Enhanced thermal performance of a thermoelectric generator with phase change materials

In this article, a computational study of the thermal management of thermoelectric generator (TEG) with phase change materials (PCM) is made. The test model has been developed and studied using COMSOL Multiphysics. The thermal management of thermoelectric generator is studied using the heat sink encapsulating with the phase change materials through variations in the heat input and the quantity of PCM. The results showed the considerable reduction and constant maintenance with PCM for the cold side temperature of TEG. There was enhancement in output voltage due to an increase in the temperature difference between the hot and cold sides of TEG during the phase change period. The efficiency of TEG is enhanced due to improvement in voltage of TEG. The improvements in efficiency of TEG are found to be 36.7%, 33.8%, 30% for the heat inputs of 0.1 W, 0.15 W and 0.2 W respectively when the PCM height is 3 mm. From the computational results, it is confirmed that the PCM plays vital role for the enhancement in thermal performance of TEG. •New technique using PCMs to improve the performance of thermoelectric generator is presented.•3D transient heat transfer simulation was performed including the effect of PCMs.•The effect of heat input and PCM fill volume is also investigated.•Thermal performance of the thermoelectric generator increases with the use of PCM.