Pin fin heat bridge-based CPV-TEG hybrid system performance enhancement and optimization design

Abstract

The concentrated photovoltaic-thermoelectric generator (CPV-TEG) hybrid system can enhance solar energy utilization and demonstrate superior performance. However, the performance of the CPV-TEG hybrid system is unsatisfactory due to the limited downward conduction of unused photovoltaic (PV) heat, which results in suboptimal PV and TEG performance. To address this issue, this paper proposes the addition of pin fin heat bridges between the PV and TEG components to reduce thermal resistance, and the introduction of functionally gradient thermoelectric materials to further enhance TEG performance. To achieve optimal performance, an intelligent optimization method is proposed for designing the optimal arrangement of pin fin heat bridges and the distribution of functionally graded thermoelectric materials. This method utilizes a multi-objective Archimedean optimization algorithm (MAOA) in conjunction with the Technique for Order of Preference by Similarity to Ideal Solution (TOPSIS) decision-making process. Initially, various distributions of functionally graded thermoelectric materials are compared. Subsequently, three typical models for pin fin heat bridge arrangements are constructed and subjected to preliminary analysis. Finally, the joint optimization method, combining the MAOA algorithm and TOPSIS decision-making, is implemented. This method considers the distribution of functionally graded thermoelectric materials and the arrangement of pin fin heat bridges as optimization variables, with TEG module output power (P_TEG) and CPV module output power (P_PV) serving as objective functions. Following optimization, the CPV-TEG hybrid system achieves an optimal balance between P_TEG and P_PV. Specifically, the optimal design results in increases of 22.89% and 19.58% in P_TEG and P_PV, respectively, compared to the initial solution.