Analysis of effect factors on thermoelectric generator using Taguchi method

Abstract

Due to technological developments in recent years, the need for domestic and industrial electric power is increasing day by day. Alternative energy resources have become more important to reduce production costs by converting waste energy into electricity. In this study, a research was carried out to increase the efficiency and on the factors which were effective in Thermoelectric Generators (TEG) used in the production of electrical energy by using thermal sources from alternative energy sources. In this study, the effects of heat transfer performance of the materials (copper, aluminum and brass) on which thermal water is carried, and the effects of water pressure and velocity on the performance of TEGs were investigated. Taguchi method was used to determine the performance effects in the most accurate way. Taguchi method used three levels with three factors: material (copper, aluminum and brass), engine speed (I, II and III) and water pressure (1-2.5-3.5 bar). In addition, in the Taguchi method, the orthogonal array was used and the optimum operation time was significantly reduced. In this study, TEG1-12706 and TEG1-12710 were performed in 2 different TEGs. 27 experiments were carried out for each TEG under different materials, speed and pressure of water with the experiment set up in this study. When the test results were analyzed by Taguchi method, it was determined that the material was the most important factor in determining the output power and efficiency in the production of electrical energy by using TEG (approx. 89%) and it was seen that the pressure and engine speed had almost no role. (C) 2019 Published by Elsevier Ltd.