hey ,i m a beginner in ece n want to work on a project to convert heat into electricity ...but a bit confused as bcoz i m not able to find the right material n devices for the purppose..are there such electric converter or some such material with which i can start of with...

 

what do you mean by beginner in ece. There are chips called as peltier chips which will conver heat to electric and electric to heat energy.

Heat to electric is called as seebeck effect, electric to heat is called as peltier effect.

 

The link looks a bit silly, but has other links to explain the Seebeck effect that describes devices that turn heat into electricity - http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-the-seebeck-effect.htm

 

Bimetallic junction also converts temperature difference to electric energy but the effeciency of conversion is very poor. So these are used as transducers.

If you want this for purpose of measuremetns i can a suggest lot of transducers.

 

Figure out a good way to convert 165 to 180°F to electricity efficiently, and you will be rich. The best designs I have seen so far include a hot-air engine (e.g., Stirling ) running a generator.

John

 

hey ,i m a beginner in ece n want to work on a project to convert heat into electricity ...but a bit confused as bcoz i m not able to find the right material n devices for the purppose..are there such electric converter or some such material with which i can start of with...

Are we talking about tiny bits of current or something on a usable scale to actually generate some power that can be used to power other devices? A simple thermocouple converts heat into electricity but is impractical if you expect more than a small amount of power output.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermocouple

 

Bimetallic junction also converts temperature difference to electric energy but the effeciency of conversion is very poor. So these are used as transducers.

If you want this for purpose of measuremetns i can a suggest lot of transducers.

yes give the specific details about such transducers..

 

Are we talking about tiny bits of current or something on a usable scale to actually generate some power that can be used to power other devices? A simple thermocouple converts heat into electricity but is impractical if you expect more than a small amount of power output.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thermocouple

i m talking about something that can be used on a usable scale like something that can be used to convert heat from car exhaust ,or the heat from laptops etc.. can u list some such converters with their specifications...that would be a lot useful...thanx..

 

Transducers for measurement i can name by heart are as follows:

RTD, thermistor, thermocouple, pyrometer.

Google one by one and you'll get all the info you require. If you care for mother earth than surf through the pages in your college library. Look for books under Instrumentation section in your college library.

 

By the way does ece stands for electronics and communication engineering ???

 

i m talking about something that can be used on a usable scale like something that can be used to convert heat from car exhaust ,or the heat from laptops etc.. can u list some such converters with their specifications...that would be a lot useful...thanx..

Hate to tell you but if the technology isn't already out there it isn't feasible yet.

 

You can get electricity from your exhaust heat, but it wouldn't be enough to light a small bulb. The heat-electricity conversion process is not very efficient. Bimetallic junction, peltier effect; neither one will generate any large amount of power from normal heat outputs of normal everyday objects.

 

Better efficiency is achieved through maximizing your intake and exhaust systems = less strain on the engine = more power you can drain from your alternator even though they don't take a lot of HP to operate. A typical automotive alternator produces about 500W of energy per HP, a decent intake and exhaust system can give you at minimum at least a 10 - 20% increase in efficiency.

 

You can use "thermogenerator" as a search term to find more information. The link shows the one that was placed on the glass shade of a kerosene lamp to power a radio - http://www.radiomuseum.org/r/unknown_thermoelektrogenerator_tg.html

 

By the way does ece stands for electronics and communication engineering ???

yes i m a electronics student

 

what do you mean by beginner in ece. There are chips called as peltier chips which will conver heat to electric and electric to heat energy.

Heat to electric is called as seebeck effect, electric to heat is called as peltier effect.

but then these converetrs are not such efficient i guess...i m trying to work on some pizoelectric devices can u suggest me some such devices capable of producing electricity...

 

Are you interested in converting thermal to electric using piezoelectric or mechanical to electric? John