On coupling contact analysis of thermoelectric materials

•Coupling contact model is established for thermoelectric materials.•Full-field analytical solutions in electric and temperature fields are derived.•Thermoelastic governing equations subjected to equivalent external loadings are solved.•Useful evaluation formulas are given for measuring the thermoelectric parameters.•The compressive stress becomes tensile when the thermoelectric load increases. Thermoelectric materials can harvest heat and turn it into electricity and vice versa, which could lead to more cost-effective devices and appliances. This article investigates the problem of electrical and thermal rigid punch acting on thermoelectric materials. Some full-field quantities are given in a closed form. Importantly, some useful formulas for measuring the thermoelectric parameters by the indentation test are given. The nonlinear temperature due to thermoelectric effects can be expressed in convolutional form. For the elastic field, the surface contact stress and the stress intensity factors can be numerically evaluated. Meanwhile the convergence analysis of numerical calculation is conducted. The effects of the thermoelectric loads on the surface contact stress are detailed. The current research is not only beneficial to measuring the thermoelectric coupling properties of thermoelectric materials through punch experiments but also contributes to a deeper understanding of the contact behavior.