Mineral-impregnated carbon-fiber based reinforcing grids as thermal energy harvesters: A proof-of-concept study towards multifunctional building materials
Research output: Contribution to journal › Research article › Contributed › peer-review
Contributors
Abstract
This proof-of-concept study demonstrates for the first time the fabrication of a multifunctional reinforcing grid-building material within a thermoelectric element generator (TEG) configuration. Commercially available carbon fiber yarns, which possess inherent Seebeck coefficient (S) values of −2.5 μV/K (n-type) and +7.4 μV/K (p-type), were thoroughly investigated prior to their impregnation with a geopolymer (GP)-based suspension. The resulting hardened mineral-impregnated carbon-fiber (MCF) reinforcements were subsequently tested regarding their physicochemical and mechanical properties. Afterward, individual MCFs were employed as n-/p-type thermoelements to assemble a grid-like TEG consisting of five serially interconnected junctions. The TEG-enabled reinforcing grid exhibited a voltage output of 1.8 mV, corresponding to a generated power of 22.3 nW upon exposure to an in-plane temperature difference (ΔT) of 50 K. Multifunctional building materials are envisaged to exploit thermal gradients on a large-scale during their service lifetime, contributing towards zero energy consumption constructions.
Details
Original language | English |
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Article number | 113564 |
Journal | Energy and buildings |
Volume | 298 |
Publication status | Published - 1 Nov 2023 |
Peer-reviewed | Yes |
External IDs
ORCID | /0000-0003-0675-6688/work/145223268 |
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Keywords
ASJC Scopus subject areas
Keywords
- Carbon-fiber composite, Geopolymer, Large-scale thermal energy harvesting, Mineral impregnation, Smart textile reinforcement