JP2013211471A - Thermoelectric power generating device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a thermoelectric power generating device capable of improving a heat exchanging performance and a heat transfer performance of a heat receiving plate, and improving power generation efficiency.SOLUTION: A thermoelectric power generating device comprises: a heat receiving plate; a thermoelectric conversion module arranged so that one face thereof is directed to the heat receiving plate, and obtaining a power generation output using a temperature difference between one face and the other face; and a water-cooling plate tightly fixed and mounted to the other face of the thermoelectric conversion module. Plural heat receiving fins are parallely formed on a heat receiving face of the heat receiving plate, and surface roughness of a contact face of the heat receiving plate to the thermoelectric conversion module is 0.1 μm or more and 20 μm or less.

Description

  The present invention relates to a thermoelectric generator that generates power from a temperature difference between a high temperature side and a low temperature side using a thermoelectric conversion module.

Conventionally, a thermoelectric conversion module that directly converts thermal energy into electrical energy or electrical energy into thermal energy using the Seebeck effect or Peltier effect of a thermoelectric conversion element is known.
The structure of a general thermoelectric conversion module is shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 1, the thermoelectric conversion module 10 is an electrical device in which a large number of thermoelectric element pairs 11 in which a p-type semiconductor 111 and an n-type semiconductor 112, which are thermoelectric elements, are connected in a “π” shape by metal electrodes 113 are assembled. Connected in series to each other and sandwiched between two insulating substrates (for example, ceramic substrates) 12 and 13.

When the flat thermoelectric conversion module 10 is arranged such that one surface (for example, the insulating substrate 12) is on the high temperature side and the other surface (for example, the insulating substrate 13) is on the low temperature side, a temperature difference is given between both surfaces. An electromotive force is generated. This electric power is taken out through current leads 14 and 15 connected to the thermoelectric conversion module 10. Conversely, when a current is passed through the thermoelectric conversion module 10 via the current leads 14 and 15, heat is generated on one surface (for example, the insulating substrate 12), and heat is absorbed on the other surface (for example, the insulating substrate 13).
Patent Documents 1 and 2 propose a thermoelectric conversion device using such a thermoelectric conversion module 10. In particular, a device that generates power using the thermoelectric conversion module 10 is called a thermoelectric power generation device.

The thermoelectric conversion module has no moving parts (mechanical drive parts) and has a simple structure, so there is no worry about wear deterioration, etc., it is excellent in reliability and durability, easy maintenance, miniaturization and weight reduction. However, there is an advantage that there are few restrictions on the application place. And since it has such advantages, it is relatively also used in industrial furnaces (furnace used in processes such as melting, refining, and heating in various industrial fields such as electric furnaces and combustion furnaces) from which a large amount of heat is discharged. It can be installed easily.
Thermoelectric power generators using this thermoelectric conversion module are attracting a great deal of attention from the viewpoint of environmental conservation and energy saving as a technology that can recover waste heat and reuse it as an energy source without discharging carbon dioxide. ing.

  When a thermoelectric generator is installed in an industrial furnace, the surface on the high temperature side (hereinafter referred to as the “heating surface”) of the thermoelectric conversion module is heated, while the surface on the low temperature side (hereinafter referred to as the “cooling surface”) is cooled. It is necessary to cause a temperature difference in In addition, since the furnace wall of an industrial furnace has high heat insulation from the viewpoint of high temperature retention and safety in the furnace, even if the heating surface of the thermoelectric conversion module is in close contact with the outer surface of the furnace wall, Thermal energy cannot be extracted efficiently.

Therefore, as shown in FIG. 2, the opening 100 a formed in the furnace wall 100 is closed with the heat receiving plate 20, the heating surface of the thermoelectric conversion module 10 is brought into contact with the heat receiving plate 20, and the thermoelectric conversion module 10 is attached. A method of attaching a water cooling plate 30 having a cooling mechanism to the cooling surface of the conversion module 10 is employed.
According to this method, the heat in the furnace is absorbed by the heat receiving plate 20 and transmitted to the heating surface of the thermoelectric conversion module 10, so that the heating surface is efficiently heated. Moreover, since the high temperature gas in the furnace is shielded by the heat receiving plate 20 and does not enter the cooling surface side of the thermoelectric conversion module 10, a large temperature difference occurs between the heating surface and the cooling surface. Therefore, the thermoelectric generator 5 can generate power efficiently.

