FINAL YEAR PROJECT 2

THERMOELECTRIC AIR COOLING FOR CAR

DR. KHAIRUL HABIB

FINAL REPORT

KALIDASAN A/L PALANISAMMY

14385

MECHANICAL ENGINEERING

UNIVERSITY TECHNOLOGY PETRONAS

SEP 2013
0
 CERTIFICATION OF APPROVAL
Thermoelectric Cooling For Cars
by
Kalidasan A/L Palanisammy
A project dissertation submitted to the
Mechanical Engineering Programme
Universiti Teknologi PETRONAS
in partial fulfilment of the requirement for the
BACHELOR OF ENGINEERING (Hons)
(MECHANICAL ENGINEERING)

Approved by,
_____________________
Dr. Khairul Habib

UNIVERSITI TEKNOLOGI PETRONAS

TRONOH, PERAK
September 2013

1
 CERTIFICATION OF ORIGINALITY

This is to certify that I am responsible for the work submitted in this project, that the original
work is my own except as specified in the references and acknowledgements, and that the
original work contained herein have not been undertaken or done by unspecified sources or
persons.

_______________________________

KALIDASAN A/L PALANISAMMY

2
TABLE OF CONTENTS . . . . . . . 1
CHAPTER 1: Introduction . . . . . . . 2
1.1 Background History . . . . . . 2
1.2 Problem Statement . . . . . . 4
1.3 Objectives . . . . . . . . 5
1.4 Project Scope . . . . . . . 6
CHAPTER 2: Literature Review . . . . . . 7
2.1 Introduction . . . . . . . 7
2.2 Thermoelectric Cooler . . . . . 7
CHAPTER 3: Methodology . . . . . . . 13
3.1 Flow Chart . . . . . . . 13
3.2 Concept Modeling Design . . . . . 13
3.2.1 Design of Parts . . . . . . 14
CHAPTER 4: Project Scope . . . . . . 15
4.1 sizing and designing of the cooling system. . . . 15
4.2 proposed approach and method implemented. . . . 15
4.3 Thermoelectric module . . . . . . 17
4.4 parameters of a thermoelectric module. . . . . 18
4.5 cold side temperatures . . . . . . 19
4.6 temperature difference. . . . . . . 20
4.7 cooling load. . . . . . . . 21
4.8 thermoelectric assembly-heats sinks. . . . . 21
4.9 coefficient of performance. . . . . . 23
4.9.1 power supply and temperature control. . . . . 23
Chapter 5: Design of the project. . . . . . . 24
5.1 Thermoelectric cooling for car design. . . . . 24
5.2 TEC arrangement. . . . . . . . 25
Chapter 6: results and calculations. . . . . . 26
6.1 computation of cooling power. . . . . . 26
6.2 TEC selection. . . . . . . . 26
6.3 selection of heat sink. . . . . . . 27
6.4 results of temperature difference. . . . . . 38
Chapter 7: conclusion and further works. . . . . . 32
7.1 conclusions. . . . . . . . 32
7.2 further works. . . . . . . . 33
References . . . . . . . . . 34-36
Appendix. . . . . . . . . . 37- 44

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 CHAPTER 1

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background History

In the automobile industry, existing air-conditioning system give arise to

numerous problems such as pollution to environment (CFC emission), increase in the
usage of fuel and decreased engine performance. Moreover, the current air-conditioning
system is not capable to be used during the parked session. This scenario could be
subdued by the introduction of thermoelectric device as an alternating cooling option for
car interior. By using this option pollution, fuel usage and decreased engine performance
can be prevented since the latter option was in the bracket of ‘Go Green’ region.
Basically, the thermoelectric device known as peltier module is a semiconductor based
heat pump, where heat is absorbed from one side and dissipated on the opposite side of
the module.

Figure 1: The TEC-module.

