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Simulation of MEMS Technology Based Thermoelectric Generators
Authors
	Korotkov A.S.
	Loboda V.V.
Date of publication
	2016
Abstract
	Thermoelectric generators fabricated by means of MEMS technology are widely used in many practical applications as autonomous energy sources with the range of power from a few mW to several W. The paper presents a comparative analysis of simulation and experimental results of commercially available MEMS thermoelectric generators. Thermoelectric generator simulations were performed using the finite element method based on ANSYS Workbench software platform. The results were obtained for the thermoelectric module TGP-651, Micropelt GmbH, Germany. The module consists of generator which is germicide packaged between two aluminum plates. The hit flue is applied to these plates. The crystal of the thermoelectric generator is fixed on the bottom plate. The generator n-type and p-type legs are fabricated from Bi2Te3 and Sb2Te3 consequently. The generator pads are fabricated from gold. The simulation process consists of following stages: Preprocessing, Solving, Postprocessing. The Preprocessing stage includes 5 steps: 3D-model design, choice of the Thermal-electric analysis, setting of the engineering data that are physical parameters of materials, design of the solid state model of the thermoelectric generator using ANSYS Mechanical module, and generation of the finite element net by ANSYS Meshing. The Solving stage includes 3 steps: choice of the Steady-State Analysis and its options, choice of the electrical and thermo initial conditions, choice of the analysis parameters. The last stage deals with the output of calculated and simulated results in tables and figures. The specific of the proposed model is a consideration of the temperature distribution among the package parts that was taken into account using the thermo initial conditions. The difference between simulation and experiment results is not more than 6% in a temperature range till +80 grad C. Good agreement between simulation and experimental results demonstrate correctness of the proposed approach for the simulations of MEMS technology based thermoelectric generators. The method gives an opportunity to extrapolate data sheets of commercially available thermoelectric generators and, thus, to recommend the choice of the generator type to fulfill real requirements in accordance to determined output power, temperature range and known load resistance.
Keywords
	thermoelectric generator, MEMS, finite element method, simulation, output power.
Library reference
	Korotkov A.S., Loboda V.V. Simulation of MEMS Technology Based Thermoelectric Generators // Problems of Perspective Micro- and Nanoelectronic Systems Development - 2016. Proceedings / edited by A. Stempkovsky, Moscow, IPPM RAS, 2016. Part 4. P. 71-76.
URL of paper
	http://www.mes-conference.ru/data/year2016/pdf/D156.pdf