Electrostatic Potential and Temperature Distribution in Case of a Series and a Parallel Configuration of Two Thermoelectric Conversion Phases
Year: 1996
Type: article
Abstract: As a first step to clarify the influence of Peltier effect on the temperature and electrostatic potential distributions as well as heat and electric current flow in a composite thermoelectric material, basic equations to describe the heat and electric current have been numerically solved for typical configurations of two thermoelectric energy conversion materials, a series and a parallel configuration. Above distributions and flows have been visualized for several dimensionless coefficients related to thermoelectricity. Peltier effect brings about less energy conversion efficiency in case of a series configuration of the phases with different Seebeck coefficients from each other than that in case of a parallel configuration. When no electric current is taken out from a composite thermoelectric material, Seebeck coefficients of the materials of a series and a parallel configuration are the same and given by the volume average of those of composing materials, as is expected.
Language: English
Subfield: Materials Chemistry
Field: Materials Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W2314361135