The Application of Thermoelectric Spot Cooling to Electronic Equipment

Summary Recent developments in the construction of thermoelectric coolers have resulted in improved coolers suitable for use in electronic equipment. The continual effort to improve the techniques of cooling electronic equipment led to the investigation of thermoelectric spot cooling of temperature-limiting component parts located within local areas of an electronic equipment. The investigation consisted of the evaluation and application of nine spot coolers constructed to specifications determined by an analysis. Thermal evaluation of the nine spot coolers showed that each spot cooler either met or exceeded the design requirement of pumping 5 w over a 30°C temperature difference. The coefficient of performance exceeded 0.5 for each of the spot coolers operated under the design condition. In addition to the satisfactory thermal performance, a spot cooler passed the mechanical shock and vibration requirements for satellite equipments used in Project Mercury. The information on spot cooler thermal performance was employed in an analytical application of spot cooling to a free-convection and radiation-cooled equipment and a forced-convection-cooled equipment. The results indicate that free-convection - and radiationcooled equipment can be operated in higher temperature environments with spot cooling; moreover, the cooling requirements for forced-convection-cooled equipment can be reduced.