Bringing Thermoelectricity Into Reality

The disproportionate use of fossil fuels has turned into a serious environmental issue. Thus, we are encountering one of the biggest challenges of the twenty-first century, satisfying the energy demand with respect to the environment. Thermoelectricity is an emerging technology, which contributes to reducing the impact of the use of traditional technologies, harvesting the waste heat, and eliminating the use of refrigerants. The book Bringing Thermoelectricity into Reality covers the current thermoelectric investigations: the study of novel thermoelectric materials, the development of computational models, the design of proper assemblies, and the optimization of thermal designs, as well as novel thermoelectric generators, coolers, and heating applications. This book looks for the definitive thermoelectric applications applied to everyday life.

The disproportionate use of fossil fuels has turned into a serious environmental issue. Thus, we are encountering one of the biggest challenges of the twenty-first century, satisfying the energy demand with respect to the environment. Thermoelectricity is an emerging technology, which contributes to reducing the impact of the use of traditional technologies, harvesting the waste heat, and eliminating the use of refrigerants. The book Bringing Thermoelectricity into Reality covers the current thermoelectric investigations: the study of novel thermoelectric materials, the development of computational models, the design of proper assemblies, and the optimization of thermal designs, as well as novel thermoelectric generators, coolers, and heating applications. This book looks for the definitive thermoelectric applications applied to everyday life.

This book explores a key technology regarding the importance of connections via an Internet of Things network and how this helps us to easily communicate with others and gather information. Namely, what would happen if this suddenly became unavailable due to a shortage of power or electricity? Using thermoelectric generators is a viable solution as they use the heat around us to generate the much-needed electricity for our technological needs. This second volume on the challenges and prospects of thermoelectric generators covers the reliability and durability of thermoelectric materials and devices, the effect of microstructures on the understanding of electronic properties of complex materials, thermoelectric nanowires, the impact of chemical doping or magnetism, thermoelectric generation using the anomalous Nernst effect, phonon engineering, the current state and future prospects of thermoelectric technologies, transition metal silicides, and past, present and future applications of thermoelectrics.

The book presents recent developments in the field of thermoelectric polymers and polymer composites. It focuses on the link between thermoelectric characteristics and material structure. Topics covered include chemical composition, microstructure, dopants, doping levels, methods of fabrication, thermoelectric effect, thermoelectric device conversion efficiency, and thermoelectric properties of conducting polymers. Keywords: Cage Compounds, Calixarenes, Conducting Polymers, Cryptophanes, Energy Conversion, Half-Heusler Compounds, Skutterudite Compounds, Hybrid Thermoelectric Materials, Supramolecular Chemistry, Thermoelectric Conversion Efficiency, Thermoelectric Plastics.

This book contributes to understanding the development and application of green energy solutions. The term ""green energy"" is widely used today to indicate sustainable energy sources with zero or minimal environmental and economic impact, obtained from various renewable energy sources. The contents presented in this book deal with different solutions, from small-scale applications (thermoelectric energy harvesting) to energy efficiency in buildings with local renewable energy production (also in critical seismic sites), local energy systems (smart energy management of storage and complex interactions), exploitation of biomasses from agricultural wastes, and voluntary certifications associated with energy trading in large energy systems. These aspects mark a more sustainable evolution of the society with wider green energy usage.

This book reports on innovative research and developments in the broad field of transportation. It covers solutions relating to intelligent vehicles and infrastructure, energy and combustion management, vehicle dynamics and engineering, as well as research on railway transport, aerospace technologies, logistics and security. Contributions are based on peer-reviewed papers presented at the 13th international scientific conference "Transbaltica: Transportation Science and Technology", held on September 15-16, 2022, at Vilnius Gediminas Technical University, in Vilnius, Lithuania. All in all, this book offers extensive information on modern transport systems, with a good balance of theory and practice.

Noise pollution is one of the factors that affect the quality of life of the general population, especially in urban areas, where the noise levels are often high due to the presence of numerous sources, such as transport infrastructures, activities production and commercial areas, entertainment venues and other sound sources which, although temporary, such as construction sites and outdoor music events, affect general noise levels. Even if noise is one of the oldest pollutants referred to in history, for years, the problem of noise pollution has been often considered less important than others related to the environment, such as air pollution, water pollution, and waste management.The regulations in force to contain the noise have become increasingly stringent as each individual is constantly exposed to noise and often the noise is treated just as a scourge of modern society. Making noise is becoming easier and cheaper each day, but just the opposite for controlling it. Deeper studies are needed to understand the core of current noise problems; new materials and techniques are needed to control them. This book is a combination of theory and practice based on the latest research. The studies in this book range from evaluation methods for the perception of noise and outline forecast criteria that can be integrated with applications for acoustic mapping as well as the use of innovative techniques and materials for its abatement. The main purpose of this book, organized in 8 chapters, is to provide an overview of the recent studies in this field and the applications in different research studies. The authors, contributing to the success of this book, provide a series of practical applications of their recent studies aimed at the reduction of noise in different environments. The editors would like to thank all the authors who, through their studies and research, have accepted our invitation to share recent discoveries in this field with the scientific community.

Introduction to Thermoelectricity is the latest work by Professor Julian Goldsmid drawing on his 55 years experience in the field. The theory of the thermoelectric and related phenomena is presented in sufficient detail to enable researchers to understand their observations and develop improved thermoelectric materials. The methods for the selection of materials and their improvement are discussed. Thermoelectric materials for use in refrigeration and electrical generation are reviewed. Experimental techniques for the measurement of properties and for the production of thermoelements are described. Special emphasis is placed on nanotechnology which promises to yield great improvements in the efficiency of thermoelectric devices. Chapters are also devoted to transverse thermoelectric effects and thermionic energy conversion, both techniques offering the promise of important applications in the future.