| |
| Radioisotope thermoelectric generator (RTG), a technology that mostly adopted in space missions, is regarded as a promising technology to power the Internet of Things-based (IoT) sensors, especially those in extreme environments, for its merits of stability, maintenance-free and long-life. This paper studied RTG\'s application on earth and fabricated an endurable watt-power Bi2Te3-based terrestrial RTG. By employing the finite element analysis, an octagonal cylinder-shaped substituted electric heater was designed to have a higher surface temperature and better temperature uniformity while the fin-shaped radiators to dissipate heat at their optimal heat-sinking capacity. In the experiment part, this terrestrial RTG was tested to have an output power of 4.64 W and an open-circuit voltage of 27.2 V. Also, an optimal electric connection instruction between each thermoelectric (TE) converter was proposed from the experiment. Whereafter, based on the structure used in the experiment part, the finite element analysis was carried out to optimize the geometry of TE converters, the terrestrial RTG possessed an enhanced output power of 10.5 W with an open-circuit voltage of 57.8 V. Ultimately, this paper proposed important guidance for the design and optimization of an endurable terrestrial RTG, which could provide some prospects for its application on IoT-based sensors. |
|
| Keywords:terrestrial radioisotope thermoelectric generator; decay energy harvesting; endurable; finite element analysis; performance optimization |
|