Further, in the thermoelectric generator 5, the heat in the furnace is efficiently taken by the heat receiving plate 20 and transmitted to the heating surface of the thermoelectric conversion module 10, while the heat on the cooling surface is efficiently taken out and released from the water cooling plate 30. Is important.
In general, it is known that a fin structure is effective in improving the heat receiving efficiency of the heat receiving plate 20 or the cooling efficiency of the water cooling plate 30 (for example, Patent Documents 3 and 4). In addition, a hard material (for example, SiC, aluminum nitride, or a metal such as copper or aluminum) is applied to the heat receiving plate 20 (for example, Patent Documents 5 and 6).

JP 2009-200409 A JP 2007-73889 A JP 2007-180505 A JP 2010-147236 A JP 2010-238822 A Japanese Patent No. 4751322

As described above, the heat receiving plate is required to have heat exchange performance for capturing heat in the furnace and heat transfer performance for transmitting the captured heat to the thermoelectric conversion module. In order to realize a thermoelectric power generation device with high power generation capability, a large-sized thermoelectric conversion module is required, and accordingly, the heat receiving plate is also required to be large.
However, since it is difficult to manufacture a large heat receiving plate due to restrictions on the manufacturing method of aluminum nitride, when aluminum nitride is applied as the material of the heat receiving plate, it is possible to realize a large-sized thermoelectric generator with high power generation capacity. Can not.
Moreover, since metals, such as copper and aluminum, have a large linear expansion coefficient, when a metal is applied to the material of the heat receiving plate, the heat receiving plate is thermally deformed in a high temperature environment, and the contact area with the thermoelectric conversion module is significantly reduced. As a result, the interfacial thermal resistance between the heat receiving plate and the thermoelectric conversion module increases, and the power generation efficiency of the thermoelectric power generator decreases.

For this reason, SiC is conventionally applied as a material for the heat receiving plate. Among SiC, oxide-bonded SiC has become the mainstream because of its excellent workability and easy handling. The oxide-bonded SiC is obtained by bonding SiC with silicon oxide (Si2O3).
However, since the apparent porosity of the oxide-bonded SiC is about 6.5%, when the oxide-bonded SiC is applied to the material of the heat receiving plate, the contact surface with the thermoelectric conversion module is likely to be uneven. Specifically, the surface roughness of the contact surface of the heat receiving plate with the thermoelectric conversion module is about several tens of μm. And the interfacial thermal resistance between a heat receiving plate and a thermoelectric conversion module increases by the unevenness | corrugation formed in this contact surface, ie, the heat transfer performance of a heat receiving plate falls, Therefore The power generation efficiency of a thermoelectric power generation device will fall.
The apparent porosity is the ratio of the open pore volume (volume of pores into which water can enter) to the total volume (outer volume), and is generally measured by a measurement method based on JIS R 2205.

  An object of the present invention is to provide a thermoelectric power generator that can improve heat transfer performance and heat exchange performance of a heat receiving plate, and can improve power generation efficiency.

A thermoelectric generator according to the present invention includes a heat receiving plate,
A thermoelectric conversion module that is arranged with one surface facing the heat receiving plate, and obtains a power generation output using a temperature difference between the one surface and the other surface;
A water-cooled plate attached to the other surface of the thermoelectric conversion module in close contact and fixed;
A plurality of heat receiving fins are formed in parallel on the heat receiving surface of the heat receiving plate,
The contact surface of the heat receiving plate with the thermoelectric conversion module has a surface roughness of 0.1 μm or more and 20 μm or less.

  According to the present invention, since the heat exchange performance and heat transfer performance of the heat receiving plate can be made compatible, a thermoelectric power generator having high power generation efficiency can be realized.

