Chapter 16

Solar TE Converter Applications

Anke Weidenkaff, Matthias Trottmann, Petr Tome, Clemens Suter,
Aldo Steinfeld and Angelika Veziridis
Abstract Thermoelectricity does not only serve to protably recover waste heat
from many technical processes but also to exploit renewable energy resources for
power generation. Conversion of concentrated solar radiation for decentralized elec-
tricity supply is a very promising application eld for thermoelectric (TE) devices.
However, experimental and theoretical studies with high-temperature resistant ther-
moelectric oxide modules (TOMs) reveal that 60% of the incident solar radiation is
lost due to reradiation and only 20% is available for electricity conversion. Calcula-
tions with a heat transfer model show that this loss can be substantially reduced from
60% to only 4% by using a solar cavity receiver instead of directly irradiated TE
modules. The fraction of actually usable solar power can thereby be increased from
20 to 70%. Despite the improved exploitation of solar radiation, solar-to-electricity
A. Weidenkaff (B) M. Trottmann A. Veziridis
Empa. Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology Solid State Chemistry
and Catalysis, Ueberlandstrasse 129, CH-8600 Duebendorf, Switzerland
e-mail: anke.weidenkaff@empa.ch
M. Trottmann
e-mail: matthias.trottmann@empa.ch
A. Veziridis
e-mail: angelika.veziridis@empa.ch
P. Tome
Vienna University of Technology Institute of Solid State Physics, Wiedner Hauptstrasse 8-10,
A 1040 Wien, Austria
e-mail: petr.tomes@tuwien.ac.at
C. Suter
AFC Air Flow Consulting AG, Weinbergstrasse 72, CH-8006 Zuerich, Switzerland
e-mail: clemens.suter@afc.ch
A. Steinfeld
ETH. Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich Institute of Energy Technology,
Sonneggstrasse 3, CH-8092 Zuerich, Switzerland
e-mail: aldo.steinfeld@ethz.ch
K. Koumoto and T. Mori (eds.), Thermoelectric Nanomaterials, Springer Series 365
in Materials Science 182, DOI: 10.1007/978-3-642-37537-8_16,
Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2013
366 A. Weidenkaff et al.
efciency of TOM converters continues to be low due to the still low Figure of Merit
ZT of oxide materials. This disadvantage may in part be compensated by higher
temperature differences resulting in higher conversion efciencies. However, due to
the temperature dependence of TE properties the use of a single material at a large
temperature difference is not ideal. Preferably, a stack of different materials, each
operating in its most efcient temperature range, should be applied. Calculations
with the heat transfer model show that with a solar cavity-receiver packed with dual-
stage cascaded modules containingin addition to Bi-Tea TE oxide available at
present (ZT = 0.36) a solar-to-electricity efciency of 7.4% can be achieved. With
future advanced oxide materials (ZT = 1.7) an efciency of even 20.8% seems to
be realistic.
16.1 Introduction
In 2008, the world net electricity generation was 19.1PWh and the International
Energy Outlook 2011 predicts an increase by 84% to 35.2PWh by 2035. From
1990 to 2008, the growth in net electricity generation was higher than the growth
in total energy consumption (3.0% per year and 1.8% per year, respectively). The
world demand for electricity is predicted to increases by 2.3% per year from 2008 to
2035, which exceeds the expected growth in total energy consumption of 1.4% per
year. Although the 20082009 global economic recession slowed the rate of growth
in electricity use in 2008 and resulted in negligible change in 2009, worldwide
electricity demand increased again by an estimated 5.4% in 2010 [1].
Fossil fuelsmainly coal and natural gasare expected to remain dominant,
but owing to increasing prices and government policies their share will drop from
68% in 2008 to 55% in 2035. At the same time, the contribution of renewables
used to generate power is forecast to increase from 19% in 2008 to almost 33% by
2035, which means renewables could catch up with coal. This applies particularly
to hydropower and wind, but also to geothermal and solar energy [1].
Solar energy is the worlds primary source of energy and theoretically it would
only take 2% of Saharas land area to cover the worlds electricity demand. Solar
energy is virtually unlimited, freely available and has no impacts on the ecology.
However, its drawbacks are high dilution, intermittency and unequal distribution over
the earth [2]. In 2010, the main use of solar energy to produce power is photovoltaics
(PV) and concentrating solar power (CSP).
Concentrating solar power (CSP) systems focus large amounts of sunlight by
means of mirrors and lenses to generate temperatures between 400 and 1, 000

