2-1

Chapter 2 Thermoelectric
Generators

2.1 Ideal Equations

In 1821, Thomas J. Seebeck discovered that an electromotive force or potential difference could
be produced by a circuit made from two dissimilar wires when one junction was heated. This is
called the Seebeck effect. In 1834, Jean Peltier discovered the reverse process that the passage of
an electric current through a thermocouple produces heating or cooling depended on its direction
[1]. This is called the Peltier effect (or Peltier cooling). In 1854, William Thomson discovered
that if a temperature difference exists between any two points of a current-carrying conductor,
heat is either absorbed or liberated depending on the direction of current and material [2]. This is
called the Thomson effect (or Thomson heat). These three effects are called the thermoelectric
effects.
Let us consider a non-uniformly heated thermoelectric material. For an isotropic substance, the
continuity equation for a constant current gives

⃑ ∙𝑗 =0
∇ (2.1)
2-2

  
The electric field E is affected by the current density j and the temperature gradient T . The
coefficients are known according to the Ohm’s law and the Seebeck effect [3]. The electric field
is then expressed as

  
E  j   T (2.2)

  
The heat flux q is also affected by both the field E and the temperature gradient T . However,
the coefficients were not readily attainable at that time. Thomson in 1854 arrived at the
relationship assuming that thermoelectric phenomena and thermal conduction are independent
[2]. Later, Onsager [4] supported that relationship by presenting the reciprocal principle which
was experimentally proved. The Thomson relationship and the Onsager’s principle yielded the
heat flow density vector (heat flux), which is expressed as

  
q  Tj  kT (2.3)

which is the most important equation in thermoelectrics (will be discussed later in detail). The
general heat diffusion equation is given by

  T (2.4)
   q  q  c p
t

For steady state, we have

 
   q  q  0 (2.5)

where q is expressed by [3]

2-3

   
q  E  j  j 2   j  T (2.6)

Substituting Equation (2.3) and (2.6) into (2.5) yields

  d  
  (2.7)
  kT  j 2   T j  T  0
dT

The Thomson coefficient , originally obtained from the Thomson relations, is written by

d (2.8)
 T
dT

In Equation (2.7), the first term is the thermal conduction, the second term is the Joule heating,
and the third term is the Thomson heat. Note that if the Seebeck coefficient  is independent of
temperature, the Thomson coefficient  becomes zero and then the Thomson heat is absent. The
two equations (2.3) and (2.7) governs the thermoelectric phenomena.

Heat Absorbed

p
n
p
n-type Semiconductor n
n
p Positive (+)
p n
p-type Semiconcuctor p

Negative (-) Electrical Conductor (copper)

Electrical Insulator (Ceramic)
Heat Rejected

Figure 2.1 Cutaway of a thermoelectric generator module

2-4

(b)

Figure 2.2 p- and n-type unit thermocouple for a thermoelectric generator.

Consider a steady-state one-dimensional thermoelectric generator module as shown in Figure

2.1. The module consists of many p-type and n-type thermocouples, where one thermocouple
(unicouple) with a circuit is shown in Figure 2.2. We assume that the electrical and thermal
contact resistances are negligible, the Seebeck coefficient is independent of temperature, and the
radiation and convection at the surfaces of the elements are negligible. Then, Equation (2.7)
reduces to

d  dT  I 2  (2.9)
 kA   0
dx  dx  A
2-5

The solution for the temperature gradient with two boundary conditions ( Tx 0  Th and

Tx  L  Tc ) in Figure 2.2 is derived as

dT I 2 L Th  Tc (2.10)
 
dx x 0 2 A2 k L

Equation (2.3) is expressed in terms of p-type and n-type thermoelements.

