The Potential of a Thermoelectric Heat Dissipation System: An Analytical Study
Thermoelectric heat dissipation systems offer unique advantages over conventional systems, including vibration-free operation, environmental sustainability, and enhanced controllability. This study examined the benefits of incorporating a thermoelectric cooler (TEC) into conventional heat sinks and...
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| Main Authors: | , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
MDPI AG
2025-01-01
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| Series: | Energies |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/1996-1073/18/3/555 |
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| Summary: | Thermoelectric heat dissipation systems offer unique advantages over conventional systems, including vibration-free operation, environmental sustainability, and enhanced controllability. This study examined the benefits of incorporating a thermoelectric cooler (TEC) into conventional heat sinks and investigated strategies to improve heat dissipation efficiency. A theoretical model introducing a dimensionless evaluation index (<inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><msub><mi>r</mi><mi>q</mi></msub></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula>) is proposed to assess the system’s performance, which measures the ratio of the heat dissipation density of a conventional heat dissipation system to that of a thermoelectric heat dissipation system. Here, we subjectively consider 0.9 as a cutoff, and when <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><msub><mi>r</mi><mi>q</mi></msub><mo><</mo><mn>0.9</mn></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula>, the thermoelectric heat dissipation system shows substantial superiority over conventional ones. In contrast, for <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><msub><mi>r</mi><mi>q</mi></msub><mo>></mo><mn>0.9</mn></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula>, the advantage of the thermoelectric system weakens, making conventional systems more attractive. This analysis examined the effects of engineering leg length (<inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><msup><mi>L</mi><mo>*</mo></msup></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula>), the heat transfer allocation ratio (<inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><msub><mi>r</mi><mi>h</mi></msub></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula>), and temperature difference (<inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><mi mathvariant="sans-serif">Δ</mi><mi>T</mi></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula>) on heat dissipation capabilities. The results indicated that under a fixed heat source temperature, heat sink temperature, and external heat transfer coefficient, an optimal engineering leg length exists, maximizing the system’s heat dissipation performance. Furthermore, a detailed analysis revealed that the thermoelectric system demonstrated exceptional performance under small temperature differences, specifically when the temperature difference was below 32 K with the current thermoelectric (TE) materials. For moderate temperature differences between 32 K and 60 K, the system achieved optimal performance when <inline-formula><math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML" display="inline"><semantics><mrow><msub><mi mathvariant="normal">r</mi><mi>h</mi></msub><mo>≥</mo><mo>−</mo><mn>2.4</mn><mo>+</mo><mn>1.37</mn><msup><mi>e</mi><mrow><mn>0.019</mn><mo>Δ</mo><mi>T</mi></mrow></msup></mrow></semantics></math></inline-formula>. This work establishes a theoretical foundation for applying thermoelectric heat dissipation systems and provides valuable insights into optimizing hybrid heat dissipation systems. |
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| ISSN: | 1996-1073 |