C.
This thermal energy is then converted into electricity usually by using steamturbines.
However, mechanical converter systems such as gas turbines, rankine cycles, etc.,
are working only in a very specic temperature window and are always restrained
at the high T level due to materials limitations. Naturally, part of the exergy of solar
concentration systems or combustion ames is left unexploited. Thermoelectric con-
verters (TEC) applying thermoelectric oxide materials offer the unique possibility
16 Solar TE Converter Applications 367
to use exergy fractions of solar power plants above and below these temperature
limits, especially at T > 600

C. In the future, TECs will offer a new and attrac-

tive alternative for decentralized power generation in addition to well-established
systems.
Different systems to convert solar radiation by thermoelectric (TE) modules have
been tested. A TE module using a at-panel spectrally selective absorber, which is
also a thermal concentrator, was developed, achieving a peak efciency of 4.6%
[3]. A parabolic trough concentrator combined with TE modules and placed in the
receiver tube was investigated. The thermal efciency of the concentrator/receiver
system was found to be <40% [4]. A thermodynamic analysis of a parabolic dish
combined with a Bi-Te module predicted a solar-to-electricity efciency of 2.81%
at a temperature of 280

C [5]. The design of a solar cavity-receiver for supply-

ing high-temperature heat to a thermionic/thermoelectric system was proposed and
temperature distributions were measured on a prototype made of graphite [6].
The development of novel high temperature-resistant (>900K) well performing
TE materials has given a fresh impetus to the thermoelectric conversion of highly
concentrated solar radiation [7]. The theoretical solar-to-electricity efciency of
Si-Ge alloys operated at a temperature of 1,000K is 12%, revealing the advantage
of high temperatures applications [8]. The direct conversion of highly concentrated
solar radiation was experimentally demonstrated by directly irradiated TE modules
operated at 900K on the hot side and achieving solar-to-electricity efciencies <1%
[9, 10].
16.2 Thermoelectric Oxide Modules
Commercial thermoelectric devices are based on Bi
2
Te
3
because this material
exhibits a relatively high Figure of Merit [11, 12]. Disadvantages, however, are
their limited chemical stability at high temperatures in air and their toxicity. There-
fore, complex metal oxide ceramics are promising alternative materials for high
temperature applications as they are inert in air at high temperatures, non-toxic, and
cost-efcient [1317]. Among these oxides, Na
x
Co
2
O
4
is especially interesting as
it shows a high Figure of Merit ZT 0.8 at T = 800 K [18, 19]. However, the
production of single crystals with dened and stable stoichiometry is difcult.
In contrast, perovskite-type materials can be easily synthesized with controllable
composition and TE properties. They inherently show a variety of characteristics
which are interesting for many energy conversion processes [2023]. Due to their
very exible structure their physical-chemical properties can be ne-tuned by intro-
ducing suitable cations and anions. But besides that, also the compound morphology
becomes important. This requires the development of appropriate synthesis proce-
dures. Chimie douce (soft chemistry) precursor reactions allow the production of
high surface area, nanostructured, highly reactive phases not obtainable with con-
ventional solid state synthesis routes.
368 A. Weidenkaff et al.
Direct conversion of solar heat into electrical energy is studied using perovskite-
type thermoelectric oxide modules (TOM). As proof-of-principle, p-type La
1.98
Sr
0.02
CuO
4
[24] and n-type CaMn
0.98
Nb
0.02
O
3
[25] are used to build a series of four-leg
TOMs with leg lengths of 4, 5 or 10mm. The materials are prepared by decomposi-
tion of complex precursors containing a premix of the cations on a molecular level
[2628]. The main advantage of this synthesis method compared to the conventional
solid state reaction method, is the homogeneity and purity of the product. Phase
formation occurs at relatively low temperatures (T < 700

