Accepted Manuscript

A comparative study of different heat exchange systems in a thermoelectric

refrigerator and their influence on the efficiency

D. Astrain, P. Aranguren, A. Martínez, A. Rodríguez, M.G. Pérez

PII: S1359-4311(16)30619-6
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2016.04.132
Reference: ATE 8180

To appear in: Applied Thermal Engineering

Received Date: 16 February 2016

Accepted Date: 23 April 2016

Please cite this article as: D. Astrain, P. Aranguren, A. Martínez, A. Rodríguez, M.G. Pérez, A comparative study
of different heat exchange systems in a thermoelectric refrigerator and their influence on the efficiency, Applied
Thermal Engineering (2016), doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.applthermaleng.2016.04.132

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 A comparative study of different heat exchange systems in a
thermoelectric refrigerator and their influence on the efficiency

D. Astrain1,2, P. Aranguren1,2, A. Martínez1,2, A. Rodríguez1,2, M.G. Pérez1,2

1
Mechanical, Energy and Materials Engineering Department
Public University of Navarre, 31006 Pamplona, Spain
2
Smart Cities Institute, Pamplona, Spain
Phone: +34 948 169597, Fax: +34 948 169099, e-mail: david.astrain@unavarra.es

Abstract

Thermoelectric refrigeration (TEC) exhibits several advantages compared to vapour-

compression, since this technology presents accurate temperature control systems and
higher levels of compactness, robustness and noiselessness. However, its low efficiency is
acting as a deterrent for it to spread in the refrigeration market.
One of the factors determining the efficiency of a thermoelectric refrigerator is the
temperature difference between the hot and cold sides of the thermoelectric modules
(TEMs). This is dependent on the thermal resistances of the heat exchangers used.
This paper discusses the results of an experimental study of different types of heat
exchangers for the thermoelectric module hot side: a water-air system comprising a cold
plate, pump and fan coil; a finned heat sink with fan; a heat pipe with fan. Expressions of
thermal resistance have been obtained for these three types as a function of the air and
water mass flows and the number of TEMs per unit of surface area of heat exchanger
(occupancy ratio, δ), as well as expressions of the power consumed by the fans and the
pump.
Finally, a computational study has been carried out on a thermoelectric refrigerator of 15
m3 of interior volume, in order to obtain the influence of the heat exchanger studied, on the
total consumption of the refrigerator and its efficiency. The results have demonstrated that
relevant improvements can be made in TEC efficiency by the proper optimization of the
heat exchangers.

Keywords: Thermoelectrics; Refrigeration; Electric consumption; Efficiency; Heat

Exchanger; finite time thermodynamics

1
Nomenclature:
A Area m2
Atem Area occupied by the TEMs m2
Ab Heat exchanger base area m2
C Thermal capacity J/K
cp Specific heat at constant pressure J/kgK
COPtem Coefficient of performance of the thermoelectric modules
COPtot Total coefficient of performance of the refrigerator
e Wall thickness m
E Seebeck thermoelectric force V
hext External convection heat transfer coefficient W/m2K
hint Internal convection heat transfer coefficient W/m2K
I Electric current A
k Thermal conductivity W/mK
M Matrix (17x17)
Air mass flow kg/s
Water mass flow kg/s
L Distance between nodes m
.
Q Heat flow rate W
Cooling power W
Heat flow rate generated in the modules due to the Joule effect W
Heat flow rate due to Peltier effect W
Heat flow rate due to Thomson effect W
Heat flow rate generated at the hot end of the TEMs W
Heat flow rate generated at the hot end of one TEM W
Specific heat flow rate generated W/m3
R Thermal resistance K/W
Rtem Heat exchanger thermal resistance per TEM K/W
Ro Electrical resistance Ω
t Time s
T Temperature K
T’ Temperature in time t+1 K
Ttem Temperature of the thermoelectric modules K
Ta Ambient temperature K
U Overall heat transfer coefficient W/m2K
V Volume m3
Vtem Voltage supplied to the thermoelectric modules V
Electric power consumption of the auxiliary equipment W
Electric power consumption of the pump W
Electric power consumption of the fan W
Electric power consumption of the thermoelectric modules W
 Seebeck coefficient V/K
 Density kg/m3
σ Thomson coefficient V/K
 Peltier coefficient V
δ Occupancy ratio

2
 1. INTRODUCTION

Thermoelectric refrigeration (TEC) consists in the direct conversion of electric

energy into heat or cold, through what is known as the Peltier effect [1]. This type of

refrigeration offers a number of advantages over vapour compression refrigeration, such

as: more compact, robust and noiseless equipment, due to minimum moving parts, better

temperature control, and the lack of refrigerants. However, as is well known, the main

drawback of these systems is the increased energy consumption compared to vapour

compression refrigeration systems [2,3].

