Design of experiments for thermoelectric materials

Direct conversion of heat energy to electricity has many applications. One application of this technology is utilizing the heat from a nuclear reactor in a submarine to generate electricity. Thermoelectric modules can also be used to convert the wasted heat energy from an internal combustion engine directly to electric machines in a hybrid vehicle. The goal of the following research is to use statistical methods to find the optimal thermoelectric material in order to maximize the efficiency of the conversion of rejected heat energy to useful work.; When a temperature gradient is applied across a thermoelectric module, an electric current is produced. However, in order to make these modules practical, more efficient materials must be developed. This presentation outlines how a D-Optimal, four-component mixture experiment based on a silver, lead, antimony, and tellurium system was used for this optimization.; For the ranges tested, resistance, ZT, and electrical conductivity were maximized when lead levels were high and tellurium levels were low. However, an inverse relationship appeared between silver and antimony levels. ZT increased when silver was higher and antimony was lower; the opposite trends appeared in the electrical conductivity and resistance data.