Thermoelectric Transport Control with Metamaterial Composites

Abstract

The control of thermal and electric currents is important for many devices and applications. Being able to independently direct the two flows under simultaneous thermal and voltage gradients is, however, difficult when coupling via thermoelectric effects is present in the material. Here we present a general computational scheme for the design of composites whose constituent materials follow a simple circuit theory of in-parallel and in-series connected transport properties capable of enhancing or inhibiting electric and thermal currents in a desired direction. We show that using the geometry of the flow, thermoelectric metamaterials for currents control can be designed using layered-like components. The individual control of the thermoelectrically coupled electric and thermal currents in terms of different flow directions can be significantly optimized by exploring the dissimilarity of the different transport properties of the different layered components.

Keywords: Thermoelectricty, electric and heat currents control, metamaterial composites