Nowadays, there are two lines of action in order to improve the coefficient of

performance (COP) of the TEC [4,5]. The first line is directed at improving the

thermoelectric modules (TEMs), either by optimising the geometry of the thermocouples

[6,7] or by studying their materials in order to increase the value of the figure of merit

[8,9](a dimensionless number that groups together thermal conductivity, electrical

resistivity and the Seebeck coefficient). In this regard, hybrid thermoelectric coolers have

been recently developed, involving the use of semiconductor films printed on plastic

substrates with a sinusoidal geometry [10]. The second line of action in order to improve

the efficiency of thermoelectric devices is focussed on the optimisation of the heat

exchangers located on the hot and cold sides in order to reduce thermal resistance. This has

led to considerable research work focussed on the study and thermal optimisation of heat

exchangers for thermoelectric applications Noteworthy are those about the influence of

heat transfer irreversibilities [11] and total heat transfer allocation ratio [12] on the

performance of thermoelectric devices, or the optimization of the geometry of a finned

heat sink of a thermoelectric generator [13]. Different applications have been developed

based on thermal optimization, such as the thermoelectric-integrated methanol evaporator

3
[14], the efficient hybrid refrigerator that combines thermoelectricity and vapour-

compression technologies [15], and the thermoelectric ice maker in a domestic refrigerator,

which exhibits a maximum ice production of 3.1 kg/day, with 0.92 of COP [16].

All these papers include the improvement of the thermal resistance of the heat

exchangers, since this measure increases the efficiency in the thermoelectric performance.

However, none of these take into account the electric power consumption of the auxiliary

equipment to calculate the cited efficiency, which is highly relevant, as the present paper

shows. It is clear that any improvement in the performance of a heat exchanger usually

entails the increase of pressure losses, which in turn leads to higher power consumption of

auxiliary equipment. As a consequence, the global power consumption (TEM & auxiliary

equipment) might increase, thus reducing the final efficiency. This paper presents a

complete study of TECs, including all the electric power consumptions, to provide a global

system optimization for several types of heat exchangers.

The most-used system to dissipate the heat produced on the hot side of the TEM

into the environment, is a fan-cooled finned heat sink, due to its simplicity and low cost

[17]. However, this system produces some high thermal resistance values (0.54-0.66 K/W)

[18], primarily due to the high heat transfer rate per unit surface area on the hot side of the

TEMs (around 50,000 W/m2), as well as to the constriction factor between the finned heat

sink and the TEMs and to the low air convection coefficients.

Another type of heat dissipation system uses water to absorb the heat from the

TEMs, through a cold plate with inner channels and a fan-coil to dissipate the heat to the

environment, whilst permitting water recirculation [19]. Although these systems may offer

improved thermal resistance values, due to the high convection coefficients achieved with

water [20], the amount of electricity consumed by the auxiliary equipment is greater due to

the fact that, as well as a fan, a pump is also required. Given the fact that the objective is to

4
reduce total electricity consumption in order to make thermoelectric cooling more

competitive, the power consumption of the TEMs and also that of any auxiliary equipment

such as pumps and fans, should be taken into account. Therefore, it is unclear whether the

water-based heat exchange system actually makes thermoelectricity more efficient.

Finally, the study looks at heat pipes, whose operating principle is based on the

liquid-vapour phase change and the capillary action to transport the condensed fluid [21].

Although these systems achieve some good interior convection coefficients, due to the fact

that we are dealing with coefficients for boiling and condensation, they still have a

convection coefficient between the heat pipe exterior and the air. Fins are therefore

necessary and, in most cases, also a fan [22].

For the three types of heat exchangers discussed, if we increase the mass flow rate

of water or air, then the convection coefficient increases and the thermal resistance

decreases, thereby increasing the COP of the TEMs. However, pressure losses also

increase, leading to an increase in the consumption of the auxiliary equipment responsible

for moving the fluid (pumps or fans).

This work considers the influence of three types of heat exchangers: finned heat

sink; water-air; and heat pipe on the COP of a thermoelectric refrigerator, taking account

of the TEM consumption and that of any auxiliary equipment, such as a pump or fan. To

that purpose, firstly a computational model that simulates the thermoelectric phenomena of

a thermoelectric refrigerator is presented. Secondly, the thermal resistances of the above-

mentioned heat exchanger types are experimentally studied as a function of mass flow,

occupancy ratio of the TEMs (δ), as well as the consumption of any auxiliary equipment.

