Comprehensive Analysis of Performance of Air Cooled Multistage Thermoelectric Cooler

Abstract

The multistage thermoelectric cooler can provide a larger temperature difference, but its refrigeration and economic performance decreases rapidly with the increase of stages. Considering all kinds of internal effects of thermoelectric materials and the irreversibility of external heat transfer, a finite time thermodynamic model of air cooling multistage thermoelectric cooler is established. The calculation method for cooling capacity and coefficient of performance are given. In order to describe and analyze the performance of multistage thermoelectric cooler comprehensively, the index thermodynamic perfectibility is introduced, and the performance evaluation index of coordinated performance coefficient is proposed. The effects of working current, cross-sectional area of thermoelectric leg and temperature difference on cooling capacity, coefficient of performance, thermodynamic perfectibility and coordination performance coefficient are analyzed. With the cooling temperature difference of 87 ℃, when the current is 2.55 A and 1.30 A respectively, and the cross-sectional area of the thermoelectric arm is 2.2 mm2 and 3.0 mm2 respectively, the cooling capacity and coefficient of performance reach the maximum respectively. Considering the refrigeration and economic performance, when the current is 1.75 A, the best coordination performance of cooling capacity, power consumption, and refrigeration coefficient can be obtained.

Keywords

• multistage thermoelectric cooling
• finite time thermodynamics
• thermodynamic perfectibility
• coordination performance
• performance optimization