Title :
Design of a low-input-voltage converter for thermoelectric generator
Author :
Damaschke, John M.
Author_Institution :
Dept. of Electr. & Comput. Eng., Victoria Univ., BC, Canada
Abstract :
Low-grade exhaust heat is used to provide a reliable and independent power source for instrumentation circuitry by means of a thermoelectric generator (TEG). A design of a self-starting DC-DC power converter is developed and optimized for very-low-input voltages (below 300 mV) in order to allow operation at temperature differences of 20°C and less. A prototype is built, and the results are experimentally verified
Keywords :
DC-DC power convertors; field effect transistor switches; power MOSFET; power field effect transistors; power semiconductor switches; power supplies to apparatus; switching circuits; thermoelectric conversion; Low-grade exhaust heat; independent power source; instrumentation circuitry; low-input-voltage converter design; self-starting DC-DC power converter; temperature differences; thermoelectric generator; Batteries; Circuits; Design optimization; Instruments; Low voltage; Power generation; Power generation economics; Prototypes; Temperature; Thermoelectricity;
Journal_Title :
Industry Applications, IEEE Transactions on
