Empirical Analysis for the Heat Exchange Effectiveness of a Thermoelectric Liquid Cooling and Heating Unit

Abstract

This study aims to estimate the performance of thermoelectric module (TEM) heat pump for simultaneous liquid cooling and heating and propose empirical models for predicting the heat exchange effectiveness. The experiments were conducted to investigate and collect the performance data of TEM heat pump where the working fluid was water. A total of 57 sets of experimental data were statistically analyzed to estimate the effects of each independent variable on the heat exchange effectiveness using analysis of variance (ANOVA). To develop the empirical model, the six design parameters were measured: the number of transfer units (NTU) of the heat exchangers (i.e., water blocks), the inlet water temperatures and temperatures of water blocks at the cold and hot sides of the TEM. As a result, two polynomial equations predicting heat exchange effectiveness at the cold and hot sides of the TEM heat pump were derived as a function of the six selected design parameters. Also, the proposed models and theoretical model of conventional condenser and evaporator for heat exchange effectiveness were compared with the additional measurement data to validate the reliability of the proposed models. Consequently, two conclusions have been made: (1) the possibility of using the TEM heat pump for simultaneous cooling and heating was examined with the maximum temperature difference of 30 • C between cold and hot side of TEM, and (2) it is revealed that TEM heat pump has difference with the conventional evaporator and condenser from the comparison results between the proposed models and theoretical model due to the heat conduction and Joule effect in TEM.

Numerical and Experimental Study on the Performance of Thermoelectric Radiant Panel for Space Heating

“…The Grashof number (Gr) was derived using Equation 10, and if Gr Re 2 < 1.1, the heat-convection coefficient (h conv ) could be directly determined using Equation (13). Unless it is <1.1, the convection should be treated as natural convection, and the correction equations for the Nusselt number (Nu) should be used in Equations (11) and (12) [43,44]. Consequently, the amount of heat convection can be determined using Equation (14).…”

“…For the experiment design, the 2 k factorial design method was employed to develop a regression model using the response surface methodology The criteria of T OA for achieving energy saving by operating the fan were estimated through linear regression between two points. The simple linear regression method could be used based on the linearity between the energy consumption of TEM and ∆T between the hot and cold side of TEM [12,28], since the heating surface temperature of TERP was fixed and the cold side temperature was changed by the air temperature.…”

“…Thermoelectric modules (TEMs) are attracting increasing attention as a non-vapor compression based technology [1][2][3][4][5] for preventing ozone depletion and global warming. The TEM applications in heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) can be categorized into air cooling/heating [6][7][8][9][10][11], liquid cooling/heating [12][13][14], and radiant cooling/heating [15][16][17][18][19][20]. Among the many applications of TEMs, the thermoelectric radiant panel (TERP) has much interest owing to its good constructability, compact size, and potential as a parallel cooling and heating device under stable thermal loads [21].…”

Investigation of the thermal effect of a tubular permanent magnet actuator with a water cooling channel for active lateral suspension of a high-speed train

“…We performed uncertainty analysis based on the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) guidelines 22 and the literature. [23][24][25][26][27] The overall uncertainty of the convection coefficient (equation 5) was calculated based on the measured inlet water temperature (T i ), circular tube surface temperature (T s ), and water flow rate (Q); we derived error propagations (b h values) and random errors (p h values) (equation (6)). The combined standard uncertainty of propagation and random errors (multiplied by sensitivity factors) is given by equation (7).…”

Simulation Research on Performance of a Novel Heating and Cooling System with Thermoelectric Module

“…Thermoelectric devices have several advantages including their lack of moving parts or working fluids, compactness, low environmental impact, and long life [3]. As a results, they are used in a variety of applications such as aerospace [4], instrumentation [5,6], medical [7], industrial [8][9][10] and automotive [11,12].…”