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Procedia Engineering00 (2017) 000–000
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Procedia Engineering 205 (2017) 871–878

10th International Symposium on Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning, ISHVAC2017, 19-
22 October 2017, Jinan, China

Performance analysis and experimental study on thermoelectric

cooling system coupling with heat pipe
Yu Wanga, Yushu Shia, and Di Liua,*
a
College of pipeline and Civil engineering in China University of Petroleum, Qingdao, China 266580

Abstract

This paper presents a mathematical model of the refrigeration system based on one-dimensional heat transfer theory, and
analyses respectively the operating characteristics of thermoelectric refrigerator under the condition of maximum cooling
capacity and maximum cooling efficiency. Besides, it sets up an experimental platform for mini thermoelectric cooling system
coupling with heat pipe, and designs a spoiler duct to enhance performance of the cooling system. The cooling performance has
been improved by considering the coolers operating voltage, the cold side ventilation duct and spoilers. The text results show that
the performance of the thermoelectric cooling system coupled with heat pipe affected by the above control parameters. The
ventilation rate of the cold side increases with the increasing of operating voltage and the cooling effect will be more obviously.
The application of spoiler duct is possible significantly to enhance cooling system performance.
© 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
© 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.
Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the 10th International Symposium on Heating, Ventilation and Air
Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the 10th International Symposium on Heating, Ventilation and
Conditioning.
Air Conditioning.
Keywords: Coupled Thermoelectric Cooling; Optimizing in the Theoretical Analysis; Cooling Performance; Enhancement of Heat Transfer.

1. Introduction

In thermoelectric refrigeration system, the direct current of the two ends of the thermoelectric cooler is loaded to
play the role of the compressor, and mobile electronics play the role of liquid refrigerant in comparison with
conventional mechanical refrigeration [1-2]. Thermoelectric refrigeration system will not cause mechanical noise,
with the advantages of environmental friendliness, small size, temperature sensitivity [3].

*
Corresponding author. Tel.:86-532-86983173
E-mail address:liudi66@163.com

1877-7058 © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Peer-review under responsibility ofthe scientific committee of the 10th International Symposium on Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning.

1877-7058 © 2017 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Peer-review under responsibility of the scientific committee of the 10th International Symposium on Heating, Ventilation and
Air Conditioning.
10.1016/j.proeng.2017.10.048
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2 Yu Wang, et al. / Procedia Engineering00 (2017) 000–000

Thermoelectric refrigeration system (TEC) can be used in various fields. It can realize the double functions of
refrigeration and heating to make it more dominant in the engineering application [4-5]. Liu et al. [6] used the
heating model of the thermoelectric system to develop the clothes dryer. The thermoelectric refrigeration system can
be used coupling with other clean energy sources. Date et al. [7] studied the thermodynamic performance and
thermal conductivity of the thermoelectric refrigeration system combined with solar energy. Heet al. [8] studied the
energy transfer efficiency of thermoelectric refrigeration system coupling with solar energy in the winter condition.
Cosnier et al. [9] provided the theoretical and numerical analysis of the heating and cooling of the air in the
thermoelectric refrigeration system.
Many studies have been conducted on the principle of thermoelectric refrigeration. The purpose is to enhance the
efficiency of thermoelectric refrigeration equipment. Liu’s studies showed that it is better to choose the maximal
cooling efficiency design mode when the temperature difference between the two sides of the TEC (∆T) is under
35K. When the ∆T≈0, the ε≈∞ under the maximal cooling efficiency design mode. [10] Shen et al. [11] pointed out
that we can choose high current and high coefficient of heat transfer conditions under the maximal cooling
production design mode, and we can choose low current and high coefficient of heat transfer. However, they all got
these conclusions under the conditions when the hot side have been set in a constant without considering the frost
phenomenon in cold side.
Nomenclature

COP Coefficient of performance

I electric current (A)
K thermal conductivity (w/k)
P input electric power (w)
Q heat flux (݉ଷ Ȁ‫)ݏ‬
ܳ஼ cooling production (w)
ܳு heating production (w)
R Resistance (Ω)
S the sectional area (m)
Z the optimal coefficient
Greek symbols

α Seebeck coefficient
ε heating coefficient of performance
λ thermal conductivity(w/m·k)
ρ the electrical resistivity (Ω·m)
Subscript

i input
m maximum
c cooling
h heating

2. The mathematical and physical model analysis of thermoelectric refrigeration

2.1. One dimensional mathematical model

In this paper, the thermoelectric refrigeration model is based on the ideal refrigeration cycle. In this way, the
calculation of one-dimensional physical model can be simplified. The model are assumed that the structure and
material of the semiconductor bridge is completely symmetrical. Only one of them be used as the object of the
analysis.
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Fig. 1. One dimensional mathematical model

The infinitesimal section between two interfaces at x= X and x=X+dX, as shown in the Fig.1, is the object of
description of differential equation. The governing equation is expressed as follows,
X + dx
dT dT 1 (1)
λS
dx | X + dx
= −λ S
dx | X
+ I2
S 
X
ρ dx

