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The Thomson effect and the ideal equation on thermoelectric coolers

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  • Lee, HoSung

Abstract

The formulation of the classical basic equations for a thermoelectric cooler from the Thomson relations to the non-linear differential equation with Onsager's reciprocal relations was performed to basically study the Thomson effect in conjunction with the ideal equation. The ideal equation is obtained when the Thomson coefficient is assumed to be zero. The exact solutions derived for a commercial thermoelectric cooler module provided the temperature distributions including the Thomson effect. The positive Thomson coefficient led to a slight improvement on the performance of the thermoelectric device while the negative Thomson coefficient led to a slight declination of the performance. The comparison between the exact solutions and the ideal equation on the cooling power and the coefficient of performance over a wide range of temperature differences showed close agreement. In conclusion, the Thomson effect is small for typical commercial thermoelectric coolers and the ideal equation effectively predicts the performance.

Suggested Citation

  • Lee, HoSung, 2013. "The Thomson effect and the ideal equation on thermoelectric coolers," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 61-69.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:energy:v:56:y:2013:i:c:p:61-69
    DOI: 10.1016/j.energy.2013.04.049
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Yamashita, Osamu, 2008. "Effect of temperature dependence of electrical resistivity on the cooling performance of a single thermoelectric element," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 85(10), pages 1002-1014, October.
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    Cited by:

    1. Song, Kun & Yin, Deshun & Song, Haopeng & Schiavone, Peter & Wu, Xun & Yuan, Lili, 2022. "Seeking high energy conversion efficiency in a fully temperature-dependent thermoelectric medium," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 239(PE).
    2. Gong, Tingrui & Wu, Yongjia & Gao, Lei & Zhang, Long & Li, Juntao & Ming, Tingzhen, 2019. "Thermo-mechanical analysis on a compact thermoelectric cooler," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 172(C), pages 1211-1224.
    3. Kütt, Lauri & Millar, John & Karttunen, Antti & Lehtonen, Matti & Karppinen, Maarit, 2018. "Thermoelectric applications for energy harvesting in domestic applications and micro-production units. Part I: Thermoelectric concepts, domestic boilers and biomass stoves," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 98(C), pages 519-544.
    4. Ponnusamy, P. & de Boor, J. & Müller, E., 2020. "Using the constant properties model for accurate performance estimation of thermoelectric generator elements," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 262(C).
    5. Sadighi Dizaji, Hamed & Jafarmadar, Samad & Khalilarya, Shahram & Moosavi, Amin, 2016. "An exhaustive experimental study of a novel air-water based thermoelectric cooling unit," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 181(C), pages 357-366.
    6. Sun, Dongfang & Shen, Limei & Chen, Huanxin & Jiang, Bin & Jie, Desuan & Liu, Huanyu & Yao, Yu & Tang, Jingchun, 2020. "Modeling and analysis of the influence of Thomson effect on micro-thermoelectric coolers considering interfacial and size effects," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 196(C).
    7. Luo, Ding & Wang, Ruochen & Yu, Wei & Zhou, Weiqi, 2020. "Parametric study of a thermoelectric module used for both power generation and cooling," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 154(C), pages 542-552.
    8. Owoyele, Opeoluwa & Ferguson, Scott & O’Connor, Brendan T., 2015. "Performance analysis of a thermoelectric cooler with a corrugated architecture," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 147(C), pages 184-191.
    9. Favarel, Camille & Bédécarrats, Jean-Pierre & Kousksou, Tarik & Champier, Daniel, 2014. "Numerical optimization of the occupancy rate of thermoelectric generators to produce the highest electrical power," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 68(C), pages 104-116.

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