It is a figure which shows the structure of a thermoelectric conversion module. It is sectional drawing of the conventional thermoelectric generator. It is a perspective view which shows the principal part of the thermoelectric generator of embodiment. It is sectional drawing of the thermoelectric generator of embodiment.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the present embodiment, a preheating furnace (furnace that preheats copper) that constitutes a copper wire manufacturing facility of a DIP forming method (a manufacturing method in which molten copper is adhered and solidified around a copper bus bar in a vacuum to manufacture a copper wire), Preheating among furnace temperature (approximately 850 ° C.), melting furnace (furnace of copper, furnace temperature: 1000 ° C. or higher), holding furnace (furnace for storing molten copper, furnace temperature: 1000 ° C. or higher) A case where a thermoelectric generator is installed in the furnace will be described.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view illustrating a main part of the thermoelectric power generator according to the embodiment. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of the thermoelectric generator of the embodiment. FIG. 4 shows a state where the thermoelectric generator 1 is attached to the furnace wall 100.
As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the thermoelectric generator 1 has a configuration in which a thermoelectric conversion module 10, a heat receiving plate 20, a water cooling plate 30, and the like are accommodated in a case 60.

  In the thermoelectric generator 1, the case 60 includes a box-shaped housing portion 61 that houses the thermoelectric conversion module 10 and the like, and a flange portion 62 that projects outward from the low-temperature side opening 61 a of the housing portion 61. The accommodating part 61 has an outer shape substantially the same shape as the opening 100 a formed in the furnace wall 100. The bottom surface of the accommodating part 61 is formed in a frame shape, and the heat receiving plate 20 faces the furnace from the high temperature side opening 61b.

  The thermoelectric conversion module 10 is a flat module that can obtain a power generation output using a temperature difference between the heating surface 10a and the cooling surface 10b. As shown in FIG. 1, the thermoelectric conversion module 10 is an electrical device in which a large number of thermoelectric element pairs 11 in which a p-type semiconductor 111 and an n-type semiconductor 112, which are thermoelectric elements, are connected in a “π” shape by metal electrodes 113 are assembled. Are connected in series and sandwiched between the high temperature side insulating substrate 12 and the low temperature side insulating substrate 13. The high temperature side insulating substrate 12 is disposed to face the heat receiving plate 20, and the low temperature side insulating substrate 13 is disposed to face the water cooling plate 30.

For the p-type semiconductor 111 and the n-type semiconductor 112, for example, an oxide-based compound semiconductor is preferable. This is because an oxide-based semiconductor has a high application temperature and can be operated in a high-temperature environment near 1000 ° C. As an example, Ca ₃ Co ₄ O ₉ can be applied as a p-type semiconductor, and LaNiO ₃ can be applied as an n-type semiconductor.
Note that a half-skeleton thermoelectric conversion module in which the high temperature side insulating substrate 12 or the low temperature side insulating substrate 13 is not provided can also be applied.

The low temperature side insulating substrate 13 may be composed of Kapton tape (trade name) having high heat resistance and insulation as in the prior art and excellent in handling properties, but it is composed of an Al ₂ O ₃ plate or an AlN plate. Is desirable. This is because Al ₂ O ₃ and AlN have higher thermal conductivity than Kapton tape and can improve the power generation efficiency of the thermoelectric conversion module 10.

  The heat receiving plate 20 is disposed in contact with the high temperature side insulating substrate 12 of the thermoelectric conversion module 10, absorbs the inside of the furnace, and heats the heating surface 10a of the thermoelectric conversion module 10. The heat receiving plate 20 is slightly larger than the heating surface 10 a of the thermoelectric conversion module 10 and has substantially the same shape as the housing portion 61 of the case 60. Further, it is desirable that the total warpage amount of the heat receiving plate 10 during operation is 50 μm or less.

The arithmetic average roughness Ra (hereinafter referred to as surface roughness) defined in JIS B 0601 is 0 on the contact surface (hereinafter referred to as module contact surface) of the heat receiving plate 20 with the heating surface 10a of the thermoelectric conversion module 10. Planar processing is performed so that the thickness is 1 μm or more and 20 μm or less. When the surface roughness Ra of the heat receiving plate 20 exceeds 20 μm, a fine air layer is formed at the contact interface between the heat receiving plate 20 and the thermoelectric conversion module 10, resulting in an increase in the interface thermal resistance. Further, when the surface roughness Ra of the heat receiving plate is less than 0.1 μm, the fixing phenomenon between the heat receiving plate 20 and the thermoelectric conversion module 10 is likely to occur, and thermal distortion is likely to occur during operation.
Therefore, the surface roughness Ra of the module contact surface of the heat receiving plate 20 is 0.1 μm or more and 20 μm or less. Thereby, since the interfacial thermal resistance between the heat receiving plate 20 and the thermoelectric conversion module 10 is reduced, the heat transfer performance of the heat receiving plate 20 is improved.

