This paper is concerned with the direct energy conversion of waste heat into electricity using pyroelectric materials. It reports detailed numerical simulations of a prototypical pyroelectric energy converter assembled experimentally and previously reported. The device consisted of a hot and cold source separated by a series of microchannels supporting pyroelectric thin films. A piston was used to vertically oscillate a working fluid back and forth between the thermal sources. The experimental device was fully instrumented with thermocouples and pressure sensor. The transient two-dimensional mass, momentum, and energy equations were solved numerically to determine the local and time-dependent temperature at various locations inside the device for operating frequency varying from 0.025 to 0.061 Hz. Excellent agreement was found between the simulated and experimentally measured local temperatures at all operating frequencies considered. These results confirm our previous numerical results and the simulation tool can now be used to design the next generation of pyroelectric energy converters.
Skip Nav Destination
ASME/JSME 2011 8th Thermal Engineering Joint Conference
March 13–17, 2011
Honolulu, Hawaii, USA
Conference Sponsors:
- Heat Transfer Division
ISBN:
978-0-7918-3892-1
PROCEEDINGS PAPER
Numerical Simulations Versus Experimental Data for a Pyroelectric Energy Converter Harvesting Waste Heat Available to Purchase
Brian A. James,
Brian A. James
University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
Search for other works by this author on:
Ashcon Navid,
Ashcon Navid
University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
Search for other works by this author on:
Raylene C. Moreno,
Raylene C. Moreno
University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
Search for other works by this author on:
Laurent Pilon
Laurent Pilon
University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
Search for other works by this author on:
Brian A. James
University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
Ashcon Navid
University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
Raylene C. Moreno
University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
Laurent Pilon
University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
Paper No:
AJTEC2011-44450, T20062; 10 pages
Published Online:
March 1, 2011
Citation
James, BA, Navid, A, Moreno, RC, & Pilon, L. "Numerical Simulations Versus Experimental Data for a Pyroelectric Energy Converter Harvesting Waste Heat." Proceedings of the ASME/JSME 2011 8th Thermal Engineering Joint Conference. ASME/JSME 2011 8th Thermal Engineering Joint Conference. Honolulu, Hawaii, USA. March 13–17, 2011. T20062. ASME. https://doi.org/10.1115/AJTEC2011-44450
Download citation file:
9
Views
Related Proceedings Papers
Related Articles
Harvesting Nanoscale Thermal Radiation Using Pyroelectric Materials
J. Heat Transfer (September,2010)
Characteristics of Thermogravimetric Plants
J. Energy Resour. Technol (December,2002)
A Thermodynamic Based Approach for the Multicriteria Assessment of Energy Conversion Systems
J. Energy Resour. Technol (December,2006)
Related Chapters
A New Type Power Converter and Its Applications Prospect in Industry
International Conference on Advanced Computer Theory and Engineering, 5th (ICACTE 2012)
Physiology of Human Power Generation
Design of Human Powered Vehicles
A Novel Soft-Switching Strategy for Switched Reluctance Motor Power Converter
International Conference on Mechanical and Electrical Technology, 3rd, (ICMET-China 2011), Volumes 1–3