High-accuracy thermoelectrical module model for energy-harvesting systems

• Published in: IET circuits, devices & systems Vol. 7; no. 3; pp. 114 - 123
• Main Authors: Cernaianu, Mihail Octavian, Gontean, Aurel
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Stevenage The Institution of Engineering and Technology 01.05.2013; Institution of Engineering and Technology; John Wiley & Sons, Inc
• Subjects: Aluminum; Applied sciences; Circuits; Cold; Computer simulation; Cooling; electrical conductivity; Electrical resistivity; Electronics; Energy; Energy harvesting; Exact sciences and technology; Experiments; Figure of merit; General equipment and techniques; Heat conductivity; high-accuracy thermoelectrical module model; improved TEM model; Instruments, apparatus, components and techniques common to several branches of physics and astronomy; Integrated circuits; Integrated circuits by function (including memories and processors); Mathematical models; Modules; parameter variation; Parameters; parasitic element; Parasitics (electronics); Physics; Power supply; Resistivity; Seebeck coefficient; Seebeck effect; Semiconductor electronics. Microelectronics. Optoelectronics. Solid state devices; Simulation; SPICE; SPICE model; Temperature; Thermal conductivity; Thermal simulation; thermoelectric devices; thermoelectric energy harvesting system; Thermoelectricity; Transducers; Transmission electron microscopy; energy harvesting; Seebeck effect; high-accuracy thermoelectrical module model; Seebeck coefficient; thermoelectric devices; thermoelectric energy harvesting system; SPICE; parasitic element; electrical conductivity; thermal conductivity; parameter variation; improved TEM model; SPICE model; Thermoelectric effect; Transmission electron microscopy; Circuit design; High precision; Electrical conduction; Energy recovery; Modelling; Experimental study; Figure of merit; Thermal conduction; Thermoelectric properties
• ISSN: 1751-858X; 1751-8598; 1751-8598
• DOI: 10.1049/iet-cds.2012.0227

This study proposes a new SPICE model for thermoelectrical modules (TEMs) that takes into account the internal parameters variation with temperature. Prior work considers constant values for the three factors that determine the figure of merit: Z = ((σS2)/k), that is the electrical conductivity, the Seebeck coefficient and the thermal conductivity. This leads to large errors in simulation because the parameters vary strongly with temperature. The new model also employs the parasitic elements that appear in a TEM and not discussed in prior works. The proposed model uses experimental data from several TEMs of different manufacturers. The thermoelectrical model of the entire system will be afterwards validated through experiment. A thermoelectric energy-harvesting system is proposed and simulated based on the improved TEMs model. The results show that our model can be used for more accurate simulations when designing TEM-based applications.