  Here, it is desirable that the heat receiving plate 20 be formed of SiC having an apparent porosity of 0.1% or less. SiC having such properties can be obtained, for example, by preparing a porous sintered body with SiC powder and C powder, then impregnating it with molten Si, heating it, and reacting C and Si ( So-called reaction sintered SiC).

  Reaction-sintered SiC is a dense body with a very small apparent porosity because the pores are filled with Si. Specifically, the apparent porosity of the oxide-bonded SiC is 6.5%, whereas the apparent porosity of the reaction sintered SiC is 0.1% or less. Therefore, the surface (especially the module contact surface) of the heat receiving plate 20 made of reaction sintered SiC can be finished in a very flat state with a surface roughness of 20 μm or less. Therefore, the adhesiveness between the heat receiving plate 20 and the thermoelectric conversion module 10 is increased, and the interfacial thermal resistance is reduced.

  In addition, reaction sintered SiC has a thermal conductivity at 1000 ° C. of 35 to 45 W / (m · K) and is more than twice the thermal conductivity of oxide-bonded SiC. High heat transfer performance can be maintained, and the absorbed heat is efficiently transmitted to the thermoelectric conversion module 10.

  Here, the heat transfer performance of the heat receiving plate 20 is improved not only by increasing the thermal conductivity but also by reducing the thickness. That is, if the vertical and horizontal sizes of the heat receiving plate 20 are constant, it may be considered that the heat transfer performance is represented by “thermal conductivity / thickness”. Therefore, there is a possibility that heat transfer performance equivalent to that of reaction-sintered SiC can be secured even with nitride-bonded SiC or oxide-bonded SiC whose thermal conductivity is lower than that of reaction-sintered SiC.

However, as shown in Table 1, nitride-bonded SiC and oxide-bonded SiC have not only low thermal conductivity but also low bending strength σ compared to reaction-sintered SiC. Further, when the vertical and horizontal sizes of the heat receiving plate 20 are constant and the thickness is t, the bending fracture load is proportional to t ² × σ. Therefore, when the heat receiving plate 20 is made of nitride-bonded SiC or oxide-bonded SiC, the heat transfer performance equivalent to that when the heat receiving plate 20 is made of reaction sintered SiC is secured by reducing the thickness t. However, the bending rupture load is significantly smaller than when the heat receiving plate 20 is made of reaction sintered SiC. That is, if the heat receiving plate 20 is made of nitride-bonded SiC or oxide-bonded SiC, the strength (bending fracture load) is reduced, and there is a high possibility that a problem will occur in practice.
From this point of view, it is desirable that the heat receiving plate 20 be made of reaction sintered SiC.

Reaction sintered SiC has a linear expansion coefficient at 1000 ° C. of 4.0 to 5.0 × 10 ⁻⁶ / K. Therefore, by constituting the heat receiving plate 20 with reaction sintered SiC, it is possible to suppress thermal deformation of the heat receiving plate 20 in a high temperature environment.

A plurality of heat receiving fins 21 are erected in parallel on the heat receiving surface (the surface facing the furnace) of the heat receiving plate 20. Each heat receiving fin 21 is formed of a single plate having substantially the same width as one side of the heat receiving plate 20. Since the heat receiving area is increased by providing the heat receiving fins 21, the heat in the furnace can be absorbed efficiently.
The thickness of the heat receiving fin 21 is not particularly limited, but it is desirable that the heat receiving fin 21 be thin as long as it has a predetermined strength. This is because as the thickness of the heat receiving fins 21 is thinner, the number of the heat receiving fins 21 can be increased and the heat receiving area is increased.

