Analytical and Numerical Analysis and Validation of an LTCC-based Fabricated TEG

Abstract

This paper presents numerical and analytic studies of a reported thermoelectric micro-generator based on LTCC (Low Temperature Co-fired Ceramic) technology. These types of devices are mainly used in energy harvesting applications by converting the waste thermal energy into electrical one. The aim of the performed analysis is to carry out analytical and numerical studies to investigate the electrical output parameters (internal resistance, output voltage and power) of a fabricated thermopile and multilayer generator. As mentioned in the published paper, the first structure of the thermopile contains 30 thick-film silver/Nickel thermocouples connected electrically in series and thermally in parallel on a single LTCC layer whereas the second structure contains 90 thermocouples screen-printed on three LTCC layers. The obtained numerical and analytical results show an average value of error compared to experimental ones of 11% and 16%, respectively. This good agreement with respect to experimental reported data shows that the derived and used FEM model is validated.