# An Effective Flux Framework for Linear Irreversible Heat Engines: Case Study of a Thermoelectric Generator

## TL;DR

This paper introduces a new framework to model heat engines, focusing on thermoelectric generators under linear irreversible conditions.

## Contribution

A novel flux-based approach is proposed to describe entropy generation in thermoelectric generators with internal and external irreversibilities.

## Key findings

- The entropy generation rate is expressed as a homogeneous function of thermal fluxes under tight coupling.
- The framework is applied to thermoelectric generators with both internal and external irreversibilities.
- Algebraic forms of the effective flux are derived for different irreversibility scenarios.

## Abstract

We consider an autonomous heat engine in simultaneous contact with a hot and a cold reservoir and describe it within a linear irreversible framework. In a tight-coupling approximation, the rate of entropy generation is effectively written in terms of a single thermal flux that is a homogeneous function of the hot and cold fluxes. The specific algebraic forms of the effective flux are deduced for scenarios containing internal and external irreversibilities for the typical example of a thermoelectric generator.