Manufacturing and Characterization of Epoxy Based Flexible Thermoelectric Modules
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Perustieteiden korkeakoulu |
Master's thesis
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Authors
Date
2023-05-16
Department
Major/Subject
Advanced Energy Technologies
Mcode
SCI21
Degree programme
Master’s Programme in Engineering Physics
Language
en
Pages
41+4
Series
Abstract
Thermoelectric module can convert waste heat into electricity due to its unique Seebeck effect. Since a great deal of heat produced in households and factories has been wasted. It is significant to collect the waste heat by thermoelectric modules. However, conventional thermoelectric modules mainly possess rigid substrates, which limits their applications in complex situations, such as the industrial pipe and human body. Thermoelectric modules with flexible substrates can overcome this drawback. Flexible thermoelectric module can be bent to adapt to uneven surfaces. Hence, it requires superior mechanical strength in order not to break when bent. The mechanical strength highly relies on the binding material. Binding materials can be classified into solder paste and electrically conductive adhesive. This work presents a new electrically conductive adhesive named 2D-ECA, synthesized by RISE (Research Institutes of Sweden) and Linköping University. Various characterization methods have been applied to study its performance in the device. In this work, we mainly focused on the mechanical strength, electric conductivity and thermoelectric property of 2D-ECA. We found that the mechanical strength of 2D-ECA is as high as superior commercial solder paste and electrically conductive adhesive. What’s more, 2D-ECA will not damage the inherent mechanical strength of the thermoelectric leg as the solder paste. However, the electric resistance of 2D-ECA based samples is considerably higher than solder pastes. As a result, devices fabricated with 2D-ECA showed a relatively lower output power. Hence, further research should focus on improving the electrical conductivity of 2D-ECA. Nevertheless, further study illustrated that 2D-ECA can be used on aluminium substrate, while it is impossible for ordinary solder pastes. It is a significant step towards low-cost devices.Description
Supervisor
Sillanpää, MikaThesis advisor
Sawatdee, AnurakKhan, Zia
Keywords
flexible thermoelectric module, mechanical strength, otput power, electrical resistance, binding material