Numerical Study on the Thermal Stress and its Formation Mechanism of a Thermoelectric Device

作     者：PAN Tao GONG Tingrui YANG Wei WU Yongjia 

作者机构：Product Engineering Department Wuhan Branch of SAIC-GM ltd Wuhan 430200 China Microsystem and Terahertz Research Center China Academy of Engineering Physics Chengdu 610200 China Institute of Electronic Engineering China Academy of Engineering Physics Mianyang 621999 China Hubei Institute of Aerospace Chemical Technology Xiangyang 441000 China School of Mechanical Engineering Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University Blacksburg 24060 USA 

出 版 物：《Journal of Thermal Science》 (热科学学报（英文版）)

年 卷 期：2018年第27卷第3期

页      面：249-258页

核心收录：

学科分类：08[工学] 0807[工学-动力工程及工程热物理] 

基　　金：financially supported by the Science Challenge Project(Grant No.TZ2018003) 

主　　题：Solar Thermoelectric Power Generator Thermal Stress Thermal Radiation Numerical Simulation 

摘      要：The strong thermo-mechanical stress is one of the most critical failure mechanisms that affect the durability of thermoelectric devices. In this study, numerical simulations on the formation mechanism of the maximum thermal stress inside the thermoelectric device have been performed by using finite element method. The influences of the material properties and the thermal radiation on the thermal stress have been examined. The results indicate that the maximum thermal stress was located at the contact position between the two materials and occurred due to differential thermal expansions and displacement constraints of the materials. The difference in the calculated thermal stress value between the constant and the variable material properties was between 3% and 4%. At a heat flux of 1 W·cm^(-2) and an emissivity of 0.5, the influence of the radiation heat transfer on the thermal stress was only about 5%; however, when the heat flux was 20 W·cm^(-2) and the emissivity was 0.7, the influence of the radiation heat transfer was more than 30%.