Member Size Effect in Seebeck Coefficient of Cement Composites Incorporating Silicon Carbide
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Materials and Experimental Programs
2.1. Materials
2.2. Specimen Preparation
2.3. Measurement of Thermal Conductivity and Electrical Conductivity
2.4. Mechanical Properties
2.5. Porosity
2.6. Thermoelectric Voltage Measurement
3. Results and Discussion
3.1. Porosity Results
3.2. Mechanical Properties Results
3.3. Thermal and Electrical Conductivity Results
3.4. Generated Voltages and Seebeck Coefficient Results
4. Conclusions
- (1)
- The porosity increased as the substitution ratio of SiC increased. As a result, a high porosity led to a decrease in strength of the specimens. In particular, a significant strength decrease was confirmed in the S100 specimen. In other studies, severe strength decreases such as the decrease observed for S100 were concluded as unusable. However, in this study, it is concluded that S100 needs to be studied further when considering meaningful SC values and high voltage generation.
- (2)
- In the case of TC and EC, the porosity was almost overcome. Due to the beneficial thermal–electrical properties of SiC, the S50 and S100 specimens showed higher conductive values than the S0 specimen. The aggregate substitution of SiC exceeded the limit of the volume fraction; eventually, results showed meaningful values in this study.
- (3)
- Through this TE experiment, the size effect was clearly confirmed, as shown in Figure 9. Specimen size differences significantly affected the thermal energy distances between the cold and hot sides, with the cubic specimens showing rapid voltage increments due to shorter copper plate distances. The beam specimens exhibited a less sharp voltage generation gradient. Shorter specimens showed faster voltage generation, resulting in higher and quicker voltage outputs. However, rapid voltage generation in the C-S series led to a shorter voltage maintenance duration compared to the B-S series. This study concludes that shorter thermal distances result in higher SC values and voltages.
- (4)
- It could be concluded that the energy-harvesting efficiency was higher in the small-dimension specimens than in the large-dimension specimens. In particular, the short distance between the hot and cool sides is the most important factor.
- (5)
- Considering the significantly enhanced thermoelectric properties achieved by optimizing specimen size and SiC substitution, the resulting improvement in SC indicates a direct potential for energy harvesting from temperature gradients in building structures. Practically, applying this technology in renewable energy systems, such as integrating it into thermoelectric-based passive heating and cooling systems, could lead to measurable reductions in building energy consumption. Thus, the demonstrated improvement in thermoelectric efficiency is expected to contribute notably to renewable energy system advancements by enabling more sustainable and energy-efficient built environments.
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Chemical Composition (%) | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
SiO2 | Al2O3 | Fe2O3 | CaO | MgO | SO3 |
21.3 | 6.3 | 3.2 | 62.1 | 3.2 | 2.3 |
Physical properties | |||||
Fineness (cm2/g) | Specific gravity (ton/m3) | ||||
3.197 | 3.149 |
Chemical Composition (%) | |||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Density (ton/m3) | Mohs’ Hardness | Elastic Modulus (GPa) | Resistivity (Ω·m) | Thermal Conductivity (W/mK) | Purity of SiC (%) |
3.22 | 9.5 | 192 | 25 | 25.5 | 94 |
Specimens | Mix Ratio | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Water | Cement | Fine Agg | SiC | Water Reducer | |
B-S0 | 0.4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 0.005 |
B-S50 | 1 | 1 | |||
B-S100 | 0 | 2 | |||
C-S0 | 2 | 0 | |||
C-S50 | 1 | 1 | |||
C-S100 | 0 | 2 |
Measurement Categories | Specimen Types (Used Number of Specimens) | Shapes |
---|---|---|
For measuring mechanical properties | Beam (flexural, 3 specimens applied, and results averaged) | |
Cubic (compressive, 3 specimens applied, and results averaged) | ||
For measuring SC and EC | Beam (1 specimen applied to SC and 1 specimen applied to EC) | |
Cubic (1 specimen applied to SC and 1 specimen applied to EC) | ||
For measuring TC/ porosity | Disc (1 specimen applied to TC and 3 specimens applied to porosity) |
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Woo, B.-H.; Park, K.-T.; Yoo, K.-S.; Kim, J.-S. Member Size Effect in Seebeck Coefficient of Cement Composites Incorporating Silicon Carbide. Clean Technol. 2025, 7, 33. https://doi.org/10.3390/cleantechnol7020033
Woo B-H, Park K-T, Yoo K-S, Kim J-S. Member Size Effect in Seebeck Coefficient of Cement Composites Incorporating Silicon Carbide. Clean Technologies. 2025; 7(2):33. https://doi.org/10.3390/cleantechnol7020033
Chicago/Turabian StyleWoo, Byeong-Hun, Kyu-Tae Park, Kyung-Suk Yoo, and Jee-Sang Kim. 2025. "Member Size Effect in Seebeck Coefficient of Cement Composites Incorporating Silicon Carbide" Clean Technologies 7, no. 2: 33. https://doi.org/10.3390/cleantechnol7020033
APA StyleWoo, B.-H., Park, K.-T., Yoo, K.-S., & Kim, J.-S. (2025). Member Size Effect in Seebeck Coefficient of Cement Composites Incorporating Silicon Carbide. Clean Technologies, 7(2), 33. https://doi.org/10.3390/cleantechnol7020033