Thermal control of parallelly connected thermoelectric coolers in a uniform temperature field

Abstract

The possibility of using a set of thermoelectric devices to control the thermal regime of a number of thermo-dependent and heat-loaded elements of radio-electronic equipment, which are subject to increased requirements for reliability indicators and dynamic characteristics, is considered. A mathematical model of a thermoelectric device has been developed for a uniform temperature field, a typical range of power dissipation of the products used, a range of standard values of the supply voltage, and a fixedgeometry of thermoelement legs. A relation is obtained for determining the relative operating current depending on the relative temperature difference at a given supply voltage, the geometry of the thermoelement branches, and the magnitude of the thermal load. The region of real values of the relative operating current in the zone of relative temperature differences is determined for a given geometry of branches and thermal load. An analysis is made of the relationship between the relative operating current of a single-stage thermoelectric cooler and the coefficient of performance, the amount of energy expended, the heat-removing capacity of the radiator, the time to reach a stationary mode, and the probability of failure-free operation. The dependence ofthe relative failure rate and the probability of failure-free operation, the amount of energy expended, the heat-removing capacity of the radiator, and the number of thermoelements on the supply voltage of the thermoelectric cooler has been studied. This made it possible to evaluate the control features and identify the effectiveness of the control actions when the coolers are connected in parallel in a uniform temperature field. The possibility of choosing the optimal supply voltage is shown, taking into account a number of restrictive factors in terms of weight, size, energy, dynamic and reliability characteristics of a complex of thermoelectric coolers as part of systems for ensuring thermal regimes of heat-loaded radio-electronic equipment.