By the way, when the arrangement interval of the heat receiving fins 21 is widened or the height of the heat receiving fins 21 is reduced, the contact area between the heat receiving fins 21 and the air is reduced, so that the heat transfer from the air to the heat receiving fins 21 is limited. . On the other hand, when the arrangement interval of the heat receiving fins 21 is narrowed or the height of the heat receiving fins 21 is increased, the air flow resistance is easily increased between the adjacent heat receiving fins 21, 21. The heat transfer from the air to the heat receiving fins 21 is restricted.
Further, the heat exchange performance of the heat receiving fins 21 also varies depending on the temperature in the furnace in which the thermoelectric generator 1 is installed and the temperature of the heat receiving fins 21 when heated (the material of the heat receiving fins 21). Therefore, the arrangement interval and height of the heat receiving fins 21 should be designed so that the heat exchange performance is maximized in consideration of the temperature in the furnace assumed in practical use.

  In the thermoelectric generator 1, a flexible layer such as a graphite sheet or hexagonal boron nitride may be interposed between the heat receiving plate 20 and the thermoelectric conversion module 10. As a result, even if the heat receiving plate 20 is thermally deformed, the flexible layer follows and elastic-plastically deforms, so that no gap is formed between the heat receiving plate 20 and the thermoelectric conversion module 10 and the interfacial thermal resistance increases. Can be prevented. In this case, the surface roughness of the module contact surface of the heat receiving plate 20 may be 100 μm or less.

The water cooling plate 30 is disposed in contact with the low temperature side insulating substrate 13 of the thermoelectric conversion module 10 and cools the cooling surface 10 b of the thermoelectric conversion module 10. The water cooling plate 30 has, for example, a structure in which a pipe for circulating water is embedded in a metal plate material. The cooling surface 10b of the thermoelectric module 10 can be cooled to a predetermined temperature by providing a water cooling plate 30 as a cooling mechanism and flowing water at a predetermined flow rate.
The low temperature side insulating substrate 13 and the water cooling plate 30 of the thermoelectric conversion module 10 are pressure bonded via, for example, heat conductive grease. Thereby, it can respond to the deformation | transformation by the linear expansion coefficient difference of the low temperature side insulating substrate 13 and the water cooling board 30. FIG.

  Further, a flexible layer (not shown) made of a graphite sheet, hexagonal boron nitride, or the like may be interposed between the water cooling plate 30 and the thermoelectric conversion module 10. Thereby, even if a gap occurs due to deformation or surface roughness of the water-cooled plate 30, the flexible layer follows and elastic-plastically deforms, so that no gap is generated between the water-cooled plate 30 and the thermoelectric conversion module 10. It is possible to prevent an increase in interfacial thermal resistance. Since the cooling surface 10b of the thermoelectric conversion module 10 is efficiently heated and a large temperature difference is obtained from the cooling surface 10b, the power generation efficiency of the thermoelectric conversion module 10 is significantly improved.

  When assembling the thermoelectric generator 1, the heat receiving plate 20, the thermoelectric conversion module 10, and the water cooling plate 30 are sequentially arranged in the housing portion 61 of the case 60. And the heat receiving plate 20, the thermoelectric conversion module 10, and the water cooling plate are fastened to the back surface of the water cooling plate 30 (the surface opposite to the surface in contact with the thermoelectric conversion module 10) via the reinforcing beam 70. 30 is fixed. Further, both ends of the reinforcing beam 70 are screwed to the case 60.

The assembled thermoelectric generator 1 is installed in the opening 100a formed in the furnace wall 100 of the preheating furnace. Since the preheating furnace is provided with a maintenance hatch for inspecting the inside of the furnace, this can be used as the opening 100a.
Specifically, the thermoelectric generator 1 is attached to the furnace wall 100 by fitting the accommodating part 61 of the case 60 into the opening 100 a of the furnace wall 100 and screwing the flange part 62 to the furnace wall 100. The heating surface 10a of the thermoelectric conversion module 10 faces the inside of the furnace on the high temperature side, and the cooling surface 10b faces the outside of the furnace on the low temperature side.

  Since the high temperature side opening 61b formed in the case 60 is completely closed by the heat receiving plate 20 (that is, the opening 100a formed in the furnace wall 100 is closed by the heat receiving plate 20), the high temperature gas in the furnace is It does not go around to the cooling surface 10b side of the thermoelectric conversion module 10.