Lastly, the thermal resistances are included into the computational model in order to get

their influence on the COP of a thermoelectric refrigerator, optimising its performance.

5
 2. ANALITYCAL MODELING

This study employs a computational model for thermoelectric refrigerators previously

developed and validated in [23], [24]. This model resolves the thermoelectric equations for

the Seebeck, Peltier, Joule and Thompson effects (1-4), as well as those for transitional heat

transfer (5), taking the properties variable with temperature. As demonstrated in [23] the

maximum error offered by the computational model was ±7 %.

(1)

(2)

(3)

(4)

(5)

The model is based on the numerical finite differences method [25,26], which is

applied to the discretisation shown in Figure 1. Each node has a thermal capacity given by

equation (7), and is connected to adjacent nodes by a thermal resistance which, for the

cases of resistances ranging from R5,6, R6,7,… to R14,15, are given by equation (6).

(6)

(7)

The thermal resistance of the isolation, R1,2, is obtained by calculating the overall

heat transfer coefficient, including exterior convection, conduction through the insulation

and interior convection. Equations (8) and (9).

(8)

6
 (9)

The resistance of the cold side of the finned heat sink (R2,3) and the resistance of the

heat exchanger on the hot side (R16,17) are entered using the experimentation of each heat

exchanger presented in the following section.

The implicit finite differences method applied to equation (5) for a generic node “i”

gives equation (15), where Q i either may have a value of zero or be given by equations (2-

4), when the thermoelectric effect occurs, depending on the node.

 t     
Ti1    Ti1   t   Ti  t   t  1  Ti   t  Q i (10)
 C R  C R 
 Ci  Ri ,i1   i i1,i   i i1,i Ci  Ri ,i1  Ci

Therefore, by applying the appropriate equation to each node a 17x17 matrix

system represented by equation (11) is obtained.


M  T   T   t  Q. (11)
C

The system showed in equation (11) is non-linear, given the fact that the heat fluxes

caused by thermoelectric effects are temperature dependent, as shown by equations (6-9).

In addition, the variation of the thermoelectric properties with temperature have been

considered. For the resolution of this system, the equations are resolved for instant time

t+1, evaluating the heat fluxes and the properties for the previous instant t, with the

temperature already known.

The following input values were entered in the model: thermoelectric dimensions

and properties of the TEMs, as a function of temperature, the number of TEMs, the module

voltage supply, the refrigerator dimensions, the insulation properties and the heat

exchanger thermal resistances. As an output, the model provides the temperature values at

7
all nodes, the power consumption, the refrigeration capacity and the COP for the TEMs

( ), all as a function of time.

(12)

Therefore, by entering into the model the functions for the auxiliary equipment

consumption, obtained in the experimental stage, it is possible to obtain the COP for the

complete system ( ), based on the mass flow of air and water.

(13)

3. EXPERIMENTAL STUDY OF THE HEAT EXCHANGERS

In order to obtain the influence of the hot side heat exchanger on the refrigerator COP, three

types of heat exchangers were studied: a finned heat sink; a water-air; and a heat pipe.

Bearing in mind the fact that the size of the heat exchanger is an important factor, because it

has an impact on both the weight and the price, the occupancy ratio (δ) defined by equation

(14), was introduced as a variable of the experimentation, as well as the mass flow of the

refrigeration fluids.

(14)

The aim was to obtain the thermal resistance curves for the heat exchangers studied, and also

the power consumed by any auxiliary equipment such as a pump or fan, both as a function of

the mass flows of air and/or water. Equation (15) is also a function of (δ), because the

occupancy ratio highly influences the thermal resistance of the heat exchangers.

(15)

(16)

8
To obtain the characteristic curves, three prototypes of the heat exchangers were constructed,

using thermoelectric modules as heat power sources, providing electrical power to them to

absorb or deliver heat respectively on their sides. The hot sides of the TEMs were in contact

with the heat exchangers whilst their cold sides were highly insulated. In this way, by

applying the conservation of energy to thermoelectric refrigeration and given the fact that

there is no heat absorption on the cold side ( due to the insulation) all the electrical

power supplied to the TEMs is converted into thermal power delivered to the heat exchangers,

as equation (17) presents.

(17)

Likewise, 4 K type thermocouples were mounted on the hot side of the TEMs, whose mean

value, , serves to obtain the value of the thermal resistance of the heat exchangers as a

whole, defined as:

(18)

It is important to note that the thermal resistances included into the computational model and

represented in the following figures are corresponding with the resistance per TEM, .