C) because no diffusion
processes are necessary. Thus, sintering processes can be avoided and porous high
surface area products can be formed. The p- and n-type powders are pressed into disc-
shaped pellets with a diameter of 20mm using a hydrostatic press (up to 200kPa)
and sintered for 16h at 1,373 and 1,523K, respectively.
The TE materials are chosen based on best compatibility factors and not on TE
activity. The Figure of Merit ZT of the p-type material is nearly constant (0.02)
at higher temperatures (up to 800K) while the ZT of the n-type material increases
with increasing temperature up to 0.08. The electrical resistivity of both materials
shows metallic behavior with between 2024mcm and |S| 160 VK
1
at
T = 300 K. The temperature gradient along the TE legs is almost linear and lower in
p-type than in n-type legs due to a higher thermal conductivity of the p-type material
above T = 400 K.
Four-leg thermoelectric oxide modules (Fig. 16.1) are assembled by connecting
the p- and n-type legs electrically in series and pressing thembetween two electrically
insulated and thermally conductive Al
2
O
3
layers (Rubalit

708S, CeramTec GmbH,

Plochingen, Germany) with a cross section of 25 25 mm
2
and thickness of 0.25mm
[9]. The individual components are put together according to the scheme in Fig. 16.2.
In a rst step, a dual-layer screen printing through a stainless steel stencil is
applied in order to metallize the electric contacts of the TE legs and the Al
2
O
3
plates [29]. The rst layer is printed with AuPtPd conductor paste (4597 AuPtPd,
DuPont, Wilmington, USA), dried at 423K for 15min to evaporate the solvents, and
annealed at 1,223K for 15min to induce the diffusion. The second layer is printed
with AgPd conductor paste (DuPont, Wilmington, USA), again dried at 423K for
15min and annealed at 1,223K for 15min. In a second step, Ag sheets serving as
electric contacts are placed between the TElegs and the Al
2
O
3
plates using a locating
Fig. 16.1 Photo of a four-leg
TOM
16 Solar TE Converter Applications 369
Fig. 16.2 Assembly of a
four-leg module [30]
mask (Fig. 16.2). Finally, the assembled modules are heated at 1,223Kfor 1h in order
to solder the electric contact layers and also to ensure the mechanical resilience of
the module [30]. Through a long-term measurement (65h) of one selected TOM, the
performance stability at high temperatures was proven.
It can be shown that graphite coating of the hot Al
2
O
3
absorber plate induced
a larger temperature gradient in the TOMs signicantly improving the maximum
output power and conversion efciency. Thus, TOMs are coated with a homogeneous
black graphite layer on the hot side in order to increase the absorption of solar
radiation by improving the emissivity ().
16.3 Developing a Heat Transfer Model for TOMs Under Solar
Irradiation
These demonstrator TOMs can be used to analyze the direct conversion of high-
temperature solar heat under controlled conditions. Therefore, the TOM is arranged
in the focal plane of a High Flux Solar Simulator (HFSS) used as heat source
370 A. Weidenkaff et al.
Fig. 16.3 High-ux solar simulator at ETH: an elliptical mirror redirects the radiant power of the
enclosed argon arc lamp onto the target (TOM) placed in the focal plane; incident solar radiative
uxes are measured by a thermogage (F)
(Fig. 16.3) [31]. A water-cooled high-pressure argon arc lamp, enclosed in a quartz
tube produces radiation in the visible, infrared and ultraviolet region. The power ux
intensity and the temperature can be adjusted by varying the position of the target
along the axis of the focusing mirrors or by changing the electrical input power at the
arc electrodes. The HFSSis able to supply ux intensities exceeding 500 Wcm
2
and
temperatures higher than 3,000K. The input heat uxes (014.4Wcm
2
) are mea-
sured by a water-cooled Thermogage Circular Foil Heat Flux Transducer TG1000-
1 (Vatell Corporation) placed symmetrically to the TOM in the focal plane. The
Thermogage has a calibration range between 0179 Wcm
2
, a sensor sensitivity of
0.084 mVW
1
cm
2
and a sensor emissivity of 0.97. The HFSS delivers an intense
thermal radiation with the heat transfer characteristics of highly concentrating solar
systems [31]. The solar ux concentration is characterized by the mean solar con-
centration ratio

