Analysis and characterization of thermoelectric module and heat exchanger performance in a hybrid system cooling application

A thermoelectric chiller is a potential replacement for sub-ambient refrigeration for electronics cooling applications, where the reliance on vapor compression refrigeration results in risk of cooling failure due to the mechanical nature of the compressor and electronic expansion valve. Another benefit of a thermoelectric chiller is that controllable cooling of the electronic component can be achieved regardless of ambient conditions, and the ultimate heat sink can be either air or facility water. The goal of the work described herein is to study a thermoelectric chiller with reasonable capacity (in Watts), coefficient of performance (COP), and reliability (mean time between failures, MTBF), for electronics cooling applications. Four sets of tests are presented: a thermoelectric module tested with a heater block and a cold plate (Figure 2), and thermoelectric heat exchanger tests where the thermoelectric module hot and cold sides are arranged in segregated loops (Figure 5), a single serial loop (Figure 6), and parallel loops (Figure 7).