Design and optimization of two stage annular thermoelectric generator coupling with high temperature heat pipe application

作者：Huangshiyi Lin, Xinwen Zhang, Yu Liang, Xiao Liu, Ran Zhang, Xirui Huang, Lei Tan, Simiao Tang · 发表于：Applied Thermal Engineering · 年份：2024 · DOI：10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2024.125089 · 被引用次数：11 · 研究领域：Advanced Thermoelectric Materials and Devices、Heat Transfer and Optimization、Thermal Radiation and Cooling Technologies

Traditional energy sources have limited applications in deep space and deep-sea exploration as they cannot provide a long-term, reliable energy supply. Small nuclear reactors are ideal because of their high adaptability and long life, especially for powering deep space missions. This study focuses on integrating thermoelectric generators (TEG) with small nuclear reactors. Due to the limitation of conventional planar thermoelectric devices in conversion efficiency, a novel annular thermoelectric device (ATEG) is proposed and discussed. Compared with the traditional flat thermoelectric devices, annular thermoelectric devices have the advantages of larger contact area with heat source, smaller volume and stable heat flux. According to the application requirements of heat pipe reactor, the geometric parameters of thermoelectric conversion system are optimized in order to find the best geometric parameters and external load resistance. Through detailed investigation, we found that under certain conditions (such as 900 K hot end temperature and 10 mm device height), the single-stage SKD thermoelectric device can achieve the highest conversion efficiency of 8.99 %. Optimizing contact characteristics (e.g., surface roughness less than 2 µm, contact resistivity less than 10 microohms square centimeters) is critical to maintaining this high level of efficiency. Based on the thermoelectric characteristics of single-stage thermoelectric devices, two-stage thermoelectric devices are studi...