Texas A&M researchers working on materials to convert waste energy to electricity

September 18th, 2009

Dr. Choongho Yu and Dr. Jaime Grunlan, assistant professors in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at Texas A&M University, have begun a four-year, $662,897 program with the Air Force Office of Scientific Research to develop polymer composites that can convert heat into electricity.
The project, “Energy Harvesting: Thermoelectric Waste Heat Recovery Using Polymer Nanocomposites,” is part of a larger Air Force initiative to explore the use of alternative energy sources.

The materials Yu and Grunlan are developing will be capable of converting waste heat (such as heat from jet exhaust and body heat) into useful electricity.

“The human body alone could potentially produce enough heat through normal everyday motions to power a cell phone if someone was wearing a shirt made of our thermoelectric composite,” Grunlan said.

Of particular interest is the use of these devices in military operations. Small, portable thermoelectric devices could supply power to sensors for detecting chemical or biological weapons, or to cell phones used by soldiers in the field. The thermoelectric devices can be attached to military uniforms to utilize body heat for power generation. And as the devices can also be used for heating or cooling, thermoelectric-equipped uniforms could maintain a comfortable temperature in severe environments.

“All currently used thermoelectrics are semiconductors, so our development of polymer-based materials is novel,” Grunlan said. “State-of-the-art thermoelectric materials are based on bismuth telluride, which is relatively toxic and contains some of the rarest elements on earth. So the ability to make polymer thermoelectrics would transform our ability to convert waste heat into electricity that could be used to power cell phones, electronic switches, etc.”

Provided by Texas A&M University