DEVELOPMENT, CHARACTERIZATION AND

TESTING OF A CONCEPTUAL HYBRID

THERMOPHOTOVOLTAIC (TPV) UNIT -
THERMOELECTRIC GENERATOR (TEG)
PABLO ARAYA

Pontificia Universidad Católica

Santiago, 25 de Enero de 2019 PROF. GUÍA AMADOR GUZMAN
CONTENT
• INTRODUCTION
• BACKGROUND – TPV
• MOTIVATION / APPLICATIONS
• HTPV-TEG COMPONENTS
• OBJECTIVES
• HYPOTHESIS
• METHODOLOGY
• THEORETICAL MODEL
• NUMERICAL MODEL
• EXPERIMENTS
• WORK PLAN

• PROPOSED PUBLICATIONS
 INTRODUCTION: NATURAL HEAT- ENERGY SOURCES

Fossil Fuels
SUN: Fusion
EARTH

Geothermal

Radionuclides (Fission)
INTRODUCTION: THERMAL ENERGY CONVERSION
SYSTEMS
INTRODUCTION: COMPETING TECHNOLOGIES

TPV Cells

PVC
INTRODUCTION: PVC - SUNLIGHT

Extraterrestrial and terrestrial spectrum of sunlight

Absorption of Si Junction (PVC)

 INTRODUCTION: SUNLIGHT TO ELECTRICITY (PVC)

Photovoltaic (PV) cells produce thermal energy along with electrical energy
when exposed to sunlight

The very best, cutting-edge laboratory cells can manage 46 % efficiency in perfect conditions using
multiple junctions to catch photons of different energies
 INTRODUCTION: TPV - STANDARD COMPONENTS

• Absorber/ Emitter
• Ceramics
• Selective Ceramics
• Metals
• Photonic Crystals

• PV Cell
• Thermal Management
INTRODUCTION: TPV SPECTRAL RESPONSE

Incident radiation is absorbed and turned into outgoing thermal

emission that matches the spectral response of a single-junction cell.
INTRODUCTION: TEG COMPONENTS
• converts heat flux (temperature differences) directly into electrical energy
through a phenomenon called the Seebeck effect
 INTRODUCTION: PUC RESEARCH
Solar

Solar

Heat Source Parabolic

Optical Concentrator
Concentrator Electrical Optical
Output Concentrator
TEG
ABS/EMI PVC
Electrical
TPV TEG
Output
LHSCS PVC MCHS Electrical
Output
Thermosiphon
TEG
Electrical
Cooling Output

F. Montero P. Araya M. Di Capua P. Escobar

LHSCS: Latent Heat Storage and Cooling System MCHS: Micro Channel Sink
BACKGROUND: LITERATIRE REVIEW OF TPV AND HTPV