C dened as

C =
Q
solar
(I A)
(16.1)
where Q
solar
is the solar power intercepted by a target of area A. The ratio

C is
often expressed in units of suns when normalized to an incident normal beam
insolation I = 1 kW/m
2
. The four-leg module was exposed to a maximum mean
solar concentration ratio of 300 suns.
The bottom side of the TOM is cooled by cold water circulating in a Cu block.
TOMs are attached to an Al-holder using a thermally conductive paste (DuPont
TM
)
in order to increase the heat transfer from the cold Al
2
O
3
layer to the Al-holder. The
Al-holder itself is placed on the Cu-cooling unit with a surface area of 50 50 mm
2
(Fig. 16.4a). A series of 0.5mm thick K-type thermocouples is used to measure the
temperature at the hot and cold side of the TOM as well as at the TE legs.
The incident solar radiation is increased stepwise and held constant for
35min. Due to the low thermal inertia and fast temperature response, steady-state
16 Solar TE Converter Applications 371
Fig. 16.4 Schematic illustration of the position of the TOM on the cooling unit and the type-K
thermocouples (T); voltage/power output of the module (V) is measured at the cold end
conditions are assumed for each time interval. A maximum temperature of 625

C
can be generated before self-ignition of graphite is induced.
Applying external loads in the range of R
load
= 0.1 3.5 to a TOM with leg
length l = 4mm, incident solar radiative uxes of q

solar
= 1.8, 2.9, 4.1, 5.4, 8.2
and 10 W cm
2
resulted in a maximum output power P
max
= 0.006, 0.015, 0.023,
0.031, 0.038 and 0.046 W, respectively [32].
The solar-to-power efciency of the TOM is dened as

=
p
max
A
abs
q

solar
(16.2)
where P
max
is the maximal power output and q

solar
the mean incident solar radiative
ux through the absorber surface A
abs
. Modules with leg lengths l of 4, 5, and 10mm
provide maximum power outputs P
max
of 45.6, 51.6 and 42.2mW at q

solar
of 9.9,
9.7, and 5.7 Wcm
1
, respectively (Fig. 16.5). Data is plotted up to the maximum
solar ux (i.e. 9.9, 9.7 and 5.7 Wcm
1
, respectively) at which T
hot
= 625

C and,
thus, the stability limit of the graphite coating is reached. The efciency increases
with increasing q

solar
as a result of the higher temperature difference across the legs,
which in turn corresponds to a higher Carnot limitation [33]. In contrast, decreases
with increasing temperature as reradiation losses are proportional to the fourth power
of T. Thus, an optimum q

solar
, where

reaches a maximum, is expected. The
measurements show that
max
= 0.065% at q

solar
= 4 Wcm
2
for TOMs with
l = 4mm,
max
= 0.06% at q

solar
= 8 Wcm
2
for TOMs with l = 5mm, and

max
= 0.083% at q

solar
= 4 Wcm
2
for TOMs with l = 10 mm.
It is also found that the contact resistances, which vary in the range of 0.29 <
R
cont
< 0.64 , are limiting the conversion efciency signicantly. Thus, besides
the necessity to develop more effective thermoelectric materials and to lower reradi-
ation losses, a substantial reduction of the contact resistances makes a major contri-
bution to the improvement of high-temperatures solar thermoelectric converters.
Based on the measured data a 2D steady-state heat transfer model describing
the heat uxes in the experimental set-up can be developed. The inuence of the
leg dimensions, construction parameters and the heat ux on the maximum output
372 A. Weidenkaff et al.
Fig. 16.5 Efciency

