Finite Element Analysis of Thermoelectric Power Generation from Human Wrist

Abstract

Harvesting human wrist heat with a thermoelectric generator (TEG) has received prominence, which has the ability to power portable electronic devices. This paper presents a study and analysis of a bismuth telluride-based TEG for human wrist heat harvesting. The performance of the TEG was evaluated using the finite element analysis method. The actual heat harvesting environment from the human wrist was developed during the simulation. Based on the analysis, an output voltage and power of 40.7 mV and 4.245 mW, respectively, were obtained from the proposed TEG module at a temperature gradient of 12.5 K. Besides, the generator was able to produce a maximum power efficiency factor of 0.66 μWmm-2K-2. The output of the developed wearable TEG could be improved by employing more thermocouples, which can potentially be used to power devices.