2. POWER SYSTEMS
CONFERENCE
POWER SYSTEMS
CONFERENCE
Outline
• ABSTRACT
• INTRODUCTION
• THERMOELECTRIC GENERATOR BASIC PRINCIPLES
• SOLAR TEG SYSTEM MODELING IN LTSPICE
• AN RC ANALOGY OF A TEG
• RESULTS AND ANALYSIS
• CONCLUSION
• QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
• REFERENCES
3. POWER SYSTEMS
CONFERENCE 1. ABSTRACT
• Analytical heat transfer analysis is cumbersome
• An LTspice model of a real-world STEG is proposed
• Thermal parameters were extracted from device
geometries and properties
• Parameters were converted thru’ “thermal-to-
electrical analogy”
• An RC analogy was derived from this model
• Temp variations on the cold side were 80% accurate
4. POWER SYSTEMS
CONFERENCE2. INTRODUCTION
• Energy is vital in the 21st Century
• Fossil fuels (FF) based energy are 80-85%
• Energy from FF is less expensive to produce
• Solar energy is most abundant and cleanest
• Solar energy has two major disadvantages
• There is a great need for energy storage
• Few of TEG modeling considered the effects of
internal parameters (Seebeck coef, Parasitic L and C, and Internal R )
6. POWER SYSTEMS
CONFERENCE
4. STEG SYSTEM MODELING IN LTSPICE
• Setup of the STEG System
• Parameters Extraction
• Electrical Analogy of Thermal
System
• TEG Implementation in LTspice
(convenience in viewing and interpreting the interactions b/w)
1) Seebeck;
2) Joule;
3) Peltier; and
4) Thomson.
Designations Thermal resistance
(K/W)
Thermal capacitance
(J/K)
TEG 0.64 23
Main heat sink 0.075 2694
Lateral sink 0.112 970
Insulation foam 109 91
8. POWER SYSTEMS
CONFERENCE
6. AN RC ANALOGY OF A TEG
• Direct Normal Irradiance (DNI)
• An impulse of light organized
in a lookup
• Built-in LTspice piece wise
linear command
• Internal parasitic (C) and
Internal (R) were used
• The input wave transitions
from 0C to 100 C (Tpulse)
10. POWER SYSTEMS
CONFERENCE
8. CONCLUSION
• Electrical analogy of thermal system to simulate STEG is presented
• A novel RC analogy to estimate the cold side temp is also presented
• The study reveals the challenges to accurately model the exact
behavior of all the physical parts that constitute a real-envt STEG
• Experimental and simulated results remain in good agreement
• STEG with Battery be used for all kinds of remote energy applications.
Thank you,