of three modules with l = 4, 5, and 10mm, respectively, as a function of
the solar radiative ux
power P
max
and the conversion efciency is investigated to assess the potential of
this technology.
Therefore, the cross section of the model domain is divided into m n cells
(Fig. 16.6). It contains the three major components: the absorber plate, one p- and
one n-leg(P/N), andthe space separatingthem. The domainis assumedtobe innitely
long; therefore, periodic boundaries are set at the sides. The considered heat transfer
modes are: (1) conduction in the complete domain and (2) radiative heat transfer
among all surfaces considering two scenarios: (a) a semi-transparent absorber plate;
(b) an opaque absorber plate. It is further assumed that (i) the p/n solids are opaque,
gray and diffuse scattering; (ii) gas phase is radiatively non-participating and its
refractive index is equal to unity; (iiia) the absorber plate is radiatively participating
with isotropic scattering and with temperature- and wavelength-independent extinc-
tion coefcient
abs
and albedo
abs
; (iiib) the absorber plate is opaque, gray and
diffuse scattering; (iv) convection is only considered from top of the hot plate. P
max
and are calculated based on the matched load assumption, given by
P
max
=
V
2
oc
R
i nt ernal
+ R
cont act
(16.3)
where V
OC
is the open circuit voltage, R
internal
the internal resistance of the TOM,
and R
contact
the contact resistance between legs and conduction strips.
16 Solar TE Converter Applications 373
Fig. 16.6 Illustration of the
model domain (divided into
m n cells) indicating the
boundary conditions
Model validation is accomplished for the open circuit voltage V
oc
as this value
is the most reliable magnitude to measure and is directly proportional to the mean
temperature difference across the legs. The experimentally measured and numeri-
cally calculated V
OC
are shown in Fig. 16.7 for leg lengths l of 4, 5, and 10mm.
A reasonable good agreement is observed, except for the 4mm legs at high uxes
(q

solar
> 8 Wcm
2
), where the model predicts a 15% higher value. This discrep-
ancy is attributed to the insufcient cooling of the cold plate at high uxes revealed
by a rise of its temperature, which in turn causes a higher absorber plate temperature
and, consequently, higher reradiation losses. Thus, the temperature difference across
the legs is shifted to higher temperatures and reduced due to increased reradiation.
The solar-to-electricity efciencies are numerically simulated using Eq. 16.2 with
the maximum output power P
max
calculated with Eq. 16.3. The data is shown in
Fig. 16.8 (along with the experimentally determined efciencies from Fig. 16.5).
The percentage of Q
solar
transferred by the different heat transfer modes is shown
in Fig. 16.9 for two cases: (1) radiative ux q

solar
= 6 Wcm
2
and leg length
l = 10mm, and 2) q

solar
= 10 Wm
2
and l = 5mm. In both cases, the heat losses
by reradiation and free convection from the absorber plate represent more than 70%
of Q

solar
. About 20% of Q
solar
is transferred by conduction through the legs, and
<10% is lost by radiation to the cold plate.
The efciency at a given solar radiative ux also depends on the leg length, the
leg width and the distance between the legs. Regarding the leg length, the highest
efciency = 0.081% is obtained at q

solar
= 4 Wcm
2
with 7.5mm legs. At
q

solar
< 3 Wcm
2
the 10mmlegs are most efcient, while at q

solar
> 7 Wcm
2
the 5mm legs are advantageous. Thus, with increasing solar radiative uxes the
374 A. Weidenkaff et al.
Fig. 16.7 Simulated and experimental V
OC
as a function of the solar radiative ux for leg length l
of 4, 5, and 10mm
Fig. 16.8 Simulated and experimental efciency

as a function of the solar radiative ux for leg
length l of 4, 5, and 10mm (experimental data from Fig. 16.5)
16 Solar TE Converter Applications 375
Fig. 16.9 Percentage of Q
solar
transferred by the different
heat transfer modes
optimum leg length decreases. As for the leg width and distance, the calculations
suggest that values as small as possible are most favorable.
In conclusion, the heat transfer analysis of 4-leg TOMs with leg lengths
l = 510mm indicates that more than 70% of the incident solar power is lost due to
reradiation and free convection from the absorber, while 20% is conducted through
the legs and less than 10% is lost by radiation to the cold plate. Heat conduction is
the predominant mode of heat transfer across the legs. This is supported both by the
measured and the simulated linear temperature proles across the legs. The best leg
length l of a 4-leg TOM with leg width a = 4.5mm is 7.5mm resulting in an ef-
ciency of 0.081% at q

