Studying the Influence of the Thermoelectric Materials Parameters on the Dynamics of Singlecascade Cooling Devices

Abstract

The effect of the variants of parameters of the original thermoelectric materials of the same efficiency on the operational dynamics of a single-cascade thermoelectric cooler has been examined. The variants differ by the coefficients of thermoEMF, electrical conductivity, and thermal conductivity. The study has been carried out in the range of changes in the working temperature, the rated heat load at the predefined geometry of thermoelement branches.The analysis was performed for the characteristic current modes of operation: maximum refrigerating capacity Q0max, maximum refrigerating capacity at the predefined current (Q0/I)max, maximum refrigerating factor (Q0/I2)max, minimum failure rate λmin.We have established the relationship between the cooler dynamics and the basic parameters and reliability indicators for different current modes of operation. A possibility has been shown to reduce the time to enter a stationary mode of operation for a variant with the increased electrical conductivity of a material, by 9‒10 %, compared to the basic variant calculated for the averaged electrophysical parameters. The minimum time to enter a stationary regime is achieved under a mode of maximum refrigerating capacity.The economic feasibility of using the starting source materials with enhanced electric conductivity relates not only to the improved dynamic and reliable characteristics. Designing thermoelectric coolers is also associated with a decrease in the cost of a cooler by using materials that were considered substandard.The rational design of thermoelectric coolers for the systems that enable the thermal modes of electronic equipment accounts for a set of restrictive requirements. These include energy consumption, weight, and size, performance speed, reliability indicators, etc., which are inherently contradictory. The proposed selection of compromise variants of the current modes of operation for different operating conditions allows the optimized design of thermally-loaded equipment