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 The peltier module (Figure 1) was discovered by a French watchmaker during
the 19th century. It is described as a solid state method of heat transfer generated
primarily through the use of dissimilar semiconductor material (P-type and N-type) .
Previously, thermoelectric devices was used in for medical devices , sensor technology ,
cooling integrated circuits . The peltier module usually rated according to its capacity on
heat removal, waste heat and maximum system temperature difference for a specified
DC voltage and applied current. Another important characteristic of peltier module is the
polarity of the heat removal changes when the direction of applied current changes, thus
it is potential to cool or warm an object within same configuration, with respect to the
polarity of the current.

When considering usage of these peltier modules, it is necessary to analyze the

performance of the module over the heat removal rate. From a manufacturer data sheet
of peltier module known as TE Technology, Inc, It is necessary to maintain the system
temperature difference with respect to required heat removal in order to maintain the
COP performance of the peltier module. Thus, in this project the development of the
heat sinks must be considered to fulfill performance requirement. In the context of heat
sink resistance, the leading materials that possess high thermal conductivity is copper
and aluminum.

When considering peltier cooling with copper or aluminum heat sinks, of course
it will cost in high price for the fabrication of the prototype but since this manner of
cooling could overcome some disadvantages of existing compressor-based cooling, it is
still worth of the price. By taking all these into consideration, a detailed analysis on the
selection of peltier module and heat sinks will be conducted in this project. The design
of the prototype will be based on air-to-air or liquid-to-air thermo-cooling since the
target is to cool down the interior air.

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1.2 Problem Statement(s)

When the car is parked during hot days and existing car HVAC system is not
running, the exceeding car’s interior temperature causes discomfort for the car users.
Other than this, the existing HVAC system possesses some disadvantages in its
application such as pollution and frequent maintenance . When considering
thermoelectric cooling, the prototype design should be efficient in the heat removal
performance by the attachment of heat sinks that bring very minimal thermal resistance.
The failure of these mechanism would result in increase of peltier’s system temperature
difference which reduces the heat pumping capacity and contribute to overall failure of
the thermoelectric device.
The new HVAC system using thermoelectric couple which shall
overcome all the Disadvantages of existing HVAC system. If this system comes in
present HVAC system, then revolution will occur in the automotive sector. With
population and pollution increasing at an alarming rate TEC (thermoelectric couple)
system have come to rescue as these are environment friendly, compact and affordable.
Conventional compressor run cooling devices have many drawbacks pertaining to
energy efficiency and the use of CFC refrigerants. Both these factors indirectly point to
the impending scenario of global warming. As Most of the electricity generation relies
on the coal power plants, which add greenhouse gases to the atmosphere is the major
cause of global warming. Although researches are going on, better alternatives for the
CFC Refrigerants is still on the hunt. So instead of using conventional air conditioning
systems, other products which can efficiently cool a person are to be devised. By using
other efficient cooling mechanisms we can save the Electricity bills and also control the
greenhouse gases that are currently released into the atmosphere. Although
Thermoelectric (TE) property was discovered about two centuries ago thermoelectric
devices have only been commercialized during recent years. The applications of TE vary
from small refrigerators and Electronics package cooling to Avionic instrumentation
illumination control and thermal imaging cameras. Lately a dramatic increase in the

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applications of TE coolers in the industry has been observed. It includes water Chillers,
cold plates, portable insulin coolers, portable beverage containers and etc.
1.3 Objective(s)
It is important to acknowledge the important aspects of the project and the end
result of the project. Thus, it is important to clearly state and recognized the objective of
a project. Throughout this project, these are the objectives that will enlighten in this
thesis;

 To study critically existing HVAC system for its advantage and disadvantages.
 To explore various technological option to replace existing HVAC system.
 To study TEC as a substitute for present HVAC system which will overcomes
the all demerits of present HVAC system.
 To fabricate working model of HVAC using TEC.
 To test HVAC using TEC for its effectiveness, efficiency, environment
friendliness, comfort and convenience
1.4 Project Scope

Why Thermoelectric cooling for cars than HVAC.