When the copper material is heated in the preheating furnace, the heat generated at this time is absorbed by the heat receiving plate 20 and transmitted to the thermoelectric conversion module 10. Thereby, the heating surface 10a of the thermoelectric conversion module 10 is heated to high temperature (for example, 700 degreeC). On the other hand, the cooling surface 10 b of the thermoelectric conversion module 10 is held at a low temperature (for example, 80 ° C.) by the water cooling plate 30.
A temperature difference of several hundred degrees Celsius occurs between both surfaces of the thermoelectric conversion module 10, and an electromotive force is generated according to this temperature difference. This electric power is taken out through the current leads 14 and 15 connected to the thermoelectric conversion module 10 (see FIG. 1).

As described above, the thermoelectric generator 1 according to the embodiment is arranged with the heat receiving plate 20 closing the opening 100a formed in the furnace wall 100 and the heating surface 10a facing the heat receiving plate 20, and cooling with the heating surface 10a. The thermoelectric conversion module 10 which obtains an electric power generation output using the temperature difference with the surface 10b, and the water-cooling board 30 attached to the cooling surface 10b of the thermoelectric conversion module 10 closely and fixedly are provided.
A plurality of heat receiving fins 21 are formed in parallel on the heat receiving surface of the heat receiving plate 20, and the contact surface of the heat receiving plate 20 with the thermoelectric conversion module 10 has a surface roughness of 20 μm or less.

In the thermoelectric generator 1, since the surface roughness of the module contact surface of the heat receiving plate 20 is 20 μm or less, the interfacial thermal resistance between the heat receiving plate 20 and the thermoelectric conversion module 10 is small, and the heat transfer performance of the heat receiving plate 20 Will improve.
Furthermore, since the plurality of heat receiving fins 21 are formed in parallel on the heat receiving surface of the heat receiving plate 20, the heat receiving plate 20 can efficiently absorb the heat in the furnace.
That is, in the thermoelectric generator 1, since the heat receiving plate 20 has both heat transfer performance and heat exchange performance, high power generation efficiency is realized.

[Example 1]
In Example 1, in the thermoelectric generator 1 in which the high-temperature side opening 61b of the case 60 is 120 × 120 mm in size, the thermal conductivity at 1000 ° C. is 40 W / (m · K), and the linear expansion coefficient at 1000 ° C. is 4 The heat receiving plate 20 was formed of reaction sintered SiC having a size of 5 × 10 ⁻⁶ / K and an apparent porosity of 0.05%. Moreover, the surface roughness Ra of the module contact surface of the heat receiving plate 20 was set to 6 μm by performing an appropriate surface polishing process. Further, the height of the heat receiving fins 21 was 100 mm, the arrangement interval was 5.0 mm, the thickness was 2.0 mm, and eight heat receiving fins 21 were formed on the heat receiving surface.

[Comparative Example 1]
In Comparative Example 1, in the thermoelectric generator 1 in which the high temperature side opening 61b of the case 60 is 120 × 120 mm in size, the thermal conductivity at 1000 ° C. is 20 W / (m · K), and the linear expansion coefficient at 1000 ° C. is 4 The heat receiving plate 20 was formed of nitride-bonded SiC having a size of 0.5 × 10 ⁻⁶ / K and an apparent porosity smaller than 1% (for example, 0.7%). At this time, when the same surface polishing process as in Example 1 was performed on the module contact surface of the heat receiving plate 20, the surface roughness Ra was 21 μm. The shape, size, and arrangement of the heat receiving fins 21 were the same as those in Example 1.

[Comparative Example 2]
In Comparative Example 2, in the thermoelectric generator 1 in which the high temperature side opening 61b of the case 60 is 120 × 120 mm in size, the thermal conductivity at 1000 ° C. is 16 W / (m · K), and the linear expansion coefficient at 1000 ° C. is 4 The heat receiving plate 20 was formed of oxide-bonded SiC having a size of 0.8 × 10 ⁻⁶ / K and an apparent porosity of 6.5%. At this time, when the same surface polishing process as in Example 1 was performed on the module contact surface of the heat receiving plate 20, the surface roughness Ra was 42 μm. The shape, size, and arrangement of the heat receiving fins 21 were the same as those in Example 1.

[Comparative Example 3]
In Comparative Example 3, in the thermoelectric power generator 1 in which the high temperature side opening 61b of the case 60 was 120 × 120 mm in size, the heat receiving plate 20 was formed in a flat plate shape using the same reaction sintered SiC as in Example 1.

