熱電素子を用いる熱電発電は、高温から低温に至るまで様々な熱源から電力を回収できる。しかし、機能させるには熱電素子の両面にきちんと温度差が生ずる必要がある。我々は相変化中の相変化材料が外界と異なる温度一定層として働くことに着目した。相変化材料を用い、温度勾配がない低温環境下や、空気と高温液体の間のように温度境界が曖昧な環境下などでも熱電素子両面に温度差を生じさせて熱電発電を可能とする手法を提案する。

Thermoelectric generation by a thermoelectric generator (TEG) can harvest electric power from various heat sources such as high and low temperature. For proper function, however, temperature differences are required on both sides of the TEG. We focus on phase-change materials (PCMs) that maintain a constant temperature during phase change working as a temperature layer different from the external environment. We proposed a novel thermoelectric generation method using the PCMs to generate the temperature differences on both sides of the TEG, which can be applied even in a low-temperature environment without temperature gradient or in an environment without a distinctive temperature boundary, for instance, between air and high-temperature liquid.

Natsuki Ikeda, Ryo Shigeta, Yoshihiro Kawahara

Contact: ikeda@akg.t.u-tokyo.ac.jp