Power loss – Compressor is driven by the crankshaft of the engine. It consumes 5 to
10% of engine power.
Fuel loss – Present HVAC System reduces the mileage of the vehicle.
Electric loss –Battery provide 12V current to the blowers and electromagnetic clutch of
compressor for engaging the compressor.
Cost – cost of present HVAC System is very high.
Hazardous refrigerant – HFC is quit hazardous for human body & ozone layer which
leads to global warming.
Repairing cost – Repairing cost of HVAC System is very high.
Maintenance – Proper maintenance is very necessary because this system can affect
human body & Environment.

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Size –Present HVAC system required very large space in the engine compartment and
dashboard.
Delicate system –if any component fails to perform well then the whole HVAC system
will either not function properly or not function at all.
The project scope involves the following elements
Sizing and Designing of the cooling system
1. Selection of the TECs
2. Selection of Fans and Heat sinks
3. DC power supply design with temperature control.
4. Prototype Assembly and Fabrication.
5. Temperature measurements for testing.
6. Power supply testing and troubleshooting.

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 CHAPTER 2

LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Introduction

The literature review of this project comprises from the journal on the internet,
paper proceedings and research, books and lectures. The literature review is done to
investigate cases of the projects that may arise to overcome it. The literature review
gives a great knowledge on the fundamentals of the project. Among the reviewed project
is about the peltier technology in cooling and heating in the industry and how the heat
sinks and thermo-electric module interacts to cool down the external interfering air.
Among the things that given consideration is the flow rate of coolant by the pump to the
liquid radiator and the required heat sink resistance as well as its dimensions. Apart from
this a few experiments on the temperature rise over time in car cabin was analyzed as a
preparation to run the data collection experiment.

2.2 Thermoelectric Cooler (Tec)

A typical thermoelectric module consists of a number of thermocouples
sandwiched between two layers of ceramic substrates. The ceramic substrates should
ideally have a very high thermal conductivity so that there is minimal temperature drop
across the layer of the substrate but very low electrical conductivity to avoid any leakage
current flow through the substrate. A schematic of the construction of a typical TEC
module is shown in Figure 2.1. Detailed descriptions of thermoelectric module operation
and applications can be found in Ioffe (1957), Gray (1961), Goldsmid (1961).
Thermoelectric cooling is achieved with the penalty of DC current supply through one or
a series of thermocouples electrically connected in series but thermally in parallel. The

9
schematic of a single thermocouple which consists of one n and one p-type
semiconductor material, also known as a thermo-element with its operating principle is
shown in Figure 2.2. In the n and p type semiconductors there exist excess electrons and
holes respectively. With the electric polarity shown in Figure 2.2, electrons in p and n-
type material flow from bottom to top and from top to bottom respectively, thus
resulting in a clockwise electron flow or counter clockwise current flow through this
circuit. Heat is absorbed at the top and released at the bottom of the schematic shown in
Figure 2.2. If the polarity is changed, the hot and cold junction as well as the heat
absorption and rejection will interchange. There are three important thermoelectric
effects that have been known since the nineteenth century: (i) Seebeck effect, (ii) Peltier
effect and (iii) Thomson effect. Seebeck in 1821 discovered that, when a temperature
difference is maintained at the two junctions of a thermocouple composed of two
dissimilar conductors, a voltage is generated at the two terminals of the thermocouple.

Figure 2.1 A Cutaway of Thermoelectric Module

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 Figure 2.2 Schematic of thermoelectric module operation.

