A considerable difference between experimental and theoretical results has been observed in the studies of segmented\nthermoelectric generators (STEGs). Because of simplicity, the approximate methods are widely used for design and optimization\nof the STEGs. This study is focused on employment of exact method for design and optimization of STEGs and comparison of\nexact and approximate results. Thus, using new highly efficient thermoelectric materials, four STEGs are proposed to operate in\nthe temperature range of 300 to 1300 kelvins. The proposed STEGs are optimally designed to achieve maximum efficiency. Design\nand performance characteristics of the optimized generators including maximum conversion efficiency and length of elements\nare calculated through both exact and approximate methods. The comparison indicates that the approximate method can cause a\ndifference up to 20% in calculation of some design characteristics despite its appropriate results in efficiency calculation.The results\nalso show that the maximum theoretical efficiency of 23.08% is achievable using the new proposed STEGs. Compatibility factor\nof the selected materials for the proposed STEGs is also calculated using both exact and approximate methods. The comparison\nindicates a negligible difference in calculation of compatibility factor, despite the considerable difference in calculation of reduced\nefficiency (temperature independence efficiency).
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