      (2.11)
Q h  n  p   n Tc I    kA
dT dT
    kA  
  dx x 0  p  dx x 0  n 


where Q h is the rate of heat absorbed at the hot junction in Figure 2.2 and n is the number of
thermocouples. Substituting Equation (2.10) into (2.11) gives
 1   p L p  n Ln   k p Ap k n An   (2.12)
Q h  n  p   n Th I  I 2     Th  Tc 
 2  Ap An   L p Ln  

Finally, the heat absorbed at the hot junction of temperature Th is expressed as

  (2.13)
Q h  n Th I  I 2 R  K Th  Tc 
1
 2 

where
   p  n (2.14)

 p Lp  n Ln (2.15)
R 
Ap An

k p Ap k n An (2.16)
K 
Lp Ln

where R is the electrical resistance and K is the thermal conductance. If we assume that p-type
and n-type thermocouples are similar, we have that R = L/A and K = kA/L, where  = p + n
2-6

and k = kp + kn. Equation (2.13) is called the ideal equation which has been widely used in
science and industry. The rate of heat liberated at the cold junction is given by

  (2.17)
Q c  n Tc I  I 2 R  K Th  Tc 
1
 2 

From the 1st law of thermodynamics for the thermoelectric module, which is W n  Q h  Q c . The
total power output is then expressed in terms of the internal properties as


W n  n I Th  Tc   I 2 R  (2.18)

However, the total power output in Figure 2.2 can be defined by an external load resistance as

W n  nI 2 RL (2.19)

Equating Equations (2.18) and (2.19) with W n  IVn gives the total voltage as

Vn  nIRL  n Th  Tc   IR  (2.20)

2.2 Performance Parameters of a Thermoelectric Module

From Equation (2.20), the electrical current for the module is obtained as

 Th  Tc  (2.21)
I
RL  R

Note that the current I is independent of the number of thermocouples. Inserting this into
Equation (2.20) gives the voltage across the module by
2-7

n Th  Tc   RL  (2.22)
Vn   
1  
RL R
R

Inserting Equation (2.21) in Equation (2.19) gives the power output as

RL (2.23)
W n 
n  2
Th  Tc 2
R
2
R  RL 
1  
 R 

The conversion (or thermal) efficiency is defined as the ratio of the power output over the heat
absorbed at the hot junction:

W (2.24)
th   n
Qh

Inserting Equations (2.13) and (2.23) into Equation (2.24) gives an expression for the conversion
efficiency:
𝑇 𝑅 (2.25)
(1 − 𝑇𝑐 ) 𝑅𝐿
ℎ
𝜂𝑡ℎ =
𝑅 1 𝑇 1 𝑅𝐿 2 𝑇𝑐
(1 − 𝑅𝐿 ) − 2 (1 − 𝑇𝑐 ) + (1 − ) (1 +
ℎ 2𝑍𝑇̅ 𝑅 𝑇ℎ )

𝑇ℎ +𝑇𝑐
Where the average temperature is defined as 𝑇̅ = . It is noted that the Carnot cycle
2

efficiency 𝜂𝑐 = (1 − 𝑇𝑐 ⁄𝑇ℎ ).
2-8

2.3 Maximum Parameters for a thermoelectric Module

Since the maximum current inherently occurs at the short circuit where RL  0 in Equation (2.21),
the maximum current for the module is

 Th  Tc  (2.26)
I max 
R

The maximum voltage inherently occurs at the open circuit where I = 0 in Equation (2.20). The
maximum voltage is

Vmax  n Th  Tc  (2.27)

The maximum power output is attained by differentiating the power output W in Equation (2.23)
with respect to the ratio of the load resistance to the internal resistance and setting it to zero. The
result yields a relationship of RL R  1 , which leads to the maximum power output as

n 2 Th  Tc  (2.28)
2
W max 
4R

The maximum conversion efficiency can be obtained by differentiating the conversion efficiency
in Equation (2.25) with respect to the ratio of the load resistance to the internal resistance and

setting it to zero. The result yields a relationship of RL R  1  ZT . Then, the maximum

conversion efficiency  max is

 T  1  ZT  1 (2.29)
 max  1  c 
 T h  1  ZT  Tc
Th
2-9

There are total four essential maximum parameters, which are I max , Vmax , W max , and  max .
However, there is also the maximum power efficiency. The maximum power efficiency is obtained
by letting R L R  1 in Equation (2.25). The maximum power efficiency  mp is

𝑇 (2.30)
(1 − 𝑇𝑐 )
ℎ
𝜂𝑚𝑝 =
1 𝑇 2 𝑇
2 − 2 (1 − 𝑇𝑐 ) + ̅ (1 + 𝑇𝑐 )
ℎ 𝑍𝑇 ℎ

Note there are two thermal efficiencies: the maximum power efficiency  mp and the maximum
conversion efficiency  max .

