Empirical Analysis for the Heat Exchange Effectiveness of a Thermoelectric Liquid Cooling and Heating Unit

Abstract

This study aims to estimate the performance of thermoelectric module (TEM) heat pump for simultaneous liquid cooling and heating and propose empirical models for predicting the heat exchange effectiveness. The experiments were conducted to investigate and collect the performance data of TEM heat pump where the working fluid was water. A total of 57 sets of experimental data were statistically analyzed to estimate the effects of each independent variable on the heat exchange effectiveness using analysis of variance (ANOVA). To develop the empirical model, the six design parameters were measured: the number of transfer units (NTU) of the heat exchangers (i.e., water blocks), the inlet water temperatures and temperatures of water blocks at the cold and hot sides of the TEM. As a result, two polynomial equations predicting heat exchange effectiveness at the cold and hot sides of the TEM heat pump were derived as a function of the six selected design parameters. Also, the proposed models and theoretical model of conventional condenser and evaporator for heat exchange effectiveness were compared with the additional measurement data to validate the reliability of the proposed models. Consequently, two conclusions have been made: (1) the possibility of using the TEM heat pump for simultaneous cooling and heating was examined with the maximum temperature difference of 30 degrees C between cold and hot side of TEM, and (2) it is revealed that TEM heat pump has difference with the conventional evaporator and condenser from the comparison results between the proposed models and theoretical model due to the heat conduction and Joule effect in TEM.