solar
= 4 Wcm
2
. Smaller leg width and distance (namely,
width a = 3mm, gap d = 1mm, leg length l = 7.5mm) leads to an efciency
= 0.4%. Thus, smaller dimensions than those actually used here are expected to
increase the efciency of 4-leg TOMs to 0.5%.
16.4 Increasing the Conversion Efciency by Using a Solar
Cavity-Receiver
The heat transfer analysis of directly irradiated TE modules shows that 60% of
the incident solar radiation is lost by reradiation. This reradiation can be signi-
cantly reduced by placing the TOMs in a solar cavity-receiver, thus, enhancing their
conversion efciency. A cavity-receiver is a well-insulated enclosure with a small
opening, the aperture, to let radiation in. Because of multiple internal reections, the
cavitys apparent absorptance
apparent
exceeds the inner surface absorptivity and,
consequently, increases its ability to absorb incoming irradiation.
Analysis of directly irradiated TOMs in a solar cavity-receiver reveals that the
proposed design is advantageous in two respects: (1) the geometrical conguration
allows efcient capture of concentrated solar radiation and signicant reduction of
reradiation losses; (2) the direct irradiation of the TOMs enables efcient heat transfer
tothe site, bypassingthe limitations associatedwithheat conductionthroughthe walls
376 A. Weidenkaff et al.
Fig. 16.10 Design of a solar cavity-receiver packed with 18 TOMs. a Exterior view containing the
cavity and the compound parabolic concentrator; b Cross-sectional view of a solar cavity-receiver;
c Longitudinal view of a solar cavity-receiver
of an opaque solar absorber (i.e. limitations imposed by the materials with regards
to maximum operating temperature, thermal conductivity, and resistance to thermal
shocks).
A sketch of a 1 kW solar cavity-receiver designed for 18 TOMs is shown in
Fig. 16.10. The rectangular shape of the solar cavity-receiver contains inlets and out-
lets for an encapsulated circulating water cooling system. The rectangular aperture
for the incidence of concentrated solar radiation is at the top of the solar cavity-
receiver. Smaller apertures reduce reradiation losses but intercept less sunlight. Con-
sequently, the optimum aperture size becomes a compromise between maximizing
radiation capture and minimizing radiation losses [34]. To some extent, the aperture
size may be reduced with the help of non-imaging secondary concentrators, e.g.
a compound parabolic concentrator (CPC) placed at the aperture in tandem with the
primary concentrating system [35]. Here, the integral water-cooled CPC enhances
the radiative ux by a factor of 1.4 and provides a uniform irradiation of the TE
modules. This is crucial to realize equal temperature differences across the modules.
Besides the above-mentioned quality of the electrical and thermal contacts, the per-
formance and conversion efciency also depend on the packing quality of the TE
modules inside the solar cavity-receiver including the lateral insulation of the TOM
array (18 pcs.). An efcient thermal contact between the TOMs and the cooler of
the solar cavity-receiver is provided by a thermal conduction paste (DuPont) and by
a special clamping mechanism containing springs and ribbons. The hot side tem-
perature is monitored and controlled to avoid the cavity temperature exceeding the
melting point of Ag (T 1, 235K) used for the contacts [36].
16 Solar TE Converter Applications 377
The peak radiative ux is varied between 128 and 657 suns. All electric wires are
connected at a pin board allowing the connection to be switched from parallel (mea-
surement of individual TOMs) to serial connection circuit (collective measurement
of series-connected TOMs). TOMs are measured individually and series-connected
at different radiation intensities with regard to the temperature distribution in the
cavity, open-circuit voltage, maximum output power at different external loads and
the conversion efciency. Open-circuit voltage V
OC
, maximum output power P
max
and the efciency increase monotonically with

