Mechanical Engineering

An innovation for power generation: Additive manufacturing of thermoelectric materials

September 21, 2018

1:00 p.m. ET

Porter Hall, Room 100

Abstract

Thermoelectric power generators can convert waste heat into useful electrical energy, but traditional thermoelectric device manufacturing uses bulk material processing with machining, assembly, and integration steps which lead to material waste and performance limitations. The traditional manufacturing approach offers virtually no flexibility in designing the geometry of thermoelectric modules. Additive manufacturing can overcome these challenges. Although printing techniques, including 3D printing, have been explored for thermoelectric devices, these techniques have been limited to organic or organic-inorganic composite materials. Additive manufacturing solutions have not been demonstrated for inorganic thermoelectric materials, particularly those geared toward mid/high-temperature applications. This presentation will describe our progress in laser-based additive manufacturing of thermoelectric materials such as tellurides and silicides. Laser powder bed fusion (also known as selective laser melting) is an additive manufacturing process which locally melts successive layers of material powder to construct three-dimensional objects. When applied to thermoelectric materials, this technique could enable new geometries and architectures, material-to-device integration, and large-area processing. The presentation will show the first demonstrations of laser additive manufacturing applied to thermoelectric materials and discuss the link between materials, manufacturing, and system-level considerations for thermoelectric power generators.

Bio

Saniya LeBlanc is an assistant professor in the Department of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering at The George Washington University. Her research goals are to create next-generation energy conversion technologies with advanced materials and manufacturing techniques. Previously, she was a research scientist at Alphabet Energy, a startup company, where she created research, development, and manufacturing characterization solutions for thermoelectric technologies and evaluated the potential of new power generation materials. LeBlanc obtained a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering with a minor in materials science at Stanford University where she was a Diversifying Academia Recruiting Excellence fellow, a Sandia Campus Executive fellow, and a National Science Foundation Graduate Research fellow. She was a Churchill Scholar at University of Cambridge where she received an MPhil in engineering, and she has a B.S. in mechanical engineering from Georgia Institute of Technology.

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