(19)

The total thermal resistance of the whole heat exchanger is given as well by the expression

(20), stating the relationship between equations (18) and (19).

(20)

Where is the heat power emitted by the hot side of one TEM and is the heat power

obtained from the total number of TEMs.

9
A study of the thermal resistance of the three types of heat exchangers for a range of fan

supply and/or pump supply voltages was conducted to obtain the curves for equations (15)

and (16). This study was repeated for 4 different values of δ, corresponding to 12, 8, 4 and 2

TEMs for each heat exchanger prototype constructed.

As the mass flows increase, the thermal resistance decreases, increasing the efficiency of the

TEMs and, therefore, lowering their power consumption. However, the consumption of the

auxiliary equipment will increase and it would therefore be necessary to make a complete

study of the thermoelectric refrigerator in order to obtain the optimal operating point for each

heat exchanger system, by optimising the (equation (13)) for the system. This is

achieved through computational calculation.

The experimental characterisation consisted in applying a constant power to the TEMs and in

testing the fans and pump at different operating points for each occupancy ratio. The same

consumption of the auxiliary equipment was repeated for each δ, therefore as the mass flow

rates do not depend on the latter parameter, the air and the water mass flow curves as a

function of the power consumption of the auxiliary devices can be presented in Table 1. As it

can be seen, there is a logical increase in power consumption with the increase in mass flows

for each device. Table 2 presents the resolution and the accuracy of the measurement probes

that are included into the different prototypes.

Described below are the heat exchangers prototypes designed and constructed for the study

and the thermal resistances per TEM of each heat exchanger as a function of the studied

parameters. For each operating point ( ) of the three heat exchangers three replicates

were made, thereby a mean value for each one was obtained.

The three different types of heat exchangers have been selected because they represent three

strategies to dissipate the heat. The finned heat sink is the most conventional heat dissipator,

but sometimes not powerful enough to obtain the desired performance, as it will be seeing in

10
the following sections. The Water-air heat exchanger has smaller thermal resistances (because

of the better convective coefficients that the fluids have compared to the air), nevertheless it

presents higher auxiliary consumption, a key factor that has to be taken in account. Finally,

the heat pipes present a fluid to dissipate the heat, but they do not need a pump to make the

fluid circulate because of their internal mechanism, hence they present lower auxiliary

consumption but still good thermal resistances. As every factor is crucial to optimise the

performance thermoelectric refrigeration, experimental studies were conducted to thermally

characterise the different heat exchangers as a function of the previously mentioned factors.

3.1 Water-air heat exchanger

This system comprises the following components, as shown in the photo of the prototype in

Figure 2:

 Cold-Plate, comprising a plate with 26 inner channels with a hydraulic diameter of 6.2

mm and two longitudinal manifolds with a diameter of 9 mm, through which the fluid

flows (water with glycol). The cold plate is intended to absorb the heat dissipated by the

TEMs, and is therefore in contact with the hot side, with exterior dimensions of 190x230

mm2.

 System for transporting the fluid, comprising a series of pipes, a safety valve, a de-

aerator, a expansion tank and a Jabsco 59520 hydraulic pump to move the fluid, as shown

in Figure 2.

 Fan-coil, directed at dissipating the heat collected by the fluid from the TEMs, into the

ambient through a fan. It comprises 8mm copper pipes with 12 passes each, with 226 fins

with dimensions of 57x200 mm2, 0.2 mm thick and 1.6 mm spacing.

 A data acquisition system, comprising: a data logger, 1 vortex flow meter, 1

electromagnetic flow meter, 5 K type temperature sensors, 4 K type fluid temperature

11
 sensors and 4 piezoresistive pressure sensors, with the accuracy and sensitivity shown in

Table 2.

A complete description of the prototype, as well as a validated computational model which

models it can be found in previous work [27]. The entire prototype was put into a climatic

chamber in order to maintain the ambient temperature constant. A total of 20 test points were

executed, four levels of water mass flow and five levels of air mass flow, obtained modifying

the consumption of the pump and fans respectively.

Figure 3 shows the thermal resistance per TEM curves for the water-air refrigeration system,

the fan-coil and cold-plate resistances are included, as a function of the water mass flow. Each

curve corresponds to a fan-coil power supply value, equivalent to an air mass flow given in

Table 2. Some parameters in this study are indirect measurements, such as the electric power

and thermal resistance, calculated through equation (18). For these indirect parameters, the

absolute experimental error ( ) is obtained through equation (21), where y represents the

indirect measurement, obtained through direct measurements (xi), according to function

f=(x1,x2,… xn).

