{"title":"Analysis of a polymer-based textile-embroidered thermoelectric generator for harvesting electrical power from the human body","authors":"Salman Soltanian, Shohel Mahmud, Animesh Dutta","doi":"10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2025.126156","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Warm and lightweight clothing is indispensable in cold climates, and textile thermoelectric generators embroidered into fabrics provide a practical solution for harnessing body heat to generate electricity. This study performed analytical and numerical analyses for a textile thermoelectric generator with p-type legs composed of polymer:polyelectrolyte-coated threads and n-type legs made of silver-plated threads sewn on a thick wool fabric. The one-dimensional thermoelectric equations, derived from energy balance on small thermoelectric elements, were analytically solved for a constant Seebeck coefficient under three boundary conditions: (a) fixed temperatures at both sides, (b) fixed temperature at the hot side with convection at the cold side, and (c) convection at both sides. These conditions effectively simulate the thermal contact resistance encountered in wearable thermoelectric generators. Subsequently, a semi-analytical approach was applied to the one-dimensional thermoelectric equation for a p-type leg with linearly temperature-dependent Seebeck coefficient and thermal conductivity under ideal thermal contact with the heat sources. The analysis yielded the temperature and electric potential distributions along the textile thermoelectric legs, as well as the maximum achievable power, peak power current, and optimal load resistance. A higher temperature gradient significantly enhanced maximum power output and associated electric current. As the convective heat transfer coefficient increased, the maximum power and corresponding electric current initially rose sharply before stabilizing at higher values, influenced by the temperature gradient. With convective heat transfer on both sides and a temperature gradient of 50 K, a maximum power of 46.65 nW per thermocouple unit was achieved at a textile thickness of 15.9 mm. Interestingly, the analytical analysis revealed that the optimal load resistance for maximum power generation was unaffected by the boundary conditions and was consistently equal to the thermoelectric generator’s internal resistance. The thermoelectric generator-embroidered fabric reached a steady state power generation after 17 min, with the open-circuit voltage increasing linearly as more thermoelectric pairs were added. This study presents a comprehensive mathematical framework for analyzing and optimizing thermoelectric generator designs for industrial applications.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":8201,"journal":{"name":"Applied Thermal Engineering","volume":"269 ","pages":"Article 126156"},"PeriodicalIF":6.1000,"publicationDate":"2025-03-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Applied Thermal Engineering","FirstCategoryId":"5","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1359431125007483","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"工程技术","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q2","JCRName":"ENERGY & FUELS","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
摘要
在寒冷的气候条件下,保暖轻便的衣物是不可或缺的,而绣在织物上的纺织热电发电机则为利用人体热量发电提供了一种实用的解决方案。本研究对纺织热电发生器进行了分析和数值分析,该热电发生器的p型支脚由聚合物:聚电解质涂层线组成,n型支脚由缝在厚羊毛织物上的镀银线组成。根据小型热电元件的能量平衡推导出的一维热电方程,在以下三种边界条件下对恒定的塞贝克系数进行了解析求解:(a) 两侧温度固定;(b) 热侧温度固定,冷侧对流;(c) 两侧对流。这些条件有效地模拟了可穿戴热电发生器中遇到的热接触电阻。随后,在与热源理想热接触的情况下,对具有线性温度依赖性塞贝克系数和热导率的 p 型脚的一维热电方程应用了半分析方法。分析得出了沿纺织热电腿的温度和电动势分布,以及可实现的最大功率、峰值功率电流和最佳负载电阻。温度梯度越高,最大功率输出和相关电流就越大。随着对流传热系数的增加,最大功率和相应的电流最初急剧上升,然后受温度梯度的影响稳定在较高值。在两侧都有对流传热、温度梯度为 50 K 的情况下,纺织品厚度为 15.9 mm 时,每个热电偶单元的最大功率为 46.65 nW。有趣的是,分析表明,最大发电量的最佳负载电阻不受边界条件的影响,始终等于热电发生器的内阻。绣有热电发生器的织物在 17 分钟后达到稳态发电,随着热电对的增加,开路电压呈线性增长。本研究提出了一个全面的数学框架,用于分析和优化工业应用中的热电发电机设计。
Analysis of a polymer-based textile-embroidered thermoelectric generator for harvesting electrical power from the human body
Warm and lightweight clothing is indispensable in cold climates, and textile thermoelectric generators embroidered into fabrics provide a practical solution for harnessing body heat to generate electricity. This study performed analytical and numerical analyses for a textile thermoelectric generator with p-type legs composed of polymer:polyelectrolyte-coated threads and n-type legs made of silver-plated threads sewn on a thick wool fabric. The one-dimensional thermoelectric equations, derived from energy balance on small thermoelectric elements, were analytically solved for a constant Seebeck coefficient under three boundary conditions: (a) fixed temperatures at both sides, (b) fixed temperature at the hot side with convection at the cold side, and (c) convection at both sides. These conditions effectively simulate the thermal contact resistance encountered in wearable thermoelectric generators. Subsequently, a semi-analytical approach was applied to the one-dimensional thermoelectric equation for a p-type leg with linearly temperature-dependent Seebeck coefficient and thermal conductivity under ideal thermal contact with the heat sources. The analysis yielded the temperature and electric potential distributions along the textile thermoelectric legs, as well as the maximum achievable power, peak power current, and optimal load resistance. A higher temperature gradient significantly enhanced maximum power output and associated electric current. As the convective heat transfer coefficient increased, the maximum power and corresponding electric current initially rose sharply before stabilizing at higher values, influenced by the temperature gradient. With convective heat transfer on both sides and a temperature gradient of 50 K, a maximum power of 46.65 nW per thermocouple unit was achieved at a textile thickness of 15.9 mm. Interestingly, the analytical analysis revealed that the optimal load resistance for maximum power generation was unaffected by the boundary conditions and was consistently equal to the thermoelectric generator’s internal resistance. The thermoelectric generator-embroidered fabric reached a steady state power generation after 17 min, with the open-circuit voltage increasing linearly as more thermoelectric pairs were added. This study presents a comprehensive mathematical framework for analyzing and optimizing thermoelectric generator designs for industrial applications.
期刊介绍:
Applied Thermal Engineering disseminates novel research related to the design, development and demonstration of components, devices, equipment, technologies and systems involving thermal processes for the production, storage, utilization and conservation of energy, with a focus on engineering application.
The journal publishes high-quality and high-impact Original Research Articles, Review Articles, Short Communications and Letters to the Editor on cutting-edge innovations in research, and recent advances or issues of interest to the thermal engineering community.