GW Engineering Researchers Innovate Thermoelectric Design for Enhanced Power Generation


July 19, 2024

Saniya Leblanc posing with a microscope

In the scientific report “Geometric design of Cu2Se-based thermoelectric materials for enhancing power generation,” GW Engineering’s Saniya LeBlanc, an associate professor of mechanical and aerospace engineering, and Bengisu Şişik, a doctoral student in LeBlanc’s lab, contributed to research on harnessing waste heat into electricity via thermoelectric power generation.

Here is an excerpt from the study abstract: “Here we present the design strategy for Cu2Se thermoelectric materials for high-temperature power generation using a combination of finite element modeling and 3D printing. The macroscopic geometries and microscopic defects in Cu2Se materials are precisely engineered by optimizing the 3D printing and post-treatment processes, leading to notable enhancements in the material efficiency and temperature difference across legs, where the hourglass geometry exhibits maximized output powers and efficiencies.”

Read the full study in Nature Energy.

In the article “A strategy to design better materials for thermoelectric power generation,” Tech Xplore reported on their novel strategy for designing thermoelectric materials based on copper selenide (Cu2Se), explaining how this study builds upon this research team’s previous efforts.

 

Here is an excerpt from the article: “In 2020, the research team led by Prof. Saniya LeBlanc at the George Washington University published a paper exploring the leg influence of semiconductor legs used on the thermoelectric performance of thermoelectric power generators, via a series of simulations. But the potential of non-cuboid legs had yet to be assessed in experimental settings.”

 

Read the full article on Tech Xplore.

 

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