Course Meeting Times
Lectures: 1 session / week, 1.5 hours / session
Course Description
This course introduces principles and technologies for converting heat into electricity via solid-state devices. The first part of the course discusses thermoelectric energy conversion and thermoelectric materials, thermionic energy conversion, and photovoltaics. The second part of the course discusses solar thermal technologies. Various solar heat collection systems will be reviewed, followed by an introduction to the principles of solar thermophotovoltaics and solar thermoelectrics. Spectral control techniques, which are critical for solar thermal systems, will be discussed.
Format: Lectures
Homework: Weekly reading and one page reports, 60%
Final project: 40%
Grade: Pass or fail (final confirmation on 2nd week)
Course Calendar
| WEEK # | TOPICS |
|---|---|
| 1 |
IntroductionReview of 1st and 2nd law, statistical distribution Review of heat transfer Fourier law Newton's law of cooling Planck's blackbody radiation law, Stefan-Boltzmann law |
| 2 |
Thermoelectric effect and thermoelectric devicesSeebeck effect Peltier effect Thomson effect Thermoelectric figure of merit Applications |
| 3 |
Energy states in matterElectron band structure Phonon spectrum of solids Density of states Carrier density |
| 4 |
Kinetic formulation of thermoelectricityCoupled electron heat transport Electron engineering Phonon engineering |
| 5 |
Current research on thermoelectric materialsClassical thermoelectric materials Commercial materials: oxides, half-Heusler Nanostructures Complex materials |
| 6 |
Thermionic power conversionRichardson formula Thermionic engines: vacuum, solid-state Schottky barrier and diode pn junction and diode |
| 7 |
Photovoltaic cellsSolid-state thermionics Solar cell basic principles Efficiency: maximization, limiting factors Types of PV cells, single junction and multi-junction |
| 8 |
Radiative heat transferBlackbody radiation Motion of the earth and sun Solar spectra: AM0, AM1, AM1.5, etc. Definition of radiative properties: emissivity, absorptivity, reflectivity, transmissivity Maximum efficiency, temperature of solar thermal engines Wavelength selective surfaces |
| 9 |
Solar concentration and solar thermal technologySolar hot water systems Imaging and nonimaging optics Tracking and nontracking systems Methods for concentration: trough, tower, dish EM wave calculation of surface properties Solar thermoelectrics |
| 10 | Guest Lecture: Chris Schuh, "Nanostructured Materials: Stability Against Thermal Coarsening." |
| 11 |
Guest Lecture: Ivan Čelanović, "Photonic Crystals: Shaping the Flow of Thermal Radiation."Thermophotovoltaic power generation Photonic crystal design Electronic and photonic bandgap properties PV module design challenges |
| 12 |
Applications of thermoelectrics and photovoltaicsSolar thermovoltaics Selective surfaces Solar thermophotonics Solar thermoelectrics |