Each item in the equation is used to find the derivative of X, and then the Eqs. (1) could be organized into the
equation as follows,

d 2T ρI2 (2)
+ = 0
dx2 λS2

The first kind boundary conditions,

x = 0,?T = Tc ;?x = L,?T = Th (3)

Combining the Eqs. (2) and the Eqs. (3), the one-dimensional temperature gradient could be obtained as follows,

dT ρI 2 1 ρ I 2 L TH − TC (4)
= − 2 (X )+ +
dx λS 2 λS 2 L

The temperature gradient at x=0 and x=L could be expressed respectively as follows，

dT 1 ρI 2L T − TC (5)
−λ S |0 = − − λS H
dx 2 S L

dT 1 ρ I 2L T − TC (6)
−λ S |L = − λS H
dx 2 S L

The main form of heat conduction is Joule heating and thermal conductivity in the semiconductor bridge, as
shown in the Eqs. (4). The Joule heat is transferred from cold side to hot side. It is assumed that the heat generated
by Parr effect is the internal heat source in the semiconductor bridge. Combining the temperature gradient, the
cooling production at cold side could be expressed as follows,

1 ρ I 2L T −T (7)
QC = α ITC − − λS H C
2 S L

The heat dissipating capacity at hot side could be expressed as follows,

874 Yu Wang et al. / Procedia Engineering 205 (2017) 871–878
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1 ρ I 2L T −T (8)
QH = α ITC + − λS H C
2 S L

The expression of Q � and Q� can also be written as follows,

1 2 (9)
QC = α ITC − I R − K ΔT
2

1 2 (10)
QH = α ITH + I R − K ΔT
2

The electric power input for cooling and heating is written as follows,

P = QH − QC = α I ΔT + I 2 R (11)

The cooling coefficient of performance is defined as follows,

1
Q
α ITC − I 2 R − K ΔT
ε= C= 2 (12)
P α I ΔT + I 2 R

2.2. Optimizing in the Theoretical Analysis

There are two design patterns including the maximal cooling efficiency design mode and the maximal cooling
production mode. The operating mode is changed by changing the voltage. Cooling production Q� should be
��
correlated with the thermoelectric energy consumption. The maximal cooling production could be obtained as � =
��
0 is adopted. Combining Eqs. (9); (12), the maximal cooling production and the cooling coefficient of performance
can be written as follows,

α 2  TC 2
ΔT  (13)
QCm =  − 
R  2 Z 

TC ΔT (14)
ε cm = −
2TH ZTHTC

Cooling efficiency ε should be correlated with the working conditions. The maximal cooling efficiency could be
��
obtained as = 0 is adopted. Combining Eqs. (9); (12), the maximal cooling efficiency can be written as follows,
��

TH
M−
T TC (15)
ε εm = C
ΔT M + 1

1 (16)
M = 1+ Z (TH + TC )
2

Usually, there are some factors should be taken into account before determining whether adopting maximal
cooling production or maximal cooling coefficient design. The primary important factor is the temperature
difference between hot side and cold side. Considering the practical operating condition, the theoretical analysis is
carried out by setting the temperature of cold side as a constant. As the Fig.2 and Fig.3 shown, there is the
relationship between the cooling performance parameters and ∆T under the maximal cooling production and
 Yu Wang et al. / Procedia Engineering 205 (2017) 871–878 875
Yu Wang, et al./ Procedia Engineering 00 (2017) 000–000 5

maximal cooling coefficient design respectively.

Fig. 3. Relationship between �and ΔT through maximal cooling

Fig. 2. Relationship between �� and ΔT through maximal cooling
coefficient method and maximal cooling production method, for
coefficient method and maximal cooling production method, for
�� =288K, � =0.0508V/K, R=0.907Ω, Z=2.667× 10�� � ��,
�� =288K, � =0.0508V/K, R=0.907Ω, Z=2.667× 10�� � ��,
K=1.0668W/K
K=1.0668W/K

The cooling production increases with the increase of temperature difference. Conversely, the cooling coefficient
decreases with the increase of temperature difference, as shown in Fig.2. However, the cooling coefficient through
maximal cooling production method is much lower than the cooling coefficient through maximal cooling coefficient
method. When ∆T=0℃, the cooling coefficient through maximal cooling production method is only 0.3, and the
cooling coefficient through maximal cooling coefficient method multiply towards infinity.

3. Experiments of thermoelectric cooling system

The lab rig is a thermoelectric cooling system coupling with heat pipe in this paper. The heat side of the TEC is
coupled with heat pipe. And there are four Cooling fan in heat pipe heat exchanger. The cold side is equipped with a
compact heat sink. The air duct is responsible for draining the air through the cold side. Besides, It designs a spoiler
duct to enhance the heat transfer performance. The semiconductor refrigerator is the TEC1-12708. The multipoint
recorder used in this experiment is Keysight 34972A data acquisition instrument, which can store data from 60
channels at a time. In this study, the infrared thermal imager was used to monitor the running state of the experiment.
The lab rig is shown in the Fig.4.

