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Abstract: Thermoelectric devices (TEs) can achieve direct conversion of heat and electricity by semiconductor materials, coupling of heat transfer and electric conduction is important to accurately predict the performance of TEs. This paper develops a general, three-dimensional numerical model of TEs with consideration of coupling of temperature field and electric potential field. The model is used to figure out the performance of thermoelectric coolers (TECs) with the temperature-dependent thermal conductivity, electric conductivity, and Seebeck coefficient of semiconductor materials. A miniature TEC is considered and Bi2(Te0.94Se0.06)3 and (Bi0.25Sb0.75)Te3 are selected as the n-type and p-type thermoelectric materials, respectively. The effect of parameters such as the temperature difference and the current is investigated under conditions of variable material properties as well as radiation and convection heat transfer occurred between the TEC and the ambient gas. The results show that the variable properties and the heat losses to the ambient gas have significant effects on the cooling capacity and the coefficient of performance (COP) of the TEC. Three-dimensional temperature distributions within the semiconductors is observed under convective boundary condition and it becomes remarkable at large temperature differences and high currents. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The primary objective of this paper is to quantify the impact of the internal magnetic field and reversibility of the magnetocaloric effect on the numerical evaluation of the thermal performance of a parallel-plate active magnetic regenerator. To this end, direct measurements of the adiabatic temperature change of commercial-grade gadolinium samples were carried out for an applied field change of 1.65 ± 0.03 T (for both magnetization and demagnetization) and temperatures between 283 and 303 K. The tests were carried out in a specially constructed apparatus and the results were in good agreement with the literature. The data were incorporated into a mathematical model for solving the fluid flow and conjugated heat transfer in the parallel-plate regenerator. It was found that if demagnetization phenomena (i.e., the demagnetization factor and the reversibility of the magnetocaloric effect) are not take properly into account, the thermal performance of the regenerator can be severely over-predicted. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: Thermal energy storage (TES) has shown potential in improving the overall performance in energy systems, through shifting of thermal load demand, and through matching of uneven energy availability in time and in space. Latent heat TESs demonstrate advantages over sensible heat TESs for their high storage density and small temperature swing; however, lack of accurate knowledge in novel material properties and lack in a holistic design protocol often lead to difficulties in reaching technically viable storage design. With the aim of proposing a sound latent heat based TES design-to-validation protocol, this paper covers material property characterization through Temperature-history (T-history) method, heat exchanger design through heat transfer modeling, and model validation through experimental verification. A model for submerged cylindrically finned heat exchanger latent heat storage unit with phase change material was built. The results show that performance of gelled salt-hydrate based TES can be assessed with a pure conduction based model. This material property characterization-to-model verification approach may serve as a standard in providing accurate storage design for performance evaluation. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The metal hydride heat transformer shows great potential for the low-grade heat recovery. However, the heat output is variable, and these dynamics have to be taken into account in realistic applications. In this paper, a new index called true temperature boost is introduced together with conventional indices to assess the performance of the heat transformer system. Detailed analyses are carried out using a mathematical model that authors developed, investigating effects of key design and operating factors on the system’s performance. The amount of hydrogen transferred between coupled reactors is found to be crucial to obtain a high coefficient of performance, while specific heating power is very sensitive to the cycle time. On the true temperature boost, the driving force of reaction and the heat transfer conditions exert the most significant effects. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: This paper describes the design, fabrication and performance evaluation of a high efficiency, compact heater that uses the catalytic oxidation of hydrogen to provide heat to a hydrogen storage system. The heater was designed to transfer up to 30kW of heat from the catalytic reaction to the hydrogen storage system via a recirculating heat transfer fluid. The catalytic heater consists of three main parts: 1) the reactor, 2) the gas heat recuperator, and 3) oil and gas flow distribution manifolds. The reactor and recuperator are integrated, compact, finned-plate heat exchangers to maximize heat transfer efficiency and minimize mass and volume. Detailed, three-dimensional, multi-physics computational models were used to design and optimize the system. At full power the heater was able to catalytically combust a 10% hydrogen/air mixture flowing at over 80 cubic feet per minute and transfer 30kW of heat to a 30 gallon per minute flow of oil over a temperature range from 100°C to 220°C. The total efficiency of the catalytic heater, defined as the heat transferred to the oil divided by the inlet hydrogen chemical energy, was determined to exceed the design goal of 80% for oil temperatures from 60°C to 165°C. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]