2.4 Normalized Parameters

If we divide the actual values by the maximum values, we can normalize the characteristics of a
thermoelectric generator. The normalized power output can be obtained by dividing Equation
(2.23) by Equation (2.28), which leads to

RL (2.31)
4
W R

W  RL 
2

 1
max

 R 

Equations (2.21) and (2.26) give the normalized currents as

I 1 (2.32)

I max RL
1
R

Equations (2.22) and (2.27) give the normalized voltage as

2-10

RL (2.33)
Vn R

Vmax RL
1
R

Equations (2.25) and (2.29) give the normalized thermal efficiency as

𝑅𝐿 √ ̅ 𝑇𝑐 (2.34)
𝜂𝑡ℎ 𝑅 ( 1 + 𝑍𝑇 + 𝑇ℎ )
= 2
𝜂𝑚𝑎𝑥 𝑅 1 𝑇 1 𝑅𝐿 𝑇
[( 𝑅𝐿 + 1) − 2 (1 − 𝑇𝑐 ) + ̅ ( + 1) (1 + 𝑇𝑐 )] (√1 + 𝑍𝑇̅ − 1)
ℎ 2𝑍𝑇 𝑅 ℎ

Note that the normalized values in Equations (2.31) – (2.33) are a function only of RL R , while
Equation (2.34) is a function of three parameters, which are Tc Th , RL R and 𝑍𝑇̅.

1
th
0.9 W

max
0.8 Wmax
0.7
V
0.6
Vmax
0.5

0.4
I
0.3
I max
0.2

0.1

0
0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5 5

RL
R

Figure 2.3 Normalized chart I for thermoelectric generators, where Tc/Th = 0.7 and 𝑍𝑇̅ = 1 are
used.

It is noted, as shown in Figure 2.3, that the maximum power output and the maximum conversion
efficiency appear close each other with respect to RL R . The maximum power 𝑊̇𝑚𝑎𝑥 occurs at
2-11

R L R  1 , while  max occurs approximately at RL R  1.5 . The various parameters are presented

against the normalized current, which is shown in Figure 2.4. This plot is often used as a
specification of the commercial module. Note that the current indicates half the maximum current
for the maximum power output. The maximum conversion efficiency  max is presented in Figure

2.5 as a function of both the dimensionless figure of merit (𝑍𝑇̅ ) and Tc/Th. Considering the
conventional combustion process (where the thermal efficiency is about 30%) where the high and
low junction temperatures would be at 1500 K and 500 K, which leads to Tc/Th = 0.3. Therefore,
in order to compete with the conventional way of the thermal efficiency (30%), the thermoelectric
material should be at least 𝑍𝑇̅ = 3, which has been the goal in this field. Much development is
needed when considering the current technology of thermoelectric material of 𝑍𝑇̅ = 1. However,
it is thought that there is a strong potential that nanotechnology would contribute to 𝑍𝑇̅ = 3 in near
future.

Figure 2.4 Normalized chart II for thermoelectric generators, where Tc/Th = 0.7 and 𝑍𝑇̅ = 1 are
used.
2-12

Figure 2.5 The maximum conversion efficiency versus 𝑍𝑇̅ as a function of the temperature ratio
Tc/Th for thermoelectric generators.

Example 2.1 Exhaust Waste Heat Recovery

We want to recover waste heat from the exhaust gas of a car using thermoelectric generator
(TEG) modules as shown in Figure 12.6. An array of N = 24 TEG modules is installed on the
exhaust of the car. Each module has n = 98 thermocouples, each of which consist of p-type and
n-type thermoelements. Exhaust gases flow through the TEG device, wherein one side of the
modules experiences the exhaust gases while the other side of the modules experiences coolant
flows. These cause the hot and cold junction temperatures of the modules to be at 230 °C and
50 °C, respectively. To maintain the junction temperatures, the significant amount of heat should
be absorbed at the hot junction and liberated at the cold junction, which usually achieved by heat
sinks. The material properties for the p-type and n-type thermoelements are assumed to be
similar as p = −n = 168 V/K, p = n = 1.56 × 10-3 cm, and kp = kn = 1.18 × 10-2 W/cmK.
The cross-sectional area and leg length of the thermoelement are An = Ap = 12 mm2 and Ln = Lp
= 4.6 mm, respectively, which are shown in the figure.
(a) Per one TEG module, compute the electric current, the voltage, the maximum power
output, and the maximum power efficiency.
2-13

(b) For the whole TEG device, compute the maximum power output, the maximum power
efficiency, the maximum conversion efficiency and the total heat absorbed at the hot
junction.


