A one-dimensional steady model for an annular thermoelectric generator (ATEG) is developed based on the thermoelectric power generation and thermal science in this paper. The influence of the Thomson effect and convection heat transfer between cold junction and ambient air on the performance of an ATEG is investigated. Closed-form solutions for power output and conversion efficiency of the ATEG are obtained, and they increase with the increasing values of the temperature at the hot junction and the convection heat transfer coefficient at the cold junction. The radiation heat transfer should not be neglected when the convection heat transfer coefficient is less than 100 W m − 2 K − 1. It is found that the Thomson effect has a negative impact on the power output and efficiency and should be considered for predicting the performance of an ATEG accurately. The height of thermoelectric legs should be taken into account in order to obtain the excellent performance of the ATEG. The presented model can be reduced to the model of the ATEG subjected to the constant temperatures at the hot and cold junctions when the convection heat transfer coefficient is large enough.

中文翻译：

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考虑汤姆逊效应和冷端对流换热的环形热电发电机性能分析

本文以热电发电和热学为基础，建立了环形热电发电机（ATEG）的一维稳态模型。研究了汤姆森效应和冷端与环境空气之间的对流热传递对 ATEG 性能的影响。获得了ATEG的功率输出和转换效率的封闭形式解，它们随着热端温度和冷端对流换热系数值的增加而增加。当对流换热系数小于 100 W m − 2 K − 1 时，辐射换热不应被忽略。研究发现，汤姆逊效应对功率输出和效率有负面影响，在准确预测 ATEG 的性能时应予以考虑。为了获得ATEG的优异性能，应考虑热电腿的高度。当对流传热系数足够大时，所提出的模型可以简化为在冷热结温度恒定的情况下的ATEG模型。