Modeling and Analysis of Thermoelectric Energy Harvesting System with High-Gain Power Converter

In recent years, the green energy harvesting system using thermoelectric generator for generating electrical power from waste heat has rapidly been increased. This research work investigates the theoretical modeling of single thermocouple, thermoelectric module (TEM) and TEM with high-gain power converter. This study develops a MATLAB-Simulink model for a single thermocouple and TEM to predict the P-I and V-I performance curves. The TEMs are subjected to a varying Delta T in many waste heat-generating applications. Such impact on a varying Delta T is analyzed from the comparison of a P-I and V-I performance curve obtained under two different Delta T conditions. Moreover, a TEM along with a high-gain power converter, to boost the output voltage to meet the load requirement, is modeled in a MATLAB-Simulink. The simulation analysis of P-I and V-I performance curves of a TEM for a Delta T of 95 degrees C and 135 degrees C is compared with the experimental results to validate the practical feasibility of the proposed model. A large voltage conversion ratio of 17 with an efficiency of 91.5% is obtained from the power converter. Hence, the proposed system can employ to power the DC micro-grid systems. Also, a 2.35-V input-voltage and 40.4-V load-voltage prototype of high-gain power converter with TEM has been tested in laboratory to validate the performance.