(a) (b)
Figure 2.6 (a) a TEG device, (b) a thermocouple.

Solution:
𝑇ℎ = 503𝐾 and 𝑇𝑐 = 323𝐾
Material properties:  =p − n = 336 × 10-6 V/K,  =p + n = 3.12 × 10-5 m, and k=
kp + kn = 2.36 W/mK

The figure of merit is

Z
2

336  106 V K 
2

 1.533  103 K 1
k 3.12  10 m 2.36W mK 
5

and
 T  Th  1  323K  503K 
  1.533  10 K 
3
ZT  Z  c   0.633
 2   2 
2-14

For the maximum power output, we use the condition of RL R  1 . The internal resistance R is

R
L

3.12 10 5
m 4.6  10 3 m 
 0.012
A 12  10 6 m 2

(a) For one TEG module:

Using Equation (2.21), the electric current per module is

I
 Th  Tc 

336  10 6
V K 230  273K  (50  273) K 
 2.528 A
RL  R 0.012  0.012

Using Equation (2.22), the voltage per module is

n Th  Tc   RL  98  336  10 6 V K 230  273K  (50  273) K 

Vn     2.964V
RL  R  11
1
R

Using Equation (2.23), the maximum power output is

RL
   98  336  10 6 V K  503K  323K 
2

2 2 2
n T T R
W n  h c
  7.493W
R  RL 
2
0.012  2 2
1  
 R 
Using Equation (2.30), the maximum power efficiency is

𝑇 323𝐾
(1 − 𝑇𝑐 ) 1−
𝜂𝑚𝑝 = = ℎ 503𝐾
1 𝑇𝑐 2 𝑇𝑐 1 323𝐾 2 323𝐾
2 − 2 (1 − 𝑇 ) + ̅ (1 + 𝑇 ) 2 − 2 (1 − ) + 0.633 (1 + )
ℎ 𝑍𝑇 ℎ 503𝐾 503𝐾
2-15

=0.051
(b) For the whole TEG device:

The maximum power output is

W n  24  7.493W  179.8W

The maximum power efficiency is same as the one for the module, so
mp  0.051
Using Equation (2.29), the maximum conversion efficiency is

 T  1  ZT  1  323K  1  0.633  1
 max  1  c   1    0.052
 T h  1  ZT 
T c  503K  1  0.633 
323 K
Th 503K
The total heat absorbed is

W 179.8W
Q h  n   3,525W
 mp 0.051

2.5 Effective Material Properties

Calculated performance curves using the ideal equations with intrinsic material properties
usually show significant discrepancies compared with the measured performance curves of a
commercial thermoelectric module because the ideal equations do not include the various losses
such as the thermal and electrical contact resistances (manufacturability), the Thomson effect
(temperature dependency), and heat losses (no perfect insulation). The problem is that the
various losses are very difficult to be figured out, usually unknown. That is the reason why we
2-16

developed the effective material properties to include those losses for a system design rather than
the intrinsic material properties. The following method shows how to determine the effective
material properties.
As mentioned before, the four maximum parameters are usually provided by manufacturers as
specification for a commercial module. However, the thermoelectric material properties (, , and
k) for the module are not usually provided by the manufacturers, which often causes a problem for
system designers who wants to simulate the module operation using the ideal equations. We have
four maximum parameters ( I max , Vmax , W max , and  mp ), which are ideally a function of three

material properties (,  and k) with given geometry (A/L) of thermocouple and two junction
temperatures Th and Tc. Inversely, the three material properties can ideally be expressed from three
out of the four maximum parameters. It turned out that, the two parameters ( I max and  mp ) are

essential and any one of Vmax and W max can be used. We wish to deduce the three material
properties from the four manufactures’ maximum parameters. It is of interest to find that there
would be no convergence of the three material properties from the four measured maximum
parameters because of the contradiction of the ideal formulation and real measurements with
various energy losses. This enforces us to choose one of the two parameters ( Vmax and W max ) and