(21)

Taking account of the accuracy of the measuring equipment shown in Table 2, the values

obtained in the tests, with three replicates made for each operating point, the maximum

relative error for the mean value is ±5.5 % for the electric power (Table 1) and ±5.7 % for the

thermal resistance (Figure 3).

It can be seen in Figure 3 that as the water flow rate increases, the thermal resistance

decreases, as a result of the increased value of the water convection coefficient. A similar

effect occurs with the increase in power to the fan-coil, with the exterior convection

12
coefficient, causing a reduction in the thermal resistance and, therefore, a reduction in the total

heat exchanger resistance.

Finned heat sink

The heat exchanger selected for this study is based on the optimisation made for the Peltier

finned heat sinks in previous work [28], so that the dimensions are those shown in Figure 4.

The fin thickness, height and spacing are 1.6; 46 and 3.9 mm respectively while the base

thickness is 17 mm with external dimension of 190 x 230 mm2. A wind tunnel was positioned

at a distance of 4mm from the fins, where a JAMICON JF1225S2H axial flow fan was

located. The power supply to this fan was varied in order to modify the air mass flow through

the heat sink, and also its power consumption. This made it possible to experimentally obtain

the thermal resistance and consumption curves based on air mass flow: ,

, curves that were entered in the computational calculation model described in

section 2 to optimise the thermoelectric refrigerator. All the experiments were conducted

inside a climatic chamber to assure the ambient temperature was kept constant.

The results of the mean thermal resistance values per TEM of the finned heat sink, for

different values of δ, are shown in Figure 6. In this case, and using the same methodology as

for the water-air exchanger, the maximum relative error for the mean value is ±5.5 % for the

electrical power (Table 2) and ±6 % for the thermal resistance (Figure 6).

Figure 6 shows that, as the air flow increases, the thermal resistance decreases, as was to be

expected. Likewise, it can be seen that, for the same air mass flow, the diminish of δ causes a

decrease in the thermal resistance. This effect is due to the fact that, by increasing the surface

area of the heat exchanger base corresponding to each TEM, this has a greater surface area for

the heat - air exchange, thereby the thermal resistance is improved. It should be pointed out

that this effect is not so important for high mass flow values, due to the fact that the greater

13
the convection coefficient, the lower the exchange area required to obtain good thermal

resistance values.

3.2 Heat pipes

A heat exchanger was designed and constructed, formed by 2 heat pipes, each comprising 10

nickel-plated copper pipes with a diameter of 8 mm diameter and length of 350 mm,

containing an inner capillary system and using water as the operating fluid. 130 x 55 x 0.3

mm3 fins were mounted on the end where the condensation occurs in order to increase the

surface area, as well as a JAMICON JF1225S2H fan included in a wind tunnel. The part in

contact with the TEMs is an aluminium plate with exterior dimensions of 70 x 190 x 15 mm3,

with the pipes spaced 5 mm apart. Table 2 shows the resolution and accuracy of the

measuring equipment used to obtain the indirect measurement of the thermal resistance of the

heat dissipation device.

Figure 6 presents the thermal resistance curves per TEM as a function of the air mass flow for

the heat pipe. The same effects that were stated for the finned heat sink are also observed in

the heat pipe, although curves with smaller gradients are obtained, due to the fact that the

phase change occurring in this heat exchanger means that it has good interior heat exchange

coefficients. For high values of parameter δ (small heat exchanger area per TEM), the heat

pipe offers far better results than the finned heat sink, for any air mass flow, basically due to

the good heat exchange coefficients achieved in the heat pipe interior (boiling and

condensation) leading to good use of the finned surface area. However, for low values of

occupancy ratio (δ<0.234), the performance of the finned heat sink is even better than that of

the heat pipe, with lower thermal resistance values per TEM. In this case, the finned heat sink

has sufficient surface area per TEM to achieve an efficient heat exchange with the air. With

regard to the heat pipe, the existence of additional heat transfer coefficients in the pipe

interior, makes the total thermal resistance worse in comparison with the finned heat sink.

14
The consumptions of the fans of the finned heat sink and of the heat pipes, based on air mass

flow, are shown in Table 1 and the expressions for the thermal resistances, obtained from

fitting the experimental results shown in Figure 6, are presented in Table 3. These expressions

are given with in K/W and in kg/s, valid for the interval from .

