Friday, October 28, 2011
Hall 1-2 (San Jose Convention Center)
New methods and devices are being developed to try to salvage the energy lost due to heat. Most of the energy generated in systems is lost through heat. Thermal electric devices can be used to convert heat into electrical energy. Many different methods are used to test the efficiency of thermal electric devices. The efficiency of thermal electric devices is indicated by the value ZT, known as the coefficient of merit, and “ƞ” the devices efficiency. The value for ZT is calculated using three parameters “S” the Seebeck Coefficient or thermal power, thermal conductivity “K” and electrical conductivity “σ”. The value of “ƞ” is proportional to the heat temperature “TH”, cooled temperature “TC” and the value of ZT of the thermal electric device. The thermal electric system functions by applying a heat gradient across the thermal electric device and taking appropriate measurements that are used to calculate ZT and “ƞ”. Our system uses a variety of hardware to measure the thermal electric devices parameters. The software program Lab View is used to collect and analyze the measurements taken by the hardware. We expect that our thermal electric system will precisely and rapidly characterize thermal electric devices without damaging the devices.