Temperature-distribution analysis on thermal spreader for micro-thermoelectric power generation

Abstract

Thermal spreader is used in micro-thermoelectric power generating system to produce uniform temperature distribution along the micro-combustor walls, very important for thermoelectric cells to generate high electrical output power. In the current work, the effects of material and thickness of thermal spreaders and the temperature of the heat source on temperature distribution along the surface of a thermal spreader were experimentally investigated. The result shows that thermal spreader made from copper produces the most uniform temperature distribution compared with thermal spreaders made from aluminum and zinc. The temperature uniformity of the thermal spreader also increases as the thickness increases but decrease as the temperature of the heat source increases.