C. V
OC
and P
max
of each TOM are
measured individually showing the highest V
OC
and P
max
for TOMs located at the
bottom of the cavity. The maximum generated voltage of series-connected TOMs
is V
OC
= 7.7 V at T
max
= 885 K. The total resistance increases with increasing
heat ux mainly due to an increase in contact resistance R
cont
and in the material
resistance of the TE legs arising from its metallic nature. A maximum output power
of P
max
1.42 Wand a solar-to-electricity conversion efciency of 0.13%are
achieved. Compared to the efciency of a directly irradiated TOM (which was only
0.06% at a mean solar radiative ux of 8 Wcm
2
[9, 32]), this is an improvement
of 62%. Thus, the cavity-receiver conguration was able to increase the efciency
by a factor of 2.16.
The open-circuit voltage data measured as a function of the mean solar concen-
tration ratio over the aperture is used to validate a heat transfer model formulated to
analyze the thermal energy partition [37].
The model domain is shown in Fig. 16.11. The cavity contains N modules with M
p/n-type leg pairs. The previous heat transfer analysis of single modules revealed 1D
temperature proles in the p/n-type legs and negligible radiation exchange between
the hot and cold plate [32]. Thus, the considered heat transfer modes are 3Dradiative
and 2D convective exchange within the cavity, 1D conduction through the legs of
the modules, and 2D convective heat loss out of the cavity. Further, it is assumed
that (1) the graphite-coated Al
2
O
3
plates are opaque, gray and diffuse [38] and
have uniform temperature; (2) the gas phase is radiatively non-participating, with
refractive index equal unity; (3) radiative heat transfer between hot/cold plates and
p/n-type legs is neglected. Only open-circuit voltages are simulated.
The distribution of incoming radiation within the cavity is approximated to be
uniformly 50, 26 and 24% of the incident radiation on the bottom, lower and upper
TOMs, respectively. 15% of the incoming radiation is lost through the spacing
between the modules. At low radiative uxes V
OC
is slightly underestimated which
is attributed to the incorrect assumption of a linear temperature dependence of the
material properties. In contrast, a slight overestimation is observed at high radiative
uxes due to insufcient cooling of the cold plate resulting in a decrease of the tem-
perature difference and, consequently, a decrease of V
OC
. The same phenomenon
could be observed for single TOMs with similar p/n-type leg dimensions [32].
The correspondingpercentages of the solar power input transferredbythe different
heat transfer modes are shown in Fig. 16.12 . 71% of Q
solar
is conducted through the
p/n-type legs and converted to power. 23% of Q
solar
is lost by conduction through
the cavity and CPC walls, including losses to water-cooled surfaces. Only 4 and
2% of Q
solar
is lost by reradiation and convection through the aperture, respectively.
378 A. Weidenkaff et al.
Fig. 16.11 Illustration of the model domain: cross-section of a rectangular (box) cavity-receiver
with a windowless rectangular aperture for the incidence of concentrated solar radiation. The cavity
contains an array of N modules with M p/n-type leg pairs. A 2D (trough) CPC is incorporated at
the aperture to augment the solar ux concentration
The comparison with single TOM measurements without cavity [32] indicates that
the cavity effect reduces reradiation losses from 60 to 4% of Q
solar
, while the useful
heat conduction through the p/n-type legs increases from 20 to 71% of Q
solar
.
According to Eq. 16.4 (with T = (T
h
+ T
c
)/2), future improved thermoelectric
oxide modules with ZT = 1 will have a theoretical efciency of
t heo
15.8% when
operated at T
h
= 900 K and T
c
= 300 K [39]):

t heo
=
T
h
T
c
T
h
=

1 + Z T 1
Z

1 + Z T + T
c
/T
h
(16.4)
Assuming that 71% of Q
solar
is conducted through the p/n-type legs the actual
efciency might exceed 11.2%. Potential applications include solar dishes up to
50kW for decentralized power generation and hybrid concepts of TE converters
combined with heat engines to recover spilled solar radiation.
16 Solar TE Converter Applications 379
Fig. 16.12 Percentage of different heat transfer modes: conduction through the p/n-type legs,
reradiation and convective losses through the aperture, and conduction losses through the cavity
and CPC walls. Q
solar
= 710 W and

