Simulate a Thermoelectric generator in ANSYS

Name: Simulate a Thermoelectric generator in ANSYS
Rating: 4.7 (48 reviews)

Thermal-electric analysis

Created byHesham Khalil

Last updated 9/2023

English

What you'll learn

Creating a geometry in SpaceClaim
Assigning material in ANSYS
Meshing a solid domain
Simulating thermoelectric generators
Generate contours of temperature and voltage
Parametric analysis of the TEG performance

Course content

4 sections • 11 lectures • 1h 24m total length

Introduction1:06
Create the geometry of a thermoelectric generator in ansys using SpaceClaim, building components from the leg to the ceramics covering the thermocouples with step-by-step explanations.

Starting with first component5:57
Open the ANSYS workbench, define geometry, materials, and boundary conditions for a thermoelectric generator, and model ceramic components and zigzag thermocouples using SpaceClaim, design modeler, or CAD import in millimeters.
Creating first building block of the TEG6:43
Learn to build the first thermoelectric legs in ANSYS by copying components with the move command, setting 0.04 mm spacing via anchor points and rulers.
Completing the thermocouples of the TEG3:10
Learn to complete thermocouples of a TEG in ANSYS by duplicating thermocouple blocks, setting precise spacing to 38 mm, and aligning positive and negative legs.
Connecting all thermocouples7:24
connect each thermocouple with its neighbor by duplicating and rotating cold shoulder components, aligning and moving copies in ANSYS to assemble sixteen connections for the thermoelectric generator.
Final adjustments7:48
finalize a thermoelectric generator model in ANSYS by unlinking thermocouples, creating a mid-plane wire arc, and adding ceramic layers with 40 by 40 mm and 0.8 mm thickness.

Materials13:19
Define and assign materials in ANSYS for a thermoelectric generator, using engineering data, copper alloys, aluminum oxide, and BiTe+ / BiTe-, and input table-based Seebeck, thermal conductivity, and resistivity.
Meshing13:18
Learn to mesh a thermoelectric generator in ANSYS mechanical by managing share topology vs. none, creating necessary connections, and applying targeted mesh sizes and sweep layering for accurate, efficient results.
Analysis settings6:43
Learn to configure analysis settings for a thermoelectric generator in ANSYS by defining electrical grounding, hot and cold boundary conditions, and wire convection to enable convergence and capture joule heat.

Main output parameters13:36
Simulate a thermoelectric generator in ANSYS by visualizing temperature and voltage distributions. Extract the output voltage, Joule heat, and wire volume to compute the overall efficiency.
Design points and performance evaluation5:50
Explore how to evaluate a thermoelectric generator in ANSYS using design points to analyze performance under varying hot side temperatures and wire resistivity, and export results for graphing.

Requirements

Basic knowledge of how thermoelectric generators work

Description

In this set of lectures, you will find the complete steps to simulate the thermoelectric generators inside ANSYS.

The course starts with geometry creation using SpaceClaim. A step-by-step guide on how to create the 3D model in the most flexible and easy way. The exact dimensions and placement of each component is explained in full detail supported with actual images of an actual commercial thermoelectric generator.

Following this, the different materials definitions and their assignments to various components of the TEG. The used materials are actual properties referenced from published scientific articles.

Next, you will see the meshing process. A good uniform mesh is formed. The mesh includes hexahedrons only. Detailed steps are shown and using connections between components are explained.

After that, the analysis settings and the definitions of boundaries' conditions are explained in ANSYS Mechanical. Defining temperature boundaries and convection coefficients.

Finally, you will learn how to display the different results in different forms (Contours, exact values, etc...). Contours of temperature and voltage. Also, you will learn how to do parametric analysis. Variation of performance at different temperatures and the at different loads.

This is recorded using version 2021R1. The attached files can be opened in this version and any other later version released after 2021R1.

Who this course is for:

Electrical engineers
Mechanical engineers
Researchers in energy harvesting

Simulate a Thermoelectric generator in ANSYS

What you'll learn

Explore related topics

Course content

Introduction1 lecture • 1min

Creating the geometry5 lectures • 31min

model setup3 lectures • 33min

Results2 lectures • 19min

Requirements

Description

Who this course is for: