Characterization of a thermoelectric cooler based thermal management system under different operating conditions

The performance of a thermoelectric cooler (TEC) based thermal management system for an electronic packaging design that operates under a range of ambient conditions and system loads is examined using a standard model for the TEC and a thermal resistance network for the other components. Experiments were performed and it was found that the model predictions were in good agreement with the experimental results. An operating envelope is developed to characterize the TEC based thermal management system for peak and off peak operating conditions. Parametric studies were performed to analyze the effect of the number of TEC module(s) in the system, geometric factor of the thermo-elements and the cold to hot side thermal resistances on the system performance. The results showed that there is a tradeoff between the extent of off peak heat fluxes and ambient temperatures when the system can be operated at a low power penalty region and the maximum capacity of the system.

► A model was developed for thermal management systems using thermoelectric coolers.
► Model predictions were in good agreement with experimental results.
► An operating envelope was developed for peak and off peak conditions.
► The effect of the number of thermoelectric coolers on the system was determined.