• REVIEWS OF TPV
• Efficiencies: 15% to 20%
• Designs date back to 1960s

• MATERIALS
• TPV Components

• TPV Experiments
• Abosrber/Emitter Spectral Shaping

• TPV-TEG
• Analytical
• Numerical
 BACKGROUND: MIT TPV EXPERIMENTS

• Sunlight is converted to useful thermal

emission, and ultimately electrical power,
via a hot absorber- emitter.
• (a) Schematic
• (b) Optical image of the vacuum-enclosed
devices
 BACKGROUND: SELECTED REFERENCES
1995, Rowe, D. M.. Thermoelectrics. Thermoelectrics Handbook, CRC Press
2001, Coutts, Timothy J. “An Overview of Thermophotovoltaic Generation of Electricity” Solar Energy Materials & Solar Cells 66 (2001) 443-452
2011, Bauer Thomas, Thermophotovoltaic Basic Principles and Critical Aspects of System Design, Springer, Berlin
2011, Ferrari, C. et. al., “Overview and Status of Thermophotovoltaic Systems”, Energy Procedia 45 (2014) 160-169
2011, Yimin Xuan, Xue Chen, Yuge Han, “Design and analysis of solar thermophotovoltaic systems”, Renewable Energu 36 (2011) 374-387
2012, Mathews, I. et. al., “Theoretical performance of multi-junction solarcells combining III-V and Si materials”, 10 September 2012, Vol. 20, No. S5, Optics Express A754
2012, Bermel, P., et. al., “Ch. 7 Selective Solar Absorbers, Annual Review of Heat Transfer”, Begell House, Inc.
2012, McEnaney, K., Daniel Kraemer, & Gang Chen, “Ch. 6 Direct Heat-To-Electricity Conversion Of Solar Energy, Annual Review of Heat Transfer”, Begell House, Inc.
2013 Tian, Y. and Zhao, C.Y. “A review of solar collectors and thermal energy storage in solar thermal applications”, Applied Energy 104 (2013) 538-553
2013, Rinnerbauer, V., et. al., “Large area selective emitters/absorbers based on 2D tantalum photonic crystals for high-temperature energy applications”, Photonic and 2013,
2013, Nam, Y., et. al., “Solar TPV energy conversion systems with 2D tantalum photonic crystal absorbers and emitters”, Solar Energy Materials & Solar Cells 122, 287-296
2013, Rinnerbauer, V., et. al., “Large-area fabrication of high aspect ratio tantalum photonic crystals for high-temperature selective emitters”, J. of vacuum Science & Tech, 2013
2013, Zhao, B, et. al., “Thermophotovoltaic emitters based on a two-dimensional grating/thin-film nanostructure”, Int. Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer, 67, 637-645
2013, Tian, Y. and Zhao, C.Y., A review of solar collectors and thermal energy storage in solar thermal applications, Applied Energy 104, pp. 538-553
2013, Moharram,, K.A. et. al., “Enhancing the performance of photovoltaic panels by water cooling”, Ain Shams Engineering Journal, 4, 869–877
2014, Ferrari, C. et. al., Overview and Status of Thermophotovoltaic Systems, Energy Procedia 45 (2014) 160-169
2014, Lenert, Andrej “Tuning Energy Transport in Solar Thermal Systems using Nanostructures Materials” PhD Thesis in Mechanical Engineering at MIT, June 2014
2014, Lenert, Andrej, et. Al. “A Nanophotonic Solar Thermophotovoltaic Device”, Nature Nanotechnology, 19 Jan 2014, DOI:10.1038/NNANO.2013.286
2014, Shimizu, M., Kohiyama, A. and Yugami, H. “10% efficiency solar TPV systems using spectrally controlled monolithic planar absorber/emitters”, Proc. SPIE 9140,
2014, Boriskina, S. and Chen, G., “Exceeding the solar cell Shockley–Queisser limit via thermal up-conversion flow-energy photons” Optics Communications 314(2014)71–78
2014, Chou, J. B., et. al. , “Design of wide-angle selective absorbers/emitters with dielectric filled metallic photonic crystals for energy applications” Optics Express Vol. 22.
2014, Rinnerbauer, V., et. al., “Metallic Photonic Cristal Absorber-Emitter for Efficient Spectra Control in High-Temperature Solar Thermophotovoltaics”, Advanced Energy Materials
2014, Stelmakh, et. al., “High-temperature tantalum tungsten alloy photonic crystals: Stability, optical properties, and fabrication”, Applied Physics Letters 103, 123903
2015, Cao, F. et. al. “A high-performance spectrally-selective solar abs based on a yttria-stabilized zirconia cermet with high-temperature stability”, Energy & Env Sc., 8
2016, Bierman, David M. et. Al. “Enhanced Photovoltaic Energy Conversion Using Thermally Bases Spectral Shaping”, Nature Energy, 23 May 2016, Article Number 16068
2016, H.Hashim, J. Bomphreya and G.Min, “Model for geometry optimization of thermoelectric devices in a hybrid PV/TE system”, Renewable Energy, Volume 87, Part 1
2016, Makki, A., et. al., “Numerical investigation of heat pipe-based photovoltaic–thermoelectric generator (HP-PV/TEG) hybrid system”, Energy Conversion and Management 112
2018, Lorenzi, B. and Chen, G. , “Theoretical efficiency of hybrid solar thermoelectric-photovoltaic generators”, Journal Of Applied Physics 124, 024501
2018, Naddaa, R. et. al., “Efficiency improvement of solar photovoltaic/solar air collectors by using impingement jets - A review, Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews”
2018, Donald L. Chubb and Brian S. Good, “A combined thermophotovoltaic-thermoelectric energy converter”, Solar Energy 159, 760–767
2018, R. Bjork and K.K. Nielsen, “The max theoretical performance of unconcentrated solar PV and TEG systems”, Energy Conversion and Management 156, 264–268
MOTIVATION: FUTURE APPLICATIONS
• Copper / Steel
MOTIVATION: FUTURE APPLICATIONS
MOTIVATION: FUTURE APPLICATIONS
MOTIVATION: FUTURE APPLICATIONS
RESEARCH OBJECTIVES
• Develop a first principle based theoretical model of the HTPV-TEG system with
the materials and properties to determine the improvement in efficiency.
• Determine energy conversion efficiencies based on the numerical model results
for several operating conditions.
• Design and build an experimental test section to obtain temperatures and heat
flows for the HTPV-TEG, to determine efficiencies that can be compared to the
theoretical and numerical predictions.
• Propose improvements to the design, in order to reach desired improvements in
efficiency
• Publish results in conference proceeding and journals.
HYPOTHESIS OF MY RESEARCH

