Mechanics modeling of dynamic characteristics of laminated thermoelectric cylindrical shells

Thermoelectric cylindrical shells have been widely used to convert waste heat of exhaust pipe into electric energy. They can also be used in refrigerating process to reduce the surface temperature in thermal protection system in modern supersonic space shuttles. This paper presents a transient model to investigate the dynamic characteristics of laminated thermoelectric cylindrical shells. The internal and external surfaces of the shell are assumed to be stress free. Analytical solutions of temperature, electric potential and thermal stress fields are obtained and are presented graphically. The effects of applied electric current density on the temperature, electric potential and thermal stress distributions are investigated. Numerical results show that the transient-state hoop stress at the internal surface of shell is higher than that of steady state. In addition, the power generation efficiency of thermoelectric shell is improved at a specific external applied electric current density. The models we constructed can evaluate the thermal and mechanical performances of materials subjected to temperatures higher than 1400 K therefore can be applied to many severe heating environments.