About the thermoelectric power generator of Example 1 and Comparative Examples 1-3, the heat receiving plate 20 was heated at 850 degreeC, the open circuit voltage when the water cooling plate 30 was cooled at 80 degreeC was measured, and each electric power generation efficiency was evaluated. The evaluation results are shown in Table 2.
As shown in Table 2, it was confirmed from the evaluation results of Example 1 and Comparative Examples 1 and 2 that the power generation efficiency can be improved by forming the heat receiving plate 20 with reaction sintered SiC. When the heat receiving plate 20 is formed of reaction sintered SiC, the heat conductivity of the heat receiving plate 20 is higher than that of oxide-bonded SiC or nitride-bonded SiC, and the interface between the heat receiving plate 20 and the thermoelectric conversion module 10 This is probably because the heat resistance is reduced and the heat transfer performance of the heat receiving plate 20 is significantly improved.
Further, from the evaluation results of Example 1 and Comparative Example 3, it was confirmed that the power generation efficiency can be improved by forming the heat receiving fins 21 on the heat receiving surface of the heat receiving plate 20.

[Example 2]
In Example 2, in the thermoelectric generator 1 of Example 1, the arrangement interval of the heat receiving fins 21 was confirmed by setting the arrangement interval of the heat receiving fins 21 to 2.5 to 55 mm. In addition, the height of the heat receiving fin 21 was 100 mm, and the thickness was 2.0 mm (same as Example 1).
About each thermoelectric power generation apparatus of Example 2, the heat receiving plate 20 was heated at 850 degreeC, the open circuit voltage when the water cooling plate 30 was cooled at 80 degreeC was measured, and each power generation efficiency was evaluated. The evaluation results are shown in Table 3.

  From Table 3, when the height of the heat receiving fins 21 is 100 mm, an open circuit voltage of 0.90 V or more is obtained when the arrangement interval is 3.0 to 8.0 mm, and in particular, the arrangement interval is 4.5 to 4. When the thickness was 5.5 mm, an open circuit voltage of 0.95 V or more was obtained. Moreover, the equivalent result was obtained also when the height of the heat receiving fin 21 was 80-150 mm.

  Thus, by setting the height of the heat receiving fins 21 to 80 to 150 mm and the arrangement interval of the heat receiving fins 21 to 3.0 to 8.0 mm, preferably 4.5 to 5.5 mm, the temperature is 400 to 900 ° C. Optimum power generation efficiency can be obtained when operating.

As mentioned above, the invention made by the present inventor has been specifically described based on the embodiment. However, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and can be changed without departing from the gist thereof.
For example, the thermoelectric generator 1 can be installed in a melting furnace, a holding furnace, or another industrial furnace (an incinerator or the like) that constitutes a DIP forming type copper wire manufacturing facility.

  The embodiment disclosed this time should be considered as illustrative in all points and not restrictive. The scope of the present invention is defined by the terms of the claims, rather than the description above, and is intended to include any modifications within the scope and meaning equivalent to the terms of the claims.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Thermoelectric generator 10 Thermoelectric conversion module 20 Heat receiving plate 21 Heat receiving fin 30 Water cooling plate 60 Case 70 Reinforcement beam 80 Pressing bolt 100 Furnace wall

Claims (4)

A heat receiving plate,
A thermoelectric conversion module that is arranged with one surface facing the heat receiving plate, and obtains a power generation output using a temperature difference between the one surface and the other surface;
A water-cooled plate attached to the other surface of the thermoelectric conversion module in close contact and fixed;
A plurality of heat receiving fins are formed in parallel on the heat receiving surface of the heat receiving plate,
The thermoelectric generator according to claim 1, wherein the contact surface of the heat receiving plate with the thermoelectric conversion module has a surface roughness of 0.1 μm to 20 μm.   2. The heat receiving plate is formed of SiC having a thermal conductivity at 1000 ° C. of 35 to 45 W / (m · K) and an apparent porosity of 0.1% or less. Thermoelectric generator.   The thermoelectric generator according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the heat receiving fin has a height of 80 to 150 mm and an arrangement interval of 3.0 to 8.0 mm. The thermoelectric generator according to claim 3, wherein an interval between the heat receiving fins is 4.5 to 5.5 mm.

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