International Journal of Energy Research, Vol.42, No.15, 4674-4686, 2018
Conceptual design and performance analysis of concentrated solar-driven TIC/AMTEC/TEG hybrid system
Three kinds of static thermal to electrical conversion devices thermionic converter (TIC), alkali metal thermal electric converter (AMTEC), and thermoelectric generator (TEG) are incorporated into a novel thermoelectric hybrid system-TIC/AMTEC/TEG hybrid system, driven by concentrated solar. To evaluate the performance of concentrated solar-driven TIC/AMTEC/TEG hybrid system accurately, a comprehensive theoretical model based on the first law of thermodynamics has been established for the first time. The effects of load parameters (voltage output of TIC subsystem V-1, electrode current density of AMTEC subsystem J(2), dimensionless current of TEG subsystem i) and dimensionless geometric parameters (the ratio of total electrode area of AMTEC subsystem to emitter area of TIC subsystem r, the ratio of TEG subsystem area to total electrode area of AMTEC subsystem c) on the conversion efficiency of TIC/AMTEC/TEG hybrid system (eta(ALL)) were discussed. Furthermore, in order to demonstrate the contribution of the hybrid system, the comparisons with two-stage hybrid systems and subsystems were explored. The results show that both V-1 and i make a positive effect on eta(ALL); however, V-1 is of greater importance for eta(ALL). eta(ALL) increases first and then decreases under the influence of J(2) and r. Smaller c can sometimes achieve better eta(ALL). The comparison results reveal that the TIC/AMTEC/TEG hybrid system is outstanding in most cases.
Keywords:alkali metal thermal electric converter (AMTEC);hybrid system;parametric analysis;performance evaluation;thermionic converter (TIC);thermoelectric generator (TEG)