2025 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Most mechanical engineering programs offer separate classes on mechatronics, renewable energy, and thermal systems. However, due to high academic loads, there are few opportunities for students to work on hands-on activities involving thermal systems and, less so, on activities that combine elements of these domains. This lack of hardware experience with thermal systems has been expressed by senior students during the Senior Exit interviews. To alleviate this problem without increasing course load, we are proposing a mechatronic lab to teach students foundational mechatronics concepts such as analog to digital conversion, signal conditioning, sensor interfacing, data logging, data analysis, and circuit assembly while staying within the context of characterization of thermoelectric generators.
The thermoelectric devices selected provide an opportunity to explore thermal and electrical phenomena that can be both sensed and visualized in a classroom environment without the need for expensive instrumentation. The experiments conducted tend to catalyze ideas for new concepts and serve as a starting point for further exploration of thermoelectricity as a mechanism for direct energy conversion.
The paper details the hardware components and designs so other instructors can easily reproduce them. Additionally, it provides a series of suggested lab activities.