Peltier Supercooling in Transient Thermoelectrics: Spatial Temperature Profile and Characteristic Cooling Length

Thermoelectric coolers (TECs) can reach temperatures below that obtained with a steady-state current by applying an electrical current pulse which enables a transitory state in a Peltier device. This effect is known as supercooling. In this paper, we study characteristics parameters, such as the min...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Entropy (Basel, Switzerland) Switzerland), 2019-02, Vol.21 (3), p.226
Main Authors: Ruiz-Ortega, Pablo, Olivares-Robles, Miguel
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Cold
Coolers
Cooling loads
Cooling systems
Current pulses
Electric currents
Finite element analysis
Finite element method
Heat
Numerical analysis
P-type semiconductors
Parameters
Peltier
pulse current
Supercooling
Temperature profiles
thermoelectric
Thermoelectric cooling
transitory
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Summary:Thermoelectric coolers (TECs) can reach temperatures below that obtained with a steady-state current by applying an electrical current pulse which enables a transitory state in a Peltier device. This effect is known as supercooling. In this paper, we study characteristics parameters, such as the minimum cooling temperature and spatial temperature profile, in a TEC operated under current pulses and a cooling load ( Q c ) . Numerical analysis for a one-dimensional thermoelectric model of the cooling system is developed, and a novel MATLAB programming code is proposed for the transient state based on finite element analysis. We also investigate the influence of the thermoelement’s length upon the cooling mechanism. A new parameter called the “characteristic cooling length” is proposed to describe the length in which the minimum cooling temperature occurs along the elements of a TEM. Results show the transient temperature profiles along the elements of the semiconductor P-type element, and a “characteristic cooling length” is characterized. We also propose a general principle, and the lowest cooling temperature values are obtained for a semiconductor’s small length and variable pulse cooling load under current pulse operation. The present study will serve as guidance for the geometric design of TECs under current pulse operations.
ISSN:1099-4300
1099-4300
DOI:10.3390/e21030226