Peltier supercooling with isosceles current pulses: A response surface perspective

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

1-1-2017

Abstract

© The Author(s) 2017. Published by ECS. All rights reserved. Using a pulsed electrical current enables a temporary state in which a Peltier element achieves temperatures below that obtained with a steady current. This is referred to as supercooling. Supercooling is followed by a period of superheating during which Peltier heat transfer is diminished and the surface temperatures increases. Most studies have found that the duration of superheating is longer than the duration of supercooling. As a result, the current pulse generates a net heating instead of enhanced cooling. There are limited studies that have shown the possibility of net cooling during a current pulse. The objective of this paper is to discuss the operating conditions for which net cooling is possible and maximized. The interaction between pulse duration and pulse height using isosceles shaped current pulses on net cooling was investigated using response surfaces generated using electrical-thermal analogies in SPICE. Pulse duration ranged from 0.1 to 10.0 seconds and pulse height ranging from 1.01 to 6.0 times steady current. Response surfaces were used to map a variety of performance factors; including the transient time to achieve a minimum temperature, the pulse cooling enhancement, transient penalty and transient advantage. The optimal combination of pulse duration and pulse height was identified.

Publication Title

ECS Journal of Solid State Science and Technology

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