Distance of Thermoelectric Generation Sheets on Asphalt Pavement With Seebeck Effect

Asphalt pavement accumulates a lot of heat energy under the sun. To achieve energy conservation and realize the conversion of heat to electric, the research on road temperature difference power generation was carried out according to the Seebeck effect. COMSOL simulation method was used to establish a asphalt pavement thermoelectric generation model. The influence of thermoelectric generation sheets on the temperature field of asphalt pavement was analyzed, and the positive correlation between the hot end temperature and the road surface temperature was then obtained. By analyzing the temperature influence range of the sheets under different temperatures, the temperature influence radius model was constructed. Based on this, analyzing the temperature field distribution cloud diagram of adjacent sheets under the three conditions: intersection, tangency, and separation. The spacing of thermoelectric power generation sheets for maximum thermal energy utilization was determined. Results show that the temperature influence range of the thermoelectric generation sheets is a circle with the center point of the generator as the center, and the farther away from the center, the smaller the temperature influence. Temperature influence radius is proportional to the temperature difference between the cold and hot ends. Optimum spacing is related to the road surface temperature, ambient temperature and the side length of thermoelectric generation sheets. In the test section, the optimal distance is 5.2 cm, and the maximum power is 0.884 W, which provides a research idea for the utilization of thermal energy on asphalt pavements.