Conventional thermoelectric modules can have various specifications in terms of

their geometry, number of thermocouples and power rating for various applications.
These devices can be cascaded to achieve a higher temperature differential across the
entire thickness. Different applications of thermo-electric modules for (i) cooling,
ranging from consumer products to military or aerospace applications, (ii) power
generation, e.g. waste heat recovery (iii) sensors such as cryogenic heat flux sensor,
ultrasonic intensity sensor, fluid flow sensor, infrared sensor are reviewed by Riffat and
Ma (2003).
A number of investigations have been performed for geometric optimization of
thermo-elements in a TEC to achieve better cooling capacity and coefficient of
performance (Cheng and Lin, 2005, Fukutani and Shakouri, 2006, Hodes, 2007). The
maximum cooling capacity improved for an increment in the cross sectional area of the
thermo-element or a decrement in the length. The maximum achievable COP, irrelevant
of the maximum cooling capacity, remained constant for any change in the area or the
length of the thermo-element. To develop better thermo-element materials to achieve a
higher figure of merit, several studies were performed by Venkatasubramanian et al.
(2001) and Polvani et al. (2001). Venkatasubramanian et al. (2001) demonstrated a
doubling in the thermoelectric figure of merit for super-lattice materials.
The physical modeling of thermoelectric devices has been considered in a
number of studies e.g., one dimensional differential control volume approach by Hodes
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(2005) and finite element modeling by Seifert (2001) for the module alone and
equivalent electric circuit model by Fukutani and Shakouri (2006), thermal resistance
network model by Taylor and Solbrekken (2008), energy balance approach by Zhang et
al. (2009) and Yamanashi (1996) for a system consisting TEC module(s). Yamanashi
(1996) adopted an entropy balance approach to analyze the system and presented both
dimensional and non-dimensional energy and entropy flow equations. The typical
system considered is an only
TEC system which consists of a heat source or chip, a cold side thermal resistor (from
the chip to the cold side of the module), TEC module(s) and a hot side thermal resistor
(from the hot side of the thermoelectric module to the ambient) as shown in Figure 2.3.
The performance of TEC based thermal management systems in practical cooling
applications has been considered for both forced air (Phelan et aI., 2002, Zhang et aI.,
2009) and liquid (Zhang et aI., 2009) cooling applications at the hot side of the system
for fixed ambient temperature.
The results showed that the chip temperature can be reduced or the heat
dissipation from the chip can be improved by using TEC module(s). The hot side
thermal resistance had a more significant effect on the performance of a TEC based
thermal management system than the cold side thermal resistance at fixed ambient
temperature (Phelan et aI., 2002, Fukutani and Shakouri, 2006, Yamanashi, 1996). In
particular, an increase in the hot side thermal resistance appeared to have an exponential
effect on the chip temperature due to the non-linearity caused by the TEC module, while
the cold side thermal resistance had a linear effect on the chip temperature. The
optimized current and geometry factor used in the model proposed by Fukutani and
Shakouri (2006) showed a minimum of 10°C reduction in chip temperature compared to
the model proposed by Phelan et aI. (2002) for a range of heat load from the chip. An
increase in hot side thermal resistance reduced the range of operating current where the
TEC was effective (Yamanashi, 1996). This indicates the importance of considering all
thermal resistances at the hot side including the hot side ceramic substrate which was
ignored by Zhang et al. (2009). An empirical expression was proposed by Huang et al.
(2000) for optimizing the performance of a TEC using its bulk properties and to obtain

12
the required hot side thermal resistance. The empirical relation, however, was specific to
the TEC module considered and was obtained from the curve fit to the experimental
data. The prediction of performance of a TEC based system by Taylor and Solbrekken
(2008) and Zhang et al. (2009) was found to be in reasonable agreement with
experiments. Taylor and Solbrekken (2008) used temperature dependent thermo-element
material properties in their model to predict chip temperature at a fixed heat load with a
fixed hot side thermal resistance while Zhang et al. (2009) considered temperature
independent properties to minimize chip temperature at fixed heat load and to maximize
heat dissipation from chip at fixed chip temperature both at a fixed ambient temperature.
Use of temperature dependent properties resulted in better agreement compared to the
temperature independent properties (Taylor and Solbrekken, 2008). Thomson effect was
neglected in these studies considering its small effect.
The aforementioned TEC based systems were studied to meet the most extreme
condition that a thermal management system might experience. In many practical
applications, the chip would experience a range of heat loads and/or a wide range of
ambient temperatures. One disadvantage of an only TEC based system is that the TEC
has a relatively high thermal resistance when it is off. Thus, it would have to be
operational even for operating conditions where a conventional thermal management
system would be sufficient, which results in a lower overall COP (Phelan et aI., 2002).