the essential two parameters ( I max and  mp ). We choose the maximum power output instead of the

maximum voltage because of the practical importance of power output. The effective material
properties are defined here as the realistic material properties that are extracted from the maximum
parameters provided by the manufacturers. So that the calculated effective material properties
include all kind of losses due to the thermal and electrical contact resistances, the temperature
dependence of the properties, and heat losses to ambient in addition to the intrinsic material
properties. This renders the dimensionless figure of merit for the effective material properties to
be slightly lower than that of the intrinsic material properties. The effective electrical resistivity is
obtained using Equations (2.26) and (2.28), which is
2-17

4 A L W max (2.35)

 
n I max 
2

The effective Seebeck coefficient can be obtained using Equation (2.26) and (2.34), which is

4W max (2.36)

 
nI max Th  Tc 

The effective figure of merit is obtained from Equation (2.29), which is

𝜂𝑚𝑎𝑥 𝑇𝑐 2 (2.37)
1 1 + 𝜂𝑐 𝑇ℎ
𝑍∗ = ( 𝜂 ) −1
̅
𝑇 1 − 𝑚𝑎𝑥
[ 𝜂𝑐 ]

where  c  1  Tc Th which is the Carnot cycle efficiency. Alternatively, the effective figure of
merit may be obtained from Equation (2.30) in terms of  mp as

2 𝑇 (2.38)
̅ (1 + 𝑇𝑐 )
𝑇 ℎ
𝑍∗ =
1 1
𝜂𝑐 (𝜂 + 2) − 2
𝑚𝑝

The effective thermal conductivity with Z * which is usually obtained from Equations (2.37) is
now obtained

∗
𝛼∗2 (2.39)
𝑘 = ∗ ∗
𝜌 𝑍

The effective material properties now include various effects such as the contact resistances,
Thomson effect, and radiation and convection heat losses. Hence, the effective figure of merits in
Table 2.1 might be slightly smaller than the intrinsic figure of merit (not shown in the table).
2-18

Note that these effective properties should be divided by two due to p-type and n-type
thermoelements.

Comparison of calculations with a commercial product

The effective material properties can be calculated from any commercial thermoelectric
modules as long as the four maximum parameters are provided. Calculated effective material
properties from the maximum parameters for four selected commercial thermoelectric modules are
illustrated in Table 2.1. Then, we can simulate the performance curves of the module with these
effective material properties using the ideal equations. This is very useful for a system design with
thermoelectric modules. For example, we attained the effective material properties for TGM127-
1.4-2.5 module in Table 2.1 and compared the calculated performance curves with the performance
curves provided by the manufacturer, which are shown in Figure 2.1 (a) – (f). It is found that the
calculated results are in good agreement with the manufacturer’s performance curves (which are
typically experimental values).

Table 2.1 Maximum parameters and effective material properties for some commercial modules.

Description TEG Module (Bismuth Telluride)

Symbols TG12-4 HZ-2 TGM199-1.4-2.0 TGM127-1.4-2.5
Tc =50 oC Tc =30 oC Tc =30 oC Tc =30 oC
Th =170oC Th =230oC Th =200oC Th =200oC

Number of n 127 97 199 127

thermocouples

Manufacturers’ 𝑊𝑚𝑎𝑥 (W) 2.12 2.6 7.3 4.4

maximum
parameters
𝐼𝑚𝑎𝑥 (A) 1.32 1.6 2.65 2.37
η𝑚𝑝 (%) 4.08 4.5 5.3 5.4
𝑉𝑚𝑎𝑥 (V) 6.5 6.53 11 7.7
Rn () 6.32 4 3.7 3
A (mm2) 1 2.1 1.96 1.96
2-19

