Performance and regression analysis of air-cooled thermoelectric cooling system using response surface methodology and numerical simulation

Abstract

In this study, the response surface methodology (RSM) combined with numerical simulation (NS) techniques is used to perform regression model of an air-cooled thermoelectric cooler (TEC) system. To obtain the interaction models between the thermal resistance (Rh) of the external hot-side heat sink and the internal structure parameters of the TEC (leg height, h; leg width, w; numbers of P/N leg pairs, N), regarding the key performance of the TEC. According to the NS and RMS results Imax, Qcmax, and Qh decline with the rise of Rh under different N, h, and w. The decline rate is rise with the elevation of N, the increase of the w, and the decrease of the h. COP and Tcmin decrease with an increase in h, while increase with an increase in w, N, and Rh. The key factors Rh, w, h and N in the air-cooled TEC system are studied using RSM. The second-order response models for the response variables (COP, Tcmin, Qcmax,Imax and dTmax) with respect to the influencing factors (Rh, w, h and N) are established using the Box-Behnkn Design (BBD) method in RSM.