Experimental study on thermal contact resistance of thermoelectric generators

The thermal contact resistance (TCR) of thermoelectric generator (TEG) exerts significant impacts on the performance of TEG. In this work, an experimental study on the TCR of TEG, together with an algorithm to estimate its magnitudes at different working conditions, was elaborated. The results indicate that the total TCR decreases with the increasing of pressure imposed on the test module. Furthermore, the magnitude of the TCR of the TEG was quantitatively identified at various conditions. The total TCR is found in the order of magnitude of 10−4 m2·K/W, to which the external and internal contributions are in the order of magnitude of 10−4 and 10−5 m2·K/W, respectively. These experimental findings provide a direct and valuable reference for further optimization of the TEGs in the future.