Measured geometry L (mm) 1.17 2.87 2 2.5

of thermoelements G = A/L (cm) 0.085 0.073 0.098 0.078
Dimension (W×L×H) mm 30 × 30 ×3.4 30 × 30 ×4.5 40 × 40 × 4.4 40 × 40 × 4.8
Effective material  V/K 210.7 167.5 162.8 171.9
properties (calculated cm 1.638 × 10-3 1.532 × 10-3 1.024 × 10-3 0.9672 × 10-3
using k(W/cmK) 0.015 0.016 0.015 0.017
commercial(Wmax , ZTavr 0.708 0.456 0.652 0.679
Imax, and ηmax)
Maximum Wmax (W) 2.12 2.6 7.3 4.4
parameters using Imam (A) 1.32 1.6 2.65 2.37
effective material ηmax (%) 4.1 4.5 5.3 5.4
properties Vmax (V) 6.4 6.5 11.0 7.4
Rn () 4.86 3.90 3.67 3.13

(a)

(b)
2-20

(c)

(d)
Figure 2.6 For module TGM127-1.4-2.5 of thermoelectric generator, comparison between
calculations with effective material properties and commercial data. (a) matched output versus
hot side temperature, (b) matched load voltage versus hotside temperature, (c) maximum
efficiency versus load resistance, and (d) matched load voltage and output power versus output
current.
2-21

Problems

2.1 NASA’s Curiosity rover is working (February, 2013) on the Mars surface to collect a
sample of bedrock that might offer evidence of a long-gone wet environment, as shown
in Figure P2-1a. In order to provide the electric power for the work, a radioisotope
thermoelectric generator (RTG) wherein Plutonium fuel pellets provide thermal energy is
used. The p-type and n-type thermoelements are assumed to be similar and to have the
dimensions as the cross-sectional area A = 0.196 cm2 and the leg length L = 1 cm. The
thermoelectric material used is lead telluride (PbTe) having p = −n = 187 V/K, p =
n = 1.64 × 10-3 cm, and kp = kn = 1.46 × 10-2 W/cmK. The hot and cold junction
temperatures are at 815 K and 483 K, respectively. If the power output of 123 W is
required to fulfil the work, estimate the number of thermocouples, the maximum power
efficiency and the rate of heat liberated at the cold junction of the RTG.

(a) (b)
Figure P2-1. (a) Curiosity rover on Mars, (b) p-type and n-type thermoelements.
2-22

2.2 We want to recover waste heat from the exhaust gas of a car using thermoelectric
generator (TEG) modules as shown in Figure P2-2. An array of N = 36 TEG modules is
installed on the exhaust of the car. Each module has n = 127 thermocouples that consist
of p-type and n-type thermoelements. Exhaust gases flow through the TEG device,
wherein one side of the modules experiences the exhaust gases while the other side of the
modules experiences coolant flows. These cause the hot and cold junction temperatures
of the modules to be at 230 °C and 50 °C, respectively. To maintain the junction
temperatures, the significant amount of heat should be absorbed at the hot junction and
liberated at the cold junction, which usually achieved by heat sinks. The material
properties for the p-type and n-type thermoelements are assumed to be similar. The most
appropriate module of TG12-4 for this work found in the commercial products shows the
maximum parameters rather than the material properties as the number of couples of 127,
the maximum power of 4.05 W, the short circuit current of 1.71 A, the maximum
efficiency of 4.97 %, and the open circuit voltage of 9.45 V. The cross-sectional area and
leg length of the thermoelements are An = Ap = 1.0 mm2 and Ln = Lp = 1.17 mm,
respectively, which are shown in Figure P-1b.
(a) Estimate the effective material properties: the Seebeck coefficient, the electrical
resistivity, and the thermal conductivity.
(b) Per one TEG module, compute the electric current, the voltage, the maximum
power output, and the maximum power efficiency.
(c) For the whole TEG device, compute the maximum power output, the maximum
power efficiency, the maximum conversion efficiency and the total heat absorbed at
the hot junction.

2-23

(a) (b)
Figure P2-2 (a) TEG device, (b) thermocouple.

2.3

References

1. Peltier, J.C., New experiments on the calorific electric currents. Annales de chimie de
physique, 1834. 56(2): p. 371-386.
2. Thomson, W., Account of researches in thermo-electricity. Proceedings of the Royal
Society of London, 1854. 7: p. 49-58.
3. Landau, L.D. and E.M. Lifshitz, Electrodynamics of continuous media. 1960: Pergamon
Press, Oxford, UK.
4. Onsager, L., Reciprocal Relations in Irreversible Processes. I. Physical Review, 1931.
37(4): p. 405-426.