C = 620 suns
16.5 Potential of Solar TE Devices
The heat transfer analysis of a 1 kW
th
solar cavity-receiver has shown that reradiation
losses are reducedto4%of the incomingsolar radiationcomparedto60%for directly
irradiated 4-leg modules. The results reveal the high potential and the signicant
advantage of the cavity design. However, the measured maximumsolar-to-electricity
efciency does not get beyond 0.13% due to the low Figure of Merit ZT of the used
oxide materials (0.05). An approach towards a higher overall Figure of Merit is to
use cascaded modules at large temperature differences [40]. The heat transfer model
of the 1 kW
th
solar cavity-receiver can be adjusted to evaluate the characteristics of
a cubic 50 kW
th
solar cavity-receiver packed with cascaded modules. Furthermore,
the effect of module efciency and cavity temperature on the receiver efciency can
be assessed.
Due to the temperature dependence of TE properties the use of a single material
at a large temperature difference is not ideal [40]. Preferably, a stack of different
materials, each operating in its most efcient temperature range, should be applied.
Figure16.13 illustrates the general construction of such a cascade module. The mod-
ule consisting of K sandwiched, thermally series-connected module units (stages)
Fig. 16.13 Illustration of a
cascade module consisting of
Kstages and operated between
the temperatures T
K+1
and T
1
380 A. Weidenkaff et al.
is operated between temperatures T
K+1
and T
1
[39]. Each stage k is composed of
different TE materials.
A two-stage design (K = 2) represents the simplest form of a cascaded TE
module. Based on a theoretical combination of a Bi-Te alloy on the cold side and
a perovskite-type compound on the hot side of the module, the solar-to-electricity
efciency of a 50 kW
th
solar cavity-receiver as a function of cavity dimensions,
aperture width, maximum temperature and TE leg length can be analyzed. The
Bi-Te alloy has a Figure of Merit ZT of 1. For the perovskite materials used on
the hot side a ZT value of either 0.36 or 1.7 was assumed depending on the applied
maximum temperature (900 or 1,200K). With reference to standard Bi-Te modules
[41], each stage contains M = 2,822 TE legs (1,411 p/n-type leg pairs), each leg
having a cross-section of A
leg
= 1.05 1.05 mm
2
.
The adjusted heat transfer model is used to optimize the cavity-receiver geom-
etry to a certain extent (height H = 3090cm and width X = 4080cm) and to
investigate the effect of module efciency and the hot plate temperatures (T
h,max
=
9001200K) on the solar-to-electricity efciency and the total leg length.
Agood trade-off between the efciency
solar
and the required number of modules
N is achieved for X = 60cm and H = 50cm where the model predicts
solar
= 7.3
and 11.1% at T
h,max
= 900 and 1,200K, respectively, with N = 156 modules.
A maximum reradiation loss of 6.7% at T
h,max
= 1, 200 K is identied which is
comparable to the 1 kW
th
solar cavity-receiver (4%). Based on the optimum cavity
parameters (H = 50cm, X = 60cm, N = 156), the receiver efciency as a function
of the Seebeck coefcients (S
high
= 90196V/K) and the maximum temperature
T
h,max
= 9001,200K, is assessed. With the intermediate calculation of the module
efciency
mod,dual
the model predicts a solar-to-electricity efciency of the cavity-
receiver ranging from
solar
= 7.4% (P
max
= 3.7kW at
mod,dual
= 11.7%) at
T
h,max
= 900K to
solar
= 20.8% (Pmax=10.4kW at
mod,dual
= 26%) at T
h,max
=
1, 200K. At the same time, however, the TE legs (l
total
= l
Bi-Te
+ l
Perovskite
) have to
be elongated from l
total
= 7mm at T
h,max
= 900K to l
total
= 21.7mm at T
h,max
=
1, 200K, in order to compensate the increasing Peltier heat ux at higher maximum
temperatures on the hot side.
In conclusion, the 50kW
th
cavity-receiver packed with presently available ther-
moelectric materials (low-temperature Bi-Te with ZT = 1 and high-temperature
perovskite-type oxide with ZT = 0.36,
mod,dual
= 11.7%) already reaches an ef-
ciency of
solar
= 7.4%. In the future, new more efcient high-temperature materi-
als (with a predicted ZT = 1.7) might improve the solar conversion efciency up to
20.8% rendering them competitive to other solar conversion devices.
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