The Design of a Thermoelectric Generator and Its Medical Applications

Growing energy demands are driving people to generate power in every possible way. New energy sources are needed to plug the energy gap. There is a growing interest in distributed energy generation due to its remarkable advantages such as flexibility, reliability, adaptability and minimal transmissi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inDesigns Vol. 3; no. 2; p. 22
Main Authors Palanisamy, Mohan Kumar, Veluru Jagadeesh Babu, Subramanian, Arjun, Bandla, Aishwarya, Thakor, Nitish, Ramakrishna, Seeram, He, Wei
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Basel MDPI AG 01.06.2019
Subjects
Biomedical materials
body heat
Cold
Cooling
Design optimization
Distributed generation
Efficiency
Energy dissipation
Energy gap
generator
Heat conductivity
heating
implantable
Manufacturing
Mechanical properties
Nanomaterials
Peltier
Point defects
sensor
Sensors
Thermal cycling
Thermal energy
thermal management
thermoelectric
Thermoelectric generators
Thermoelectricity
Transmission loss
wearable
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Summary:Growing energy demands are driving people to generate power in every possible way. New energy sources are needed to plug the energy gap. There is a growing interest in distributed energy generation due to its remarkable advantages such as flexibility, reliability, adaptability and minimal transmission losses. Thermoelectric generators (TEGs) are one such distributed power source that relies on thermal energy for electricity generation. The current review focusses on the design and optimization of TEGs to maximize the power output from the available thermal sources. The basic principle of thermoelectricity generation and suitable architecture for specific applications are explained with an overview of materials and manufacturing processes. Various cooling techniques to dissipate heat from the cold side and their influence on overall efficiency are reviewed in this work. Applications of TEGs for powering biomedical sensors have been discussed in detail. Recent advancements in TEGs for various implantable devices and their power requirements are evaluated. The exploitation of TEGs to generate power for wearable sensors has been presented, along with published experimental data. It is envisioned that this study will provide profound knowledge on TEG design for specific applications, which will be helpful for future endeavours.
ISSN:2411-9660
2411-9660
DOI:10.3390/designs3020022