Parallel Evaluation of Single Stage and Multistage TE Coolers and Analysis using Specific TEC Modules

Abstract

This paper presents the parallel evaluation of different types of thermo-electric coolers and analysis of two single , two and three stages TEC modules .Thermo-electric coolers consist of an array of semiconductor pellets which are either n-type or p-type. They are connected electrically in series and thermally in parallel. The principle used here is that the current supplied brings about a temperature change. Performance of the various types of thermo-electric coolers depends on many parameters such as cooling capacity, current required, heat pumped in sink at the cold side , temperature difference, number of pellets and the geometry of the array of pellets. In this paper we have compared the performance of a series of thermo-electric coolers with different number of pellets and with increase in the number of stages .We observe that by comparing the various types of thermo electric coolers such as 1MC04-004-05 with 1MC04-007-12 which has 8 and 14 pellets respectively the current required decreases from 1.43A for former to 0.61A for the latter, the cooling capacity increases with the increase in the number of pellets and geometry of the thermo-electric cooler. For the thermo electric cooler 2MC04-039-08 and 2MD04-138-12 with increase in pellets, the cooling capacity increases from 0.76W to 1.89W.Also, with the increase in the number of stages, for 2MD06-138-15 compared with 3MDC06-155-15, the current required to drive the cooler decreases from 0.83A to 0.74A, hence providing improved performance. Also, the graphical analysis for the following TEC modules with respect to certain parameters have been given: 1MC04-004-05, 1MC04-070-05, 2MC04-021-05, 2MC04-039-08, 3MC04-044-05 and 3MC04-046-05.These results can be used to provide guides for the design and application of thermo-electric coolers.