An effective Seebeck coefficient obtained by experimental results of a thermoelectric generator module

► An easy-to-follow method to measure the “effective Seebeck coefficient” of a TEG module has been proposed. ► Thermal contact effect that influences the performance of TEG module has been discussed. ► Thermal resistor network that used to modify the actual temperature difference traversing the TE element has been inspected. ► Temperature dependence of TE material properties has been investigated. This article proposes a concept of “effective Seebeck coefficient”, which discusses the inconsistency between the theoretical Seebeck coefficient and the measured one. The inconsistency can be explained via contact effect and thermal resistor network. Two different clamping forces are applied to the TEG module to observe the contact effect. Throughout the experiments, the electric resistance seems insensitive to the clamping force; somehow the thermal contact effect dominates the TEG module performance. In addition, a thermal resistor network, which is used to calculate the exact temperature difference traverse the TE ingot, has been constructed. After applying a suitable clamping pressure and modifying the actual Δ T with thermal resistor network, the “effective Seebeck coefficient” has been proposed. Notably, this proposed value is very helpful for better understanding characteristics of the behavior of the TEG module operating in the actual conditions we provided, and it can be used to predict the performance of the TEG module under any other condition.