Fig. 4. The lab rig of thermoelectric cooling system

3.1. The effect of thermoelectric voltage

The relationship between voltage and the cooling production have been shown in the Fig.5. With the increase of
working time, the cooling production increases and tend to stabilize. When the working voltage is 12V, the cooling
production is the largest, and the cooling production under 9V working condition is the second, and the cooling
production is smaller under 6V working condition. Besides, the volatility of the curve is relatively large when
voltage is 12V. Because the good cooling performance makes the temperature difference in the air duct change
violently, which affects the temperature change of the cold side. And the primary important factor to affect the
cooling production is the temperature difference between hot side and cold side. The temperature difference between
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the inlet and outlet in duct increase and tend to stabilize after the system starting work, as shown in Fig.6. This is
correlated with the change of cooling production. The volatility of these curves is relatively large. Because that the
air duct is a limited circulation space. The increase of cooling capacity makes the fluctuation increase. So there are
more violent swings when the voltage is 12V. Besides, the temperature difference between the inlet and outlet in
duct is the increasing function with voltage, then the performance of thermoelectric cooling system could be
optimized.

Fig. 5. The cooling production under different voltage Fig. 6. The temperature difference between the inlet and outlet in duct
under different voltage

3.2. The effect of air volume

It changes the air volume by changing the speed of the cooling fan. The experimental data are shown in Table. 1.
The parameters of the cooling production are higher, and the trend is stable under the condition of maximal air flow,
as shown in Fig. 7. Under the same conditions, the time required for the operation of the thermoelectric refrigeration
system is relatively short when the air volume is maximal, and the stable operation time is longer when the air
volume is lower. The cooling production of the system is reduced with the decrease of air volume when the system
runs stable, but it is not obvious. This shows that the air volume has little effect on the cooling capacity of TEC. The
variation trend of air duct inlet and outlet temperature difference under different ventilation have been shown in the
Fig.8, which could represent the cooling performance of the cold side space. In the Fig.8, the temperature difference
get Larger with the increase of air volume during the early stage of system operation. The temperature difference is
greater when the wind speed is 0, during the latter half of system operation. This is due to the heat dissipation
coming from energy consumption of the cooling fan.

Table 1. Experimental data sheet.

Point.1 Point.2 Point.3 Point.4
number
[m/s] [m/s] [m/s] [m/s]
2-1 0.63 0.47 0.59 0.60
2-2 0.42 0.44 0.41 0.40
2-3 0.25 0.27 0.23 0.26
2-4 0 0 0 0
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Fig. 7. The cooling production under different air volume Fig. 8. The temperature difference between the inlet and outlet in duct
under different air volume

3.3. Experimental validations on the performance of the spoiler duct

This paper designed a spoiler duct to enhance performance of the cooling system. The spoiler duct is provided
with some wave shaped flow disturbance laminas, and the space dimension is the same as that of the common duct.
The cooling system with the spoiler duct was operated under the same conditions as the common duct. The
temperature field distribution of the two conditions were captured by infrared thermal imager. The temperature of
heat sink in cool side is about 25.5℃,and the cooling effect of the duct is not obvious when the cooling system
coupled with common duct, as shown in Fig.9. In Fig.10, There is the temperature field distribution of spoiler duct.
The temperature of heat sink in cool side is about 23℃. The temperature of cold side is slightly higher than the
ambient temperature. Because that the energy consumption of the cooling fan made the temperature rise in duct, and
the duct is a Limited circulation space which is easy to store the heat.

Fig. 9. The temperature field distribution of common duct

Fig. 10. The temperature field distribution of spoiler duct

4. CONCLUSION

Through theoretical analysis, the cooling production and cooling coefficient decrease slowly with the increase of
temperature difference under the condition of maximal cooling production. The cooling coefficient under the
condition of maximal cooling coefficient decreases with the increase of temperature difference, and the cooling
production increases firstly and then decreases with the increase of temperature difference. When ∆T=0℃, the
cooling coefficient through maximal cooling production method is only 0.3, and the cooling coefficient through
maximal cooling coefficient method multiply towards infinity. When ∆T≈40℃, It better to choose the maximal
cooling coefficient method.

The working parameters of thermoelectric refrigeration system are greatly affected by the operating voltage. And
the cooling efficiency is the increasing function with the voltage. It is best to operate the refrigeration system under
rated voltage. The ventilation quantity of cold end air duct affects the heat dissipation in air duct. And the cooling
parameters and heat dissipation of the thermoelectric refrigeration system are influenced by the heat dissipation in
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the air duct. Generally, the heat dissipation of the cold end air duct is improved with the increase of the ventilation
quantity, and the cooling parameters also increase. The spoiler laminas in air duct can enhance the heat transfer
effect. Therefore, It can enhance the cooling effect of the cold side space, but also increase the cooling capacity and
cooling efficiency of thermoelectric refrigeration system. The distance and inclination angle of the spoiler blades in
the air duct have an influence on the heat dissipation performance.

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Professor Di Liu for guidance of this article. Thanks to the partners for experimental assistance from
the Sustainable environment and Energy research group. And we would like to thank our committee members,
sponsors, supporting institutions for their active efforts to afford the opportunity to the ISHVAC 2017.

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