable energy form

Heat Electricity ?• Seebeck effect is the phenomenon of

inducing electricity from heat

• It was first discovered by Thomas Seebeck in 1821

• Modern technology use semiconductor materials to design TEG devices

• TEGs are reliable efficient source of electricity

Objective• To design and develop a low-cost and low-tech

thermo-electric generator module.

Glass slides

Copper wires

plastic

wood

aluminum

adhesivespaper

Basic design

Improvements• The following cases were considered when designing the

TEG moduleo Heat conductivity from “hot” junction to “cold” junction needs to

be minimized.

o The temperature difference between “hot” and “cold” junctions needs to be maximized to induce higher energy from the module

o The contact points of two materials needs to be clearly specified.

o More couples = more power

• More couples in a single glass slide.

• Still the contact points were not clearly visible.

• The aluminum and graphite strips are connected using “L” shaped contact area.

Results

Discussion

0.00

0.10

0.20

0.30

0.40

0.50

0.60

0 10 20 30 40 50 60

pe

r co

up

le v

olt

age

(µ

V)

temperature difference (0C)

Graph of ‘per couple voltage’ vs. ‘temperature difference when heated using an oil bath (Cell 5 vs. Cell 13)

Cell 5

Cell 13

Expon. (Cell 5)

Expon. (Cell 13)

Strip width comparison

0.00

0.50

1.00

1.50

2.00

2.50

0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70

pe

r co

up

le v

olt

age

(µ

V)

temperature difference (0C)

Graph of ‘per couple voltage’ vs. ‘temperature difference when heated using an oil bath (Cell 01 vs. Cell 07)

Cell 01

Cell 07

Expon. (Cell 01)

Expon. (Cell 07)

Strip height comparison