ABSTRACT
The basic unit of a thermoelectric (TE) generator or refrigerator is a “thermocouple” shown
schematically in Figure 11.1a. It consists of an n-type and a p-type thermoelement connected
electrically in series by a conducting strip (usually copper). Although this basic unit can also be
employed as the “engineering” building-block for construction of thermoelectric conversion systems,
a less complicated approach for system engineers is to employ “thermoelectric module” as the
building-block. Figure 11.1b shows schematically a thermoelectric module, which consists of a
number of the basic units connected electrically in series but thermally in parallel and sandwiched
between two ceramic plates. Thermoelectric modules can be prefabricated as general purpose
products in various dimensions. A theoretical model is required in order to evaluate their
thermoelectric performances.
