Analysis of thermoelectrical modules for energy harvesting systems

Abstract

This work presents the analysis of thermoelectric modules (TEMs) and the implementation of an improved SPICE model for these devices. Accurate TEM models are required by electrical engineers when designing energy harvesting systems, in order to determine the precise output power delivered by the design and to implement intelligent power management algorithms. All these aspects are discussed in the current work, where the author also implements an original energy recovery system that uses TEMs to harvest the unused waste heat. A complete setup is simulated in SPICE and the results are compared to the experimental data. The thesis encompasses an interdisciplinary study that was required to implement the neccesary mechanical parts, electronics, SPICE models and deals with important aspects that are encounted when designing and evaluating efficient energy harvesting systems based on TEMs.