Steady state analysis of a switch operated thermoelectric generator

A thermoelectric generator (also known as a Seebeck generator) whose current is controlled by a periodically-operated switch is considered. The steady state analysis is therefore performed on a periodically switched nonlinear circuit. An iterative procedure is proposed in which the nonlinear resistor is replaced by a “generator” containing an ideal voltage source controlled by the voltage of the nonlinear resistor in series with a linear resistor. The generator internal resistor remains unchanged throughout the iterations, which allows computing the state variable by imposing that its value at the end of the period be the same as its initial value.