Performance analysis of two-stage thermoelectric generator model based on Latin hypercube sampling

Abstract A thermoelectric generator (TEG) is a device that directly converts thermal energy into electrical energy. In practical engineering, the internal material parameters of TEG, such as the Seebeck coefficient, thermal conductivity, total resistance of the couple arm, and heat dissipation exhibit obvious randomness in their values. Such random changes in these parameters will inevitably have a critical impact on the stability and reliability of the system. Based on a thermodynamic model of a two-stage TEG, the Latin hypercube sampling (LHS) method was used in this study to simulate the random variation in the parameters of the subject TEG. The calculation results show that the Seeback coefficient, thermal conductivity, working current, heat transfer area and heat transfer coefficient at the low temperature side have a significant impact on the output power and efficiency of the TEG system. Among them, the heat transfer coefficient and heat transfer area at the high temperature side have a relatively small impact on the system performance. The lower the mean value of total resistance of thermoelectric materials, the higher the mean value of output power and efficiency of TEG system, and the smaller the standard deviation. The high temperature difference between the hot and cold sides can improve the output power of TEG system but reduce its stability. In addition, the high temperature difference is beneficial to the output efficiency of TEG system. There is an optimal value of the average working current. High current is not conducive to the stability of the output power and efficiency of the system. The research of this paper expands the evaluation standard of thermoelectric engine performance, and provides theoretical and technical basis for the optimization of thermoelectric engine.