Abstract
A thermoelectric generator (TEG) efficiency booster with buck–boost conversion and power management is proposed as a TEG battery power conditioner suitable for a wide TEG output voltage range. An inverse-coupled inductor is employed in the buck–boost converter, which is used to achieve smooth current with low ripple on both the TEG and battery sides. Furthermore, benefiting from the magnetic flux counteraction of the two windings on the coupled inductor, the core size and power losses of the filter inductor are reduced, which can achieve both high efficiency and high power density. A power management strategy is proposed for this power conditioning system, which involves maximum power point tracking (MPPT), battery voltage control, and battery current control. A control method is employed to ensure smooth switching among different working modes. A modified MPPT control algorithm with improved dynamic and steady-state characteristics is presented and applied to the TEG battery power conditioning system to maximize energy harvesting. A 500-W prototype has been built, and experimental tests carried out on it. The power efficiency of the prototype at full load is higher than 96%, and peak efficiency of 99% is attained.
Article PDF
Similar content being viewed by others
Avoid common mistakes on your manuscript.
References
L. Miao, M. Zhang, S. Tanemura, T. Tanaka, Y.P. Kang, and G. Xu, J. Electron. Mater. 41, 1759 (2012).
L.A. Rosendahl, P.V. Mortensen, and A.A. Enkeshafi, J. Electron. Mater. 40, 1111 (2011).
J. Gao, K. Sun, L. Ni, M. Chen, Z. Kang, L. Zhang, Y. Xing, and J. Zhang, J. Electron. Mater. 41, 1043 (2012).
K. Yazawa and A. Shakouri, J. Electron. Mater. 41, 1845 (2012).
C.Q. Su, W.W. Zhan, and S. Shen, J. Electron. Mater. 41, 1693 (2012).
Y.D. Deng, W. Fan, K. Ling, C.Q. Su, J. Electron. Mater. 41, 1698, (2012).
J. LaGrandeur, D. Crane, S. Hung, B. Mazar, A. Eder, Proceedings of 25th Int. Conf. Thermoelect. (2006), pp.343 - 348.
X. Zhang, K.T. Chau, and C.D. Chan, J. Asian Electr. Vehicles. 2, 1119 (2008).
L. Chen, D. Cao, Y. Huang, F. Peng, Proceedings of 39th IEEE Power Electron.(2008), pp.1098 - 1103.
S. Lineykin and S. Ben-Yaakov, IEEE Trans. Ind. Appl. 43, 505 (2007).
J. Zhu, J. Gao, M. Chen, J. Zhang, Q. Du, L.A. Rosendahl, and R.O. Suzuki, J. Electron. Mater. 40, 744 (2011).
H. Cheng and K.M. Smedley, IEEE T. Power Electr. 25, 280 (2010).
H. Nagayoshi, K. Tokumisum and T. Kajikawa, Proceedings of 26th Int. Conf. Thermoelect. (2007), pp. 318-321.
P.-C, Huang, W.-Q. Wu, H.-H. Ho, K.-H. Chen, IEEE T. Power Electr. 25, 719(2010).
Y.-J. Lee, A. Knaligh, A. Chakraborty, and A. Emadi, IEEE T. Power Electr. 24, 1267 (2009).
R.-Y. Kim and J.-S. Lai, IEEE T. Power Electr. 23, 2310 (2008).
R.-Y. Kim, J.-S. Lai, IEEE 23th Applied Power Electronics Conference and Exposition. (2008), pp. 1754-1760.
H. Nagayoshi, T. Nakabayashi, H. Maiwa, and T. Kajikawa, J. Electron. Mater. 40, 657 (2011).
R.-Y. Kim, J.-S. Lai, B. York, and A. Koran, IEEE T. Ind. Electr. 56, 3709 (2009).
S. Kim, S. Cho, N. Kim, N. Baatar, and J. Kwon, J. Electron. Mater. 40, 867 (2011).
J. Park and S. Kim, J. Electron. Mater. 41, 1242 (2012).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Wu, H., Sun, K., Zhang, J. et al. A TEG Efficiency Booster with Buck–Boost Conversion. J. Electron. Mater. 42, 1737–1744 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-012-2407-9
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11664-012-2407-9