4. PERFORMANCE OF THE THERMOELECTRIC REFRIGERATOR AND

ANALYSIS

This study stablishes a methodology based on computational simulations with the calculation

model presented in Section 2, and also on the experimental data obtained with the heat

exchanger prototypes constructed and included in the previous section.

The expressions of the thermal resistance per TEM experimentally obtained for each of the

heat exchangers discussed in the section above are introduced into the computational model

developed. A series of simulations were made for each type of heat exchanger, in order to

determine the operating point that optimises the refrigerator coefficient of operation, .

To do so, a scan was made of the water and air mass flow rates while the power supply to the

TEM was modified in order to maintain the refrigerator interior temperature constant at 1 ºC

in all cases.

This paper studies a thermoelectric refrigerator with an interior volume of 15 m3, intended for

food conservation at temperatures of 1 ºC and at a relative humidity of 90 %. For a load factor

of 250 kg/m3 and a 1/5 product renewal, the product refrigeration requirements are 320 W, to

which we should add the heat entering through the chamber walls, comprising expanded

polyurethane panels with a thermal conductivity of k=0.024 W/mK, and an average thickness

of 80mm. Thus, there is a constant heat that need to be absorbed by the thermoelectric

modules in order to maintain the interior temperature of the chamber at 1 ºC . The

thermoelectric system comprises a total of 96 TEMs, Marlow DT12-8L model [29], with

their corresponding heat exchangers on each side.

15
The heat exchangers studied are simulated for the exterior of the refrigerator, the hot side,

while the cold side heat dissipation system comprises in all cases the studied finned heat sinks

due to their simplicity and easiness of operation for the interior of a thermoelectric

refrigerator.

In order to maintain the minimum value of relative humidity in 90% inside the chamber, and

taking into account that there is power consumption of the fan equal to 25 W, the temperature

difference between the interior and the cold heat exchanger must be smaller than 5 ºC, as it is

usual in refrigerators for food conservation [30]. In all the studied cases this value has not

been exceeded.

Maintaining the number of 96 TEMs constant in all cases, this paper aims to study the

different types of heat exchangers in different operating conditions (mass flow of their

refrigerants and occupancy ratio) to optimise the for the refrigerator, taking account of

the power consumption of the TEMs and that of any auxiliary equipment (fans and pump).

In order to facilitate assembly and the thermal contact between the TEMs and heat

exchangers, the thermoelectric refrigerator was divided into equal blocks, set in parallel, each

with the same number of TEMs. This also simplifies the construction and analysis of the heat

exchanger prototypes, given the fact that it was only necessary to study one block.

Maintaining constant the total number of 96 TEMs, each δ value studied has its corresponding

number of blocks with different number of TEMs per block, as it can been seen in the Table

4.

Figure 7 presents the operation of the thermoelectric refrigerator when heat pipes are

simulated for its hot side. It can be seen that by increasing the mass flow, the fan electric

consumption increases. However, if the thermal resistance on the hot side is improved, the

TEM consumption decreases, thereby increasing their . Therefore, by applying

16
equation (18), it can be seen that the for the system (including the power consumed

by the fans) increases with mass flow to a maximum level, and then decreases. The optimum

value obtained is 0.422 for a mass air flow of 0.0942 kg/s and this will be the value to

be used for this design of δ=0.703 for the heat pipes.

Following a similar procedure for the water-air heat exchanger, is presented as a

function of the mass flows of air and water in Figure 8. This figure shows that, as in the case

of the water-air system, an increase in the mass flow rates of the working fluids does not

imply an improved . In this case, the optimal of 0.408 is obtained for a water

mass flow of 0.046 kg/s and an air mass flow of 0.21 kg/s.

For the case of the finned heat sink, the resistances obtained with δ=0.703 are too high to

correctly dissipate the heat generated on the hot side of the TEMs, so that these are unable to

produce the cold required to maintain the refrigerator at 1 ºC under the load conditions set out

in this section. The minimum temperature values that this system is able to maintain are 3.7

ºC and 1.5 ºC, for 0.0495 kg/s and 0.0653 kg/s, respectively.

Increasing the base dimensions whilst maintaining the number of 96 TEM, smaller occupancy

ratios can be obtained. If δ=0.234 is simulated, the values change considerably, not only the

thermoelectric refrigerator with finned heat sinks on its hot side it able to maintain the interior

temperature at 1ºC, but this is achieved with some high values. Figure 9 shows the

results for this new finned heat sink base size, where it can be observed that, as was the case

for the heat pipe, there is also an optimal value for the system, of 0.692 for an air

mass flow of 0.0423 kg/s. Figure 10 shows the results obtained for the heat pipe with this new

heat exchanger base size, δ=0.234. It can also be seen how, for this type of heat exchanger,

the optimal obtained does not coincide with the optimal , instead, due to the

power consumed by the fan, this is obtained for lower air mass flows. Specifically, in this

case, a maximum of 0.656 is achieved for a mass flow of 0.0746 kg/s.

