可将热量转化为电能的柔性热电(thermoelectric，TE)材料已广泛应用于可穿戴电子设备和其他柔性设备中。该研究将无机TE柱与热塑性聚氨酯(thermoplastic polyurethane，TPU)结合，组装成柔性条状热电器(thermoelectric generator，TEG)，进一步用于热电织物(thermoelectric fabric，TEF)的织造。采用有限元分析(finite element analysis，FEA)优化柔性TE条的尺寸并评估其性能。FEA的结果显示，TE条的间距对温差、输出电压和内阻有显著影响。当TE条直径为3。5 mm、条间距为2。0 mm时，可获得最大功率密度，达到3。43 μW/cm2(在温差△T=10。5 K的条件下)。在试验条件下，热板接触以及铜线-TE条连接处存在倾斜，导致所织造的三维TEF的功率密度只能达到模拟结果的29％。尽管如此，在经过450次弯曲测试后，TE条仍展现出优异的柔韧性和稳定的机械性能。这一研究不仅为今后开发更高效的TEF奠定了基础，还为可穿戴式能量采集应用提供了更加舒适、合身的选择方案。
Design and Fabrication of Flexible Thermoelectric String-Based Fabrics
Flexible thermoelectric(TE)materials that convert heat into electricity have been widely used in wearable electronics and other flexible devices.In this work,inorganic TE pillars were combined with thermoplastic polyurethane(TPU)to assemble a flexible string-shaped TE generator(TEG)for the fabrication of the thermoelectric fabric(TEF).Moreover,finite element analysis(FEA)was used to optimize the dimensions of the TE string and evaluate its performance.The FEA results showed that the inter-pillar spacing significantly affected the temperature difference,the output voltage and the internal resistance.A maximum power density of 3.43 pW/cm2(temperate gradient AT=10.5 K)was achieved by the TE string with a diameter of 3.5 mm and an inter-pillar spacing of 2 mm.However,under the experimental condition,the achievable power density of the fabricated three-dimensional(3D)TEF was limited to 29％of the simulation result because of the inclination of the TE string within the fabric concerning heat plate contact and copper wire-TE pillar connections.The actual TE string also demonstrated high flexibility and stable mechanical properties after 450 bending cycles.Thus,the study would provide a foundation for future research in developing more efficient TEFs to offer a comfortable and conformable option for wearable energy harvesting applications.
thermoelectric fabric(TEF)thermoelectric(TE)pillarthermoplastic polyurethane(TPU)finite element analysis(FEA)
AHMAAD Hasib Ud Din、杜敏芝、韩雪、景媛媛、杨晓娜、张娟、陈馨逸、SYED Rashedul Islam、黄夫力、徐金川、张坤
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