13
Figure 2.3 Schematic of a typical thermal management system incorporating TEC module.

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 CHAPTER 3

METHODOLOGY

This chapter is described briefly about the methodology used in experiment,

analysis and design of thermoelectric cooler which includes interior heating due to solar
radiation, parameters that affects heat sink resistance and peltiers cooling rate
3.1 flow chart

3.2 Concept Design Modeling

A concept modeling of prototype is done using SOLIDWORK. This concept

modeling process begins with design of purchased models according to its technical
specification in Appendix F(i).

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3.2.1 Design of Parts
i) Design of heat sink

Figure 3.1: CAD model of heat sink

ii) Design of axial fan

Figure 3.2: CAD model of axial fan

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 CHAPTER 4

4. Project scope

4.1 Sizing and Designing of the cooling system

1. Selection of the TECs

2. Selection of Fans and Heat sinks
3. DC power supply design with temperature control.
4. Prototype Assembly and Fabrication.
5. Temperature measurements for testing.
6. Power supply testing and troubleshooting.

4.2 Proposed Approach and Method Implemented

The project implemented a structured system analysis and design methodology

approach to achieve the project objectives. Block system analysis of the project is shown
below (Figure 1) with the aid of a straightforward block diagram. Ambient air is blown
out by the blower through a duct to the TECs. TECs are sandwiched in between heat
sinks. Cold air is blown out from one end of the cold heat sinks. The TECs were
powered by a power supply.

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The cooling system mainly consists of the following modules Car Blower which acts as
the primary source of air.
1. Duct which conveys the air from the blower to cold heat sinks.
2. One long heat sink is fitted to the hot side of TEC to absorb heat.
3. Aluminum heat sinks that are attached to the cold side.
4. Six TECs are sandwiched between cold and hot heat sinks.
5. An DC source which is used to power the fans and blower. (Car Battery)
6. Dc power supply is used to drive the TECs

A simple on off temperature controller is built in with the dc power supply

Thermoelectric Air Cooling For Cars To design a cooling system using thermoelectric
cooler (TEC) one has to know the basics of thermoelectric effect, thermoelectric
materials and thermoelectric cooling. Thermoelectric effect can be defined as the direct
conversion of temperature difference to electric voltage and vice versa. Thermoelectric
effect covers three different identified effects namely, the Seeback effect, Peltier effect
and the Thomson effect A thermoelectric device will create a voltage when there is
temperature difference on each side of the device. On the other hand when a when a
voltage is applied to it, a temperature difference is created. The temperature difference is
also known as Peltier effect. Thus TEC operates by the Peltier effect, which stimulates a
difference in temperature when an electric current flows through a junction of two
dissimilar materials.
A good thermoelectric cooling design is achieved using a TEC, which is solid state
electrically driven heat exchanger. This depends on the polarity of the applied voltage.
When TEC is used for cooling, it absorbs heat from the surface to be cooled and
transfers the energy by conduction to the finned or liquid heat exchanger, which
ultimately dissipates the waste heat to the surrounding ambient air by means of
convection.

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4.3 Thermoelectric Module
A standard module consists of any number of thermocouples connected in series and
sandwiched between two ceramic plates (See Figure 3). By applying a current to the
module one ceramic plate is heated while the other is cooled. The direction of the
current determines which plate is cooled. The number and size of the thermocouples as
well as the materials used in the manufacturing determine the cooling capacity. Cooling
capacity varies from fractions of Watts up to many hundreds. Different types of TEC
modules are single stage, two stage, three stage, four stage, center hole modules etc.
Single stage will be suitable for a wide range of cooling applications with low to high
heat pumping capacities. A typical single stage is shown in Figure 2.

Figure 2: A typical single stage thermoelectric module

A thermoelectric cooler has analogous parts. At the cold junction, energy (heat) is
absorbed by electrons as they pass from p-type (low energy) semiconductor element, to
the n-type semiconductor (high energy). The power supply provides the energy to move
the electrons. At the hot junction, energy is expelled to a heat sink as electrons move
from an n-type to a p-type. Figure 4 shows an illustration on the assembly of a
Thermoelectric cooler.

