Predicting the Optimal Performance of a Concentrated Solar Segmented Variable Leg Thermoelectric Generator Using Neural Networks

The production of high-performing thermoelectrics is limited by the high computational energy and time required by the current finite element method solvers that are used to analyze these devices. This paper introduces a new concentrating solar thermoelectric generator made of segmented materials that have non-uniform leg geometry to provide high efficiency. After this, the optimum performance of the device is obtained using the finite element method conducted using ANSYS software. Finally, to solve the high energy and time requirements of the conventional finite element method, the data generated by finite elements are used to train a regressive artificial neural network with 10 neurons in the hidden layer. Results are that the power and efficiency obtained from the optimized device design are 3× and 2× higher than the original unoptimized device design. Furthermore, the developed neural network has a high accuracy of 99.95% in learning the finite element data. Finally, the neural network predicts the modified device performance about 800× faster than the conventional finite element method. Overall, the paper provides insights into how thermoelectric manufacturing companies can harness the power of artificial intelligence to design very high-performing devices while saving time and cost

Influence of finned charges on melting process performance in a thermal energy storage

Thermal energy storages based on the phase change materials are considered as bright technologies because they have more advantages than other energy storage methods. In addition to the thermal parameters of phase change materials, the performance of the thermal energy storage system using latent heat depends on the heat exchanger properties. Here, several different parameters related to the use of fins in the thermal energy storage devices have been studied. Using enthalpy-porosity method, the process of phase-change material melting into a square cavity is evaluated. Cylindrical thermal chargers with a circular cross-section that transfer heat energy to the phase change material are installed inside the chamber. Longitudinal fins are placed on the heat charger surface to assist the heat charging process. By increasing the fins number to four compared with two fins, the melting process shows a significant increase for the position where the heat charger is located in the center and at the bottom of the cavity. Also for these conditions, higher temperature gradients and a thinner boundary layer are observed at the melting point. Also, the heat transfer rate increases and the melting process is accelerated