17
Following the same procedure for different values of δ, that is heat exchangers of different

sizes yet maintaining 96 TEM, different and values were obtained as a

function of mass flow, for the finned heat sink and the heat pipe alike. The summary of the

results is shown in Figure 11. In this way it is possible to obtain the maximal for each

heat exchanger design and the mass flow at which this occurs, which, as can be seen, changes

in accordance with the occupancy ratio. Thus, as the δ increases, the mass flow that optimises

the occurs at higher values. This is due to the fact that high values of δ mean that each

TEM has a small heat exchange area and therefore requires a higher convection coefficient in

order to obtain a thermal resistance that improves the . However, for low values of δ,

the increase in the convection coefficient, caused by the increased mass flow, leads to an

increase in the power consumed by the fan, which is greater than the reduction in power

consumed by the TEM, as a result of the improved thermal resistance. Attention should be

drawn to the considerable variation in the value of the refrigerator, with the fan

operating point, that is with the mass flow. This clearly indicates the importance of making a

complete study of the system design, taking account of the power consumed by any auxiliary

equipment and not just that consumed by the TEMs.

Figure 12 shows the maximum values that can be achieved for each value of

occupancy ratio δ, for the finned heat sink and the heat pipe. It is interesting to see that there

is no unique solution for determining which heat exchange system is best for thermoelectric

refrigeration, given the fact that this depends on δ, in other words the size of the heat

exchanger designed. Thus, for small heat exchangers, δ=0.703, the option of using a finned

heat sink does not give good results. For this case, the water-air system may be a good choice,

although the heat pipes provide a slightly better with simpler systems, given the fact

that no pumps are required. For this reason, for values of δ<0.703 the use of a water system is

not attractive. For the case of δ=0.469, the obtained using finned heat sinks or heat

18
pipes are similar and, from this value downwards, (δ<0.469) the results obtained with the

finned heat sink are better than those for the heat pipe.

Table 5 shows the mass flow and thermal resistance values for the optimal for the

system for each δ value, for the heat pipe and finned heat sink alike. The optimal mass flow

can be seen to decrease in line with a reduction in δ, whilst, despite a reduction in the air mass

flow, the thermal resistance improves given the fact that there is a greater exchange area.

Likewise, the difference between the and the is shown. It can be seen that,

even in the best cases, these differences reach 13 %. As can be seen in Figures 7, 9 and 10,

this difference increases considerably if the system is not operating at the optimal

points, reaching differences as great as 50 %, thereby revealing the importance of overall

optimisation.

Finally, it is important to emphasise the considerable importance of the occupancy ratio δ and

the fan operating point on the of a thermoelectric refrigerator. A suitable design can

achieve some highly competitive values for the production of cold using

thermoelectricity.

5. CONCLUSIONS

A general methodology to thermally optimise thermoelectric refrigerators has been presented

along this work. A general computational model simulates the behaviour of any refrigerator at

any circumstances, focusing on the influence of different factors, such as the occupancy ratio

and the mass flows of the refrigerants determined by the consumption of the auxiliary

equipment.

This methodology is used to optimise the of a thermoelectric refrigerator with an

interior volume of 15 m3 , including the power consumed by the auxiliary equipment. To do

so, experimentally-obtained curves for different heat exchangers were used, demonstrating the

importance of considering into the total optimisation all the elements of a thermoelectric

19
system, including the power consumption of any auxiliary equipment and the ratio between

the surface area of the TEMs and the heat exchanger base (δ). Differences of up to 50 % were

obtained between the and the .

The experimental study has allowed to obtain the thermal resistance as a function of the mass

flows of the working fluids and the occupancy ratio (the ratio between the area of the heat

exchanger base and the surface area occupied by the TEMs) for the following types of heat

exchangers: water-air; heat pipe; and finned heat sink. These factors have been shown to have

a considerable influence on the thermal resistance value.

The heat pipe and the water-air heat exchanger have been shown to function extremely well

as compact heat exchangers (δ≈0.703), whilst the finned heat sinks are a good option when

sufficient mounting space is available, low values of δ. For δ<0.469 finned heat sinks have

been shown to be the best option, providing better results for a refrigerator than heat

pipes.