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 Figure 3: A Classic TE Module Assembly

Before starting to design a TEC cooling system the designer have to take note the
following into consideration.
1. Temperature to be maintained for the object that is to be cooled.
2. Heat to be removed from the cooled object.
3. Time required attaining the cooling after a DC power is applied.
4. Expected ambient temperature.
5. Space available for the module and hot side heat sink.
6. Expected temperature of hot side heat sink.
7. Power available for the TEC.
8. Controlling the temperature of the cooled object if necessary

4.4 Parameters of a Thermoelectric Module

Once it is decided that thermoelectric cooler is to be considered for cooling

system, the next step is to select the thermoelectric module or cooler that can satisfy a
particular set of requirements. Modules are available in great variety of sizes, shapes,
operating currents, operating voltages and ranges of heat pumping capacity. The

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minimum specifications for finding an appropriate TEC by the designer must be based
on the following parameters. The cutaway of a TEC is shown in Figure 4.

Figure 4: A Cutaway of Thermoelectric Module

• Cold side temperature (Tc )

• Hot side temperature (Th )
• Operating temperature difference (∆T), which is the temperature difference between Th
andTc .
• Amount of heat to be absorbed at the TEC’s cold surface. This can also be termed as
heat load. It is represented as (Qc ) and the unit is Watts
• Operating current (I) and operating voltage (V) of the TEC.
4.5 Cold side temperature
If the object to be cooled is in direct contact with the cold surface of the TEC, the
required temperature can be considered the temperature of the cold side of TEC (Tc
).Here in this project the object is air inside the car, which has to be cooled when passed
through a cluster of four Aluminium heat sinks. It is discussed in detail in the next
chapter. The aim is to cool the air flowing through the heat sinks. When this type of
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system is employed the cold side temperature of the TEC is needed to be several time
colder than the ultimate desired temperature of the air.
Hot side temperature The hot side temperature (Th ) is mainly based on the two factors.
First parameter is the temperature of the ambient air in environment to which the heat is
been rejected. Second factor is the efficiency of the heat sink that is between the hot side
of TEC and the ambient.

4.6 Temperature difference

The two temperatures Tc and Th and the difference between them ∆T is a very
important factor. ∆T has to be accurately determined if the cooling system is expected
to be operating as desired. The following equation shows the actual ∆T.
∆T = Th -Tc
Actual∆T is not same as the system∆T. Actual ∆Tis the difference between the
hot and cold side of the TEC. On the other hand system ∆T is the temperature difference
between the ambient temperature and temperature of the load to be cooled. Figure 5
illustrates a relationship of a classic temperature summary across a thermoelectric
system.

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4.7 Cooling Load

The most difficult and important factor to be accurately calculated for a TEC is
the amount of heat to be removed or absorbed (Qc ) by the cold side of the TEC. In this
project Qc was calculated by finding the product of finding the product of mass flow rate
of air, specific heat of air and temperature difference. Here the temperature difference
system ∆T in the difference between the inlet temperature and outlet temperature of the
cooling system. The mathematical equation for Qc is as shown below.
Qc = m Cp∆T

