Abstract
In this study, a full-scale three-dimensional trapezoidal thermoelectric cooler model is constructed to study its cooling performance and mechanical reliability using finite element simulation. Temperature dependent material properties are considered in this work. The boundary conditions similar to those in a real experimental environment are applied. The effects of the input electrical current and geometry of the thermoelectric leg on the cooling performance and reliability of a trapezoidal thermoelectric cooler are analyzed, and a comparison is made with a rectangular thermoelectric cooler. The results indicate that increasing the leg height and the variable cross-sectional design of the leg can improve the cooling performance of the trapezoidal thermoelectric cooler. Compared to the original rectangular thermoelectric cooler, the minimum chip temperature was reduced by 0.87% under the trapezoidal thermoelectric cooler with optimized geometry. Furthermore, increasing the leg height enhances the mechanical reliability of the trapezoidal thermoelectric cooler, while the trapezoidal design of the leg reduces its mechanical reliability. The maximum von Mises stress of the leg for the trapezoidal thermoelectric cooler with optimal cooling performance increased by 40.1%. The results of this work provide useful guidance for the structural design of trapezoidal thermoelectric coolers.
Highlights
The thermal management of electronic devices has attracted increased attention in recent years.With the power density of the electronic device increases, more heat is generated by electronic devices.Excessive chip temperature will reduce the reliability of the device [1]
Steady state conditions are assumed in this study; Apart from the cold side and hot side for the trapezoidal thermoelectric cooler (TEC), all lateral surfaces are considered to be adiabatic; Electrical and thermal contact resistance are neglected; The thermal power of the power chip on the cold side of trapezoidal TEC is set to 5 W; The heat sink connected to the hot end of the trapezoidal TEC is assumed to be the equivalent convection heat transfer coefficient, its value is set to 1000 W/(m2 K) to meet the range of forced convection heat conduction for water; The cold side and hot side of the trapezoidal TEC are fixed by clamps during thermal stress analysis
The performance and thermal stress distribution of trapezoidal TECs are affected by the electrical current
Summary
The thermal management of electronic devices has attracted increased attention in recent years. The effects of the input electrical current, thermoelectric leg height and the ratio of the area of the cold end of the thermoelectric leg to the area of its hot end on the cooling performance and thermal stress of the trapezoidal TEC are analyzed. These results in the article give us a better understanding of the cooling performance and reliability of the trapezoidal-shaped leg, which helps us to design the actual trapezoidal TEC
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