“A hybrid energy conversion system composed of a thermophotovoltaic

cell (TPV) mounted on a thermoelectrical generator (TEG) that is
refrigerated using a cooling system, is capable of a measurable
increase in conversion efficiency of up to 7% according to theoretical
calculations, when compared to traditional thermophotovoltaic systems”
METHODLOGY

Hypothesis

Compare Theoretical
Results Model Publish

Experiments Numerical
Model
METHODLOGY: THEORETICAL MODEL FOR EFICIENCY
METHODLOGY: THEORETICAL MODEL FOR EFICIENCY
$%&'
𝑃"# = 𝑄$%&' + 𝑄+,# + 𝑄-./

P348 + P267
η12345267 = η348 + η267 =
Gη;<= A;<= Temp. Coef.

η348 = ηJ348 + ηJ348 βJLM TM − T; = ηJ348 1 − βJLM TM − T;

Seebeck
S
𝑇C − 𝑇E 1 + 𝑍H# 𝑇I − 1 SPQ
𝜂 %@A = ZPQ = S
𝑇C 𝑇
1 + 𝑍H# 𝑇I + 𝑇E κP ρP + κQ ρQ
C
Resitivity
Figure of Merit
Conductiviy
η12345267 = ηJ348 + η34858WQ[ + η267 ηLM − ηLM5VW==
Q 8WQY + Q Z;[
ηLM5VW== =
GA;<=
 METHODLOGY: THEORETICAL MODEL FOR EFICIENCY

η12345267

7% η348 η267

Th (K)
Th (K)

Current Research Lorenzi and Chen (2018)

 METHODOLOGY: NUMERICAL MODEL
Heat Source
Tamb [K]
Q [W/m2]
𝜀abs ; 𝛼abs ; 𝜌abs h [kW/m2]

AIR FILLED GAP ABSORBER

𝜀emi; 𝛼emi; 𝜌emi
EMITTER

INSULATION PVC 𝜀pvc; 𝛼pvc; 𝜌pvc

TEG

Cooling Plate Tc [K]

A 2D model will be implemented in COMSOL Multiphysics ® Software, to simulate heat transfer by

conduction and radiation through the various HTPV-TEG components
 METHODOLOGY: NUMERICAL MODEL