Finally, this study has shown that it is possible to achieve high values for

thermoelectric refrigerators through the suitable optimisation of the heat exchangers,

exceeding, in this case, 0.7 for .

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

The authors would like to thank the Ministry of Science and Innovation (project DPI2014-

53158-R) and the European Union (ERDF Funds) for their financial support for this work.

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Figure captions

Figure 1. Discretisation of the thermoelectric refrigerator.

Figure 2. Prototype of a water-air heat exchanger

Figure 3. Thermal resistance per TEM of the water-air system, as a function of the water

mass flow for different fan consumptions and an occupancy ratio δ=0.703.

Figure 4. Prototype of the finned heat sink (a) schematic drawing and (b) prototype

Figure 5. Prototype of the heat pipe (a) heat pipe dimensions and (b) prototype

Figure 6. Thermal resistance per TEM of the finned heat sink and that of the heat pipe, as a

function of the air mass flow for different values of δ.

Figure 7. Power consumption of the TEMs and fans, COPtem and COPtotal, based on the mass

air flow for a heat pipe with δ=0.703.

Figure 8. for the thermoelectric refrigerator with a water-air system, based on the

water and air mass flows for δ=0.703.

Figure 9. Power consumption of the TEMs and fans, COPtem and COPtotal, as a function of

the air mass flow for finned heat sinks with δ=0.234.

Figure 10. Power consumption of the TEMs and fans, COPtem and COPtotal, as a function of

the air mass flow for heat pipes with δ=0.234.

Figure 11. as a function of air mass flow for different heat exchanger sizes, for the

finned heat sink and the heat pipe alike.

Figure 12. Optimal values for different values of occupancy ratio, which can be

achieved with each type of heat exchanger.

23
Figure 1
Figure 2
Figure 3
Figure 4
Figure 5
Figure 6
Figure 7
Figure 8
Figure 9
Figure 10
Figure 11
Figure 12
Table captions

Table 1. Consumption of the pump and fans as a function of the respective mass flows for the

three types of heat exchangers studied.

Water-air heat exchanger Finned heat sink Heat Pipe

(W) (kg/s) (W) (kg/s) (kg/s) (kg/s)
3.60 0.0906 2.76 0.0238 1.1 0.0206 2.2 0.0452
5.85 0.1308 5.16 0.0362 3.2 0.0495 6.4 0.0942
8.82 0.1921 7.92 0.0445 6.6 0.0653 13.2 0.112
12.60 0.2176 13.20 0.0563
16.08 0.2432

Table 2. Resolution and accuracy of the sensors employed.

Sensor Resolution Accuracy

Temperature 0.1 ⁰C ±0.5 ⁰C
Pressure 0.01 bar ±1 % measured value
Water flow meter 0.01 l/min ±0.2 % measured value
Air velocity 0.01 m/s ±0.01 m/s +3 % measured value
Voltage 0.1 V ±0.2 V
Electric current 0.01 A ±0.02 A

24
Table 3. Expressions of thermal resistances per TEM, as a function of air mass flow, for

different values of occupancy ratio.

Finned heat sink Heat pipe

δ=0.703
δ=0.469
δ=0.234
δ=0.117

Table 4. Occupancy ratios studied and its corresponding number of TEMs per block.

Number of Number of Total Area Heat

δ
TEMs per block blocks Exchanger base, Ab (m2)
0.703 12 8 0.218
0.469 8 12 0.328
0.234 4 24 0.656
0.117 2 48 1.313

Table 5. Values to optimise the as a function of the size of the heat exchanger and the

occupancy ratio.

Finned heat sink

Ab
δ 2 Rh (K/W) COPtem COPtot
(m ) (kg/s)
0.703 0.218 0.678 0.0653 - -
0.469 0.328 0.305 0.0600 0.694 0.647
0.234 0.656 0.281 0.0423 0.737 0.692
0.117 1.313 0.252 0.0351 0.769 0.704
Heat pipe
Ab
δ 2 Rh (K/W) COPtem COPtot
(m ) (kg/s)
0.703 0.218 0.436 0.0942 0.437 0.422
0,469 0.328 0.314 0.0844 0.682 0.644
0.234 0.656 0,310 0.0746 0.716 0.656
0.117 1.313 0.311 0.0452 0.726 0.643

25
Highlights
 Total efficiency optimisation of a thermoelectric refrigerator
 Experimental study of three different types of heat exchangers for
thermoelectrics
 Influence of the occupancy ratio in thermal resistance
 Important decrease in the electric consumption of a thermoelectric refrigerator

26