General optimization of a thermogenerator
Thermoelectricity - Thermodynamics and applications

For the sake of simplicity, the thermoelectric cell proposed here consists of a single thermoelectric element of length L and cross-section S placed between two heat exchangers, of conductances K₁ and K₂ , connected to two hot and cold thermostats, respectively at temperatures T₁ and T₂ . This description given (figure 7) is similar to that of Curzon and Ahlborn, with the difference that the machine here is not endoreversible.

The framework is therefore the more general one of finite-time thermodynamics