Experimental Study on the Thermoelectric Performance of PCM-TEG System

The integration of phase change materials (PCMs) with thermoelectric generators (TEGs) presents a solution to the challenge of unstable output resulting from fluctuations in the heat source. This study involved the establishment of an experimental test setup for PCM-TEG system to examine the impact of heat source power on the thermoelectric performance of PCM-TEG system. The results suggest that incorporating PCM effectively mitigates output voltage fluctuations, while higher heating power levels correspond to a notable extension in effective operational duration. In situations of low heat source power, incomplete PCM melting may lead to a significant decline in electricity generation during non-heating stages. Notably, the electricity generation during non-heating stages at 90 W heating power surpasses that at 30 W heating power by a factor of 11.78. Furthermore, the electricity generated during non-heating stages contributes to 22.4% of the total electricity generation. These findings have instructive implications for the development of PCM-TEG systems.