Distributed control of thermoelectric coolers

Walker, D. G.; Frampton, Kenneth D.; Harvey, R.D.

doi:10.1109/itherm.2004.1319197

Cited by 6 publications

(2 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…One alternative approach that has only been recently considered is a method to control individual elements of the TEC separately based on their respective heat loads [20]. Because computer chips generate hot spots corresponding to the portion of the chip that is performing calculations at any given time, the heat load is not uniformly distributed.…”

Section: Ztmentioning

confidence: 99%

Distributed Control to Improve Performance of Thermoelectric Coolers

Harvey

Walker

Frampton

2004

Heat Transfer, Volume 2

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Thermoelectric coolers (TECs) have become potential solutions for chip cooling applications. However, the scope of TEC applicability is limited because of poor efficiency that is largely governed by material properties. This low efficiency causes increased heat production resulting in a very narrow band in which the TEC is effective. Since TECs are cooling units composed of numerous individual cooling elements, or thermocouples, the operating efficiency can be improved by implementing distributed control of the individual couples. Distributed control is a system for allowing each couple to be powered depending on the localized heat load. Distributed control would allow for increased cooling in hot spots while minimizing excess heat generated by the TEC in areas where it is not needed. The preliminary results suggest that this type of control may be feasible, and would result in a significant increase in the TEC effectiveness. The current model considers lateral heat conduction in the chip, as well as variable control of the individual thermocouples proportional to heat load. Results indicate that a 2-fold increase in COP is possible with independently controlled couples compared to a single cooler.

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Section: Ztmentioning

confidence: 99%

Distributed Control to Improve Performance of Thermoelectric Coolers

Harvey

Walker

Frampton

2004

Heat Transfer, Volume 2

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“…If the heating in a chip is localized, 1521-3331/$25.00 © 2007 IEEE then elements within the TEC device may be needlessly powered, which will reduce the overall COP of the system. One alternative approach is to control individual elements of the TEC independently based on the local heat load experienced by a single element [19]. This technology is independent of the improvement of .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Enhancing Performance of Thermoelectric Coolers Through the Application of Distributed Control

Harvey

Walker

Frampton

2007

IEEE Trans. Comp. Packag. Technol.

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Abstract-The primary drawback of thermoelectric coolers (TECs) for electronics cooling applications is their thermodynamic inefficiency due to material limitations. The present work considers a control strategy to improve the overall coefficient of performance in an engineering system instead of addressing material shortcomings. Typical TECs are composed of several individual thermocouples that are powered in series and remove heat in parallel. If one of the numerous thermocouples is powered, all the thermocouples receive the same power whether or not they are needed. The fact that chips heat nonuniformly provides an opportunity for performance enhancement, by sensing and controlling the power to individual couples within the device. The current work presents evidence that applying distributed control to TEC operation can realize appreciable improvement in performance. Compared to monolithic cooling devices, a distributed control strategy can realize a factor of 2 increase in performance for the device studied. Additionally, this type of control can be used in conjunction with many of the existing material-based research initiatives to further compound the benefits.

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