Thermal simulations for materials

Fraunhofer IPM has many years of experience regarding the use of thermoelectric and caloric materials in thermal energy converters, be it for the conversion of waste heat into electricity or for efficient cooling. The thermal integration of these functional materials is essential for the performance and durability of systems. An optimized thermal connection ensures maximum performance and service life of the respective system. This optimization requires thermal simulations such as:

• A phenomenological description of the thermodynamic processes in caloric materials
• Examination of thermally induced mechanical stress states in electrocaloric or elastocaloric components
• Geometric optimization of thermoelectric modules for load point adaptation

In thermal modelling, we cover a wide range of topics and aspects:

• Calculation of the efficiency of thermoelectric modules and systems
  
• Thermal coupling of thermoelectric modules or caloric components to specific ambient conditions
• Calculation of optimized component geometries
• Influence of material parameters on the performance of modules and systems
• Determination of thermal gradients and resulting mechanical stresses in caloric components