4.8 Thermoelectric Assembly - Heat Sinks

Thermoelectric Assemblies (TEAs) are cooling or heating systems attached to the hot
side of the TEC to transfer heat by air, liquid or conduction. TEAs which dissipate heat
from the hot side use heat exchangers. TEC requires heat exchangers or heat sinks and
will be damaged if operated without one. The two ΔΤs, actual ΔΤ and system ΔΤ depend
on the heat sinks fitted at the hot sides or cold sides of TEC. The thermal resistances of
the heat sinks could vary theΔΤ across the TEC for a set ambient temperature and
cooling load temperature. Therefore the thermal resistance of the heat sinks could
increase the current flowing through the TEC. The three basic types of heat sinks are:
forced convective, natural convective and liquid cooled, where liquid cooled is the most
effective. The typical allowances forΔΤ at the hot side heat sink of a TEC are
1. 10 to 15 °C for a forced air cooling system with fins. - Forced convection
2. 20 to 40 °C for cooling using free convection - Natural convection.
3. 2 to 5 °C for cooling using liquid heat exchangers - Liquid cooled.
There are several different types of heat exchangers available in the market. As far this
project is concerned a forced convection type of heat sink was be used based on theΔΤ.
Figure 6 shows a forced convection hot side heat sink attached with a fan. The air blows
towards the heat sink from the fan will cool down the temperature of heat sink.

23
 Figure 6: Forced convection heat sink system

The main heat sink parameter for the selection process is its thermal resistance. Heat
sink resistance can be termed as the measure of the capability of the sink to dissipate the
applied heat. The equation is as follows.

- /

R is the thermal resistance (in ⁰C /W or K/W) and - is the hot side temperature and
ambient temperature respectively. Qh is the heat load into the heat sink which is the sum
of TEC power Pe and heat absorbed. = + the goal of a heat sink design is to
lessen the thermal resistance. It can be attained through exposed surface area of the heat
sink. It may also require forced air or liquid cooling. The following Figure 8 shows a
simple thermal schematic of a forced convective heat sink.
Typical values of heat sink thermal resistance for natural convection range is from
0.5°C/W to 5°C/W, whereas for forced convection is from 0.02°C/W to 0.5°C/W, and
water cooled is from 0.005°C/W to 0.15°C/W. Most of the thermoelectric cooling
requires forced convection or water cooled heat sinks. In this project force convective
heat sink is used for the design of the cooling system.

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Coefficient of Performance
The Coefficient of performance (COP) of a thermoelectric module which is the thermal
efficiency must be considered for a TE system. The selection of TEC will also be based
on the COP factor. COP is the ratio of the thermal output power and the electrical input
power of the TEC. COP can be calculated by dividing the amount of heat absorbed at the
cold side to the input power.

Power Supply and Temperature Control

Power supply and temperature control are two added items that must be considered
wisely for a successful TE system. TEC is a direct current device. The quality of the DC
current is important. Current and voltage of a TEC can be determined by the charts
provided by the manufacturer. TEC’s power is the product of required voltage and
current. (P = IV).
Temperature control is generally categorized into two groups. One is open loop or
manual and the other is closed loop or automatic. For cooling systems normally cold
side is used as basis of control. The controlled temperature is compared to the ambient
temperature. An on-off or a control using thermostat is the simplest and easiest
techniques to control the temperature of a TEC.

25
 Chapter 5
Design of the project

5.1 THERMOELECTRIC COOLING FOR CAR DESIGN

The thermoelectric cooling fan design was preformed based on certain mechanical and
electrical calculations. The fan’s design was compromised on the availability of parts in
the market and budget of the project. The prototype assembly starts with a main fan
which is used to blow the ambient air through a circular duct (Appendix C.1).The duct is
attached to the blower fan and leads towards the heat sinks. The air which is passed
through the duct goes into the heat sink which is at bottom side. This heat sinks acts as a
channel for the air to pass through. There are six TECs that are sandwiched between a
four long black heat sink and long aluminum heat sinks. TEC cold side or the bottom
side rests on the cool side heat sinks. The hot side or the top sides of the TECs are
fastened together with the long heat sink. The TECs were installed between the heat
sinks using thermal grease, which increases the thermal conductivity by balancing
irregular surface of the heat sinks. When the TECs are in operation cold side of the TEC
cools down the heat sink channel. Air which is coming out from the heat sink is chilled
air which is lower than the ambient. Two blower fans fixed on the long aluminum heat
sink which blows ambient air to pass through the cold side heat sink.

