The influences of the punch geometry on the contact behaviors of a finite-thickness strip with thermoelectric effects.

The frictionless contact problem between a conducting triangular or cylindrical punch and a thermoelectric strip is analyzed in this paper. When designing and optimizing thermoelectric devices for energy harvesting and temperature control applications, the interaction between the punch geometry and the thermoelectric strip is crucial. By the Fourier transform, the considered contact problem is formulated as a Cauchy singular integral equation, which is numerically solved using the collocation method. Distinct singular features at the ends of the punch lead to specific collocation methods adopted. A detailed study on various geometrical and loading parameters, including the punch shape and geometry and the thermoelectric loads, is performed, to assess their influences on the mechanical load-contact size curves and the distribution of the normal contact stress. Numerical results demonstrate that it is feasible to reduce the normal contact stress by increasing the thickness of the thermoelectric strip, enlarging the radius of the cylindrical punch, and decreasing the slope of the triangular punch. For both punch types, the deviation of the normal contact stress under the thermoelectric loads from that without the thermoelectric loads exceeds 5%. Hence, when dealing with the contact problem of the thermoelectric materials and structures, it is necessary to account for the impact of the thermoelectric fields on the elastic mechanical field. The findings from the present study may contribute to the further development of more efficient thermoelectric systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]