A Simple Setup for Thermoelectric Power Factor of Thermoelectric Coatings

Thermal spraying technique has potential in manufacturing economic, profitable thermoelectric coatings. In order to characterize the electrical performance of thermoelectric coatings more conveniently, a simple setup for thermoelectric power factor of thermoelectric coatings is designed and developed. The indigenously designed setup is simple and low-cost. The compact structure makes it easy to cooperate with existing heating furnace, allowing a fast measurement in a variable temperature range. The differential method and the off-axis four-point geometry are used in Seebeck coefficient and electrical resistivity measurement, respectively. The Spring-load unit and other details of construction of the setup are described specifically. The Seebeck coefficient of the plasma-sprayed higher manganese silicide (HMS) coating was measured to be approximately 132.35 μV/K at 150 °C, with measurements showing high linearity (R² > 0.99). The setup demonstrated reliable electrical resistivity results for Cr20Ni80 alloy, closely matching published values (1.16 × 10⁻⁶ Ω·m vs. 1.10 × 10⁻⁶ Ω·m). HMS coating was also characterized from 50 °C to 500 °C to validate the setup on thermoelectric performance characterization across a wide temperature range. These results confirm the reliability of the developed setup.