A novel technique to enhance thermal performance of a thermoelectric cooler using phase-change materials

In the present work, a novel technique has been developed to enhance the thermal performance of a thermoelectric cooler (TEC) by integrating with phase-change material (PCM). The PCM has been integrated at the hot side of the thermoelectric cooler to maintain constant and relatively low temperature. The study has been carried out with variable geometric parameters of the heat sink, variable cooling load conditions, variable input currents to the TEC and with different PCMs. The results show that there is a significant reduction in both hot and cold side temperatures of the thermoelectric cooler with the use of PCM. For a typical operating condition in the TEC with two thermocouples (2 mm x 2 mm x 3 mm each) under cooling load of 0.03 W and convective heat transfer coefficient of 5 Wm(-2) K-1, the hot and cold side temperatures of the TEC have been reduced from 52 to 30 degrees C and 25 to 12 degrees C, respectively, with the use of PCM. The coefficient of performance of the TEC integrated with PCM has been estimated and it has been found to be 30% higher than the TEC without PCM for a cooling load of 0.05 W. Moreover, the thermal performance of TEC has been studied with variable fill volume of PCM in the heat sink. It has been found that the increase in fill volume of PCM increases the thermal performance of the TEC. This study has been carried out with different PCMs and similar performance enhancements have been observed.