• Run various heat input scenarios and determine temperature

distributions in the HTPV-TEG domain.
• Temperatures can be used to determine heat flows and
ultimately obtain efficiencies
• Initial results of the 2D model will be compared to those from
the theoretical model, to validate the modeling assumptions.
• Results will also be compared to other published research in
similar systems.
 METHODOLOGY: EXPERIMENTAL CONCEPT
POWER 1

2
9 10

11 D
A
Q 4 5

14
13 12
6

Test runs between 300 and 500 K of the PVC component, to obtain
temperatures using the thermocouples, as well as electrical output from the PVC
and TEG devices
METHODOLOGY: EXPERIMENTAL CONCEPT
• The experiments will serve as proof of concept, and provide
insight into whether or not such a system can be standardized
to provide a HTPV-TEG system that can be replicated ensuring
efficiency improvements
• Challenges
• Uncertainty in what will happen when a PVC and TEG
components are placed under the concentrator.
• Achieving parallelism between surfaces
• Minimizing Gap
• Maintaining temperatures within the PVC and TEG
operating ranges.
• Managing losses
• Temperature stability of the cooling plate
WORK PLAN
WORK PLAN 2-2018 1-2019 2-2019 1-2020 2-2020
Task 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
PhD Candidacy Presentation
Objective 1: Develop Theoretical Model
Objective 2: Determine predicted
efficiencies based on Numerical Model
1st Conference Publication
Objective 3: Design and build an
experimental test section
2nd Conference Publication
Objective 3: Debug and calibrate test
section
Objective 3: Obtain temperatures and
heat flows for the HTPV device
1st Journal Article
Objective 3: Determine efficiencies and
compare to the theoretical and
numerical predictions
2nd Journal Article
Objective 4: Propose improvements to
the design
3nd Journal Article
International Exchange
Thesis Defense
PROPOSED PUBLICATIONS

• Journal of Applied Energy: “Preliminary, analytical and experimental results of

a HTPV-TEG System”
• Journal of Applied Physics: “Experimental validation of the HTPV-TEG System
for energy conversion”
• Energy Conversion and Management: “Experimental concept testing of a HTPV-
TEG System”
• Solar Energy Journal: “On field testing and characterization of a HTPV-TEG
concept for rural applications”
• International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer: “Analytical and Numerical
characterization of a HTPV-TEG System”
 QUESTIONS?

Heat Source

ABS/EMI

TPV

PVC
TEG
Electrical
Cooling Output
APENDICES
CURRENT/FUTURE WORK – UC TEAM

• MISTI Project to Build and test a Hybrid TPV-TEG (HTPV-TEG)

• Based on MIT Previous work
• The HTPV shall use inexpensive and simple components such as commercial
photovoltaic cells, graphite absorber/emitters, thermoelectric modules, and
custom made microchannel-based cooling units
• Intended to set up a Testing Lab at UC
• Objective is to verify efficiency and propose design improvements
• Collaboration with MIT to help solve issues with respect to design, materials,
absorber/emitter optical properties, work temperatures, and cooling, and
share knowledge to a broader audience through workshops and seminars at
PUC and MIT
MIT EXPERIMENTS

• Sunlight is converted to useful

thermal emission, and ultimately
electrical power, via a hot
absorber- emitter.
• (c) Absorber-side optical image
• (d) Cross-section of the Absorber
• (e) Optical image of the 1D PhC
emitter
• (f) SEM cross-section of the 1 D PhC
MIT EXPERIMENTS
• (a) Solar simulator, primary concentrator, and vacuum chamber.
• (b) Experimental setup inside the vacuum chamber showing the secondary
concentrator and the aperture/shield assembly

• Experiments used a1D PhC and 1 cm2 TPV Cell

 MIT RESULTS

• Conversion efficiency (𝜂) as function

of a solar irradiance (H)
• Efficiencies approaching 20% were
predicted with a scaled-up (10x10
cm) NARO-STPV utilizing a high-
quality 0.55 eV PV module with a
sub-bandgap reflector.