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Title: A Review on Low-Grade Thermal Energy Harvesting: Materials, Methods and Devices

Journal Article · · Materials
DOI:https://doi.org/10.3390/ma11081433· OSTI ID:1510296
ORCiD logo [1];  [2]
  1. Virginia Polytechnic Inst. and State Univ. (Virginia Tech), Blacksburg, VA (United States)
  2. Pennsylvania State Univ., University Park, PA (United States)

Combined rejected and naturally available heat constitute an enormous energy resource that remains mostly untapped. Thermal energy harvesting can provide a cost-effective and reliable way to convert available heat into mechanical motion or electricity. This extensive review analyzes the literature covering broad topical areas under solid-state low temperature thermal energy harvesting. These topics include thermoelectricity, pyroelectricity, thermomagneticity, and thermoelasticity. For each topical area, a detailed discussion is provided comprising of basic physics, working principle, performance characteristics, state-of-the-art materials, and current generation devices. Technical advancements reported in the literature are utilized to analyze the performance, identify the challenges, and provide guidance for material and mechanism selection. The review provides a detailed analysis of advantages and disadvantages of each energy harvesting mechanism, which will provide guidance towards designing a hybrid thermal energy harvester that can overcome various limitations of the individual mechanism.

Research Organization:
Virginal Polytechnic Inst. and State Univ., Blacksburg, VA (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
USDOE Office of Science (SC), Basic Energy Sciences (BES)
Grant/Contract Number:
FG02-06ER46290
OSTI ID:
1510296
Journal Information:
Materials, Vol. 11, Issue 8; ISSN 1996-1944
Publisher:
MDPICopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Citation Metrics:
Cited by: 156 works
Citation information provided by
Web of Science

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Recent Progress in Flexible Organic Thermoelectrics journal November 2018
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