A thermodynamic analysis of a real waste-heat thermoelectric generator is investigated. The thermoelectric generator is considered as a heat engine cycle process with internal irreversibilities. The efficiency of the thermoelectric generator is expressed in terms of two non-dimensional parameters which are to be optimized. A finite-time thermodynamic analysis is used to optimize the temperatures of the hot and cold junctions of the real thermoelectric generator. A comparison between ideal and real waste-heat thermoelectric generators is demonstrated.
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