Lv Song, Guo Ying, Wu Yangyang, Shi Guoqing, Zhang Mingming, Deng Jingcai, Feng Mengqi, Hu Yi
Key Laboratory of High Performance Ship Technology, Wuhan University of Technology, Ministry of Education, Wuhan 430063, China.
School of Naval Architecture, Ocean and Energy Power Engineering, Wuhan University of Technology, Wuhan 430063, China.
ACS Omega. 2025 Jan 6;10(2):2150-2159. doi: 10.1021/acsomega.4c08319. eCollection 2025 Jan 21.
Wearable thermoelectric generator (TEG) can collect human body heat and convert it into electrical energy, achieving self-powering of the device and thus becoming a hot research topic at present. By utilization of three-dimensional spiral thin-film thermoelectric structures and passive radiation cooling methods, the heat transfer area can be increased and power generation can be enhanced. In order to study the effect of outdoor radiation cooling on the thermoelectric performance of spiral heating, as well as the TEG performance output under different external environments and circuit loads, this paper proposes a new three-dimensional coupled numerical model of the spiral thermoelectric wristband system with multiple physical fields. The model considers the three-dimensional comprehensive thermoelectric influence mechanism of the spiral thermoelectric wristband system, including the effects of seasonal changes, frictional heat, and radiation heat transfer. The model has good accuracy under various conditions. The performance output potential of wearable TEG under different human motion states and environmental climate conditions were studied by the model. The results indicate that the presence of radiative cooling (RC) promotes the power generation performance of the spiral thermoelectric wristband system, with a maximum increase of 181.8% in output power. In the winter, wearable thermoelectric wristbands have the best output performance. The maximum output power of TEG in winter is 1.92 μW, and the open-circuit voltage are 13.88 mV, which is approximately 25 and 5.2 times the output performance of TEG in summer, respectively. This study may contribute to the development of high-performance TEGs for flexible and wearable applications.
可穿戴式热电发电机（TEG）能够收集人体热量并将其转化为电能，实现设备的自供电，因而成为当前热门的研究课题。通过利用三维螺旋薄膜热电结构和被动辐射冷却方法，可以增加热传递面积并提高发电效率。为了研究户外辐射冷却对螺旋加热热电性能的影响，以及不同外部环境和电路负载下TEG的性能输出，本文提出了一种新的具有多个物理场的螺旋热电腕带系统三维耦合数值模型。该模型考虑了螺旋热电腕带系统的三维综合热电影响机制，包括季节变化、摩擦热和辐射热传递的影响。该模型在各种条件下都具有良好的精度。利用该模型研究了可穿戴TEG在不同人体运动状态和环境气候条件下的性能输出潜力。结果表明，辐射冷却（RC）的存在促进了螺旋热电腕带系统的发电性能，输出功率最大增加了181.8%。在冬季，可穿戴热电腕带具有最佳的输出性能。TEG在冬季的最大输出功率为1.92 μW，开路电压为13.88 mV，分别约为夏季TEG输出性能的25倍和5.2倍。本研究可能有助于开发用于柔性和可穿戴应用的高性能TEG。
