Minimizing thermally induced interfacial shearing stress in a thermoelectric module

The problem of minimizing the level of the thermally induced interfacial shearing stress in a Thermo-Electric Module (TEM) is addressed using analytical and finite-element-analysis (FEA) based modeling. The maximum stress is calculated for different leg sizes. Good agreement between the analytical and FEA predictions has been found. It is concluded that the shearing stress can be effectively minimized by using thinner legs with compliant interfaces.