5.2 TEC Arrangement

The ambient air blown from the blower is channeled into a long aluminum heat sink. It
was decided to remove maximum amount heat from the point when the air started to
enter the first heat sink. Keeping that in mind the first heat sink was installed with two
TECs in series and the second one also was installed with another two TECs in series.
This will help to remove more heat from of the air when air enters the duct. The third
and fourth heat sinks were installed with one TEC each and they were connected in

26
series also. All the two series connected TECs were connected in parallel. Figure below
illustrates a top view of the connection of TECs as explained above. The arrow indicates
direction of air flow

Layout of the TECs

Each of the TEC will be acting as loads. In other words the layout above can also be
termed as three parallel groups of two TECs in series electrically. Figure 12 shows
simpler redrawn electrical connection of the TECs.

Electrical connection of TECs Arrangement of TECs

27
 Chapter 6
Results and Calculations

6.1 Computation of cooling power

The amount of heat removed or the cooling power was determined before selection of
the TEC. Qc which is the amount of heat absorbed was calculated using the equation
(Qc = ΔΤ). Mass flow rate ( ) of air and is the product of density of air (ρ) and

volume flow rate (Q). Density of air at 32 °C was taken as1.164 kg / m3. Q was obtained
by multiplying velocity of air pass through the rectangular duct of heat sinks and the
cross section area of a heat sink. It is denoted by the equation (Q =V × A). Velocity of
the air passing through the duct was measured using an anemometer and resulted in a
reading of 5.2 m / s2. Cross sectional area of the rectangular duct (W ×H) was calculated
as 0.0042 m2 and the volume flow rate was 0.02184 m3 / s . Specific heat of air (Cp ) at
32 °C was taken as 1005 J / kgK . As discussed that the system ΔΤ is the difference
between the ambient temperature and the temperature of the load to be cooled. It had
been targeted to attain a temp of 25°C form the ambient temperature (32 °C). In other
words the input temperature from the blower fan is 32 °C and the expected output is
25°C
( - )= 32⁰-25⁰=7⁰
The amount of heat load for cooling the air through the rectangular duct was calculated
as 178.7 W.
Please refer Appendix B.1 for detailed calculations on cooling load.

6.2 TEC Selection

The TEC was selected considering few factors such as dimensions, Qc, power supply
and etc. The model of TECs used in this project was manufactured in China by Hebei
I.T (Shangai) Co. Ltd. (Datasheet and Charts in Appendix A). The model no. of the
28
module is TEC1-12710. The idea was to select a TEC which has a cooling power greater
than the calculated TEC. TEC1-12710 operates with an optimum voltage of 12V. It has
maximum voltage of 15.4V. At 12V it draws and maximum DC current of 10 A. The
minimum power rating or the cooling power is W. The maximum power is 96W. It has a
maximum operating temperature of 200°C. ΔΤ of the TEC are 68 when hot side
temperature is 25 °C. The charts from the TEC manufacture were also analyzed while
choosing the TEC. It had been decided to choose 6 TECs of the same model so that
when the power of all the 6 TECs is higher than the calculated cooling load. The
minimum power rating for 6 TECs added together was more than the cooling load
calculated. So it was acceptable to select the 74.5 W ×6 = 447 W > 178.7 W
The electrical power supplied to the TEC must be higher than the combined power
rating of the six TECs and it also depends on the arrangement of the TEC.

6.3 Selection of Heat sink

There were two different types of heat sink used for this project. One sort was for the
cold side and another for hot side. The initial idea of the project was to use a hollow
cylinder as duct to channel air, instead of heat sink on the cold side of the TEC. Initial
testing after the proposal stage with hollow cylinder, did not work out well. This was
because there of less heat transfer within the cylinder and the air coming out was not
cold enough. So the decision was made to use to heat sinks which acts a rectangular duct
to channel air. A large heat sinks (9Y692 A00-00) were used. .Each heat sinks have 10
fins which helped to dissipate coldness fast enough from TECs cold side. In this project
heat sinks (hot side and cold side) operate by conducting heat or coldness from the TEC
to the heat sink and then radiating to air. A better the transfer of coldness between the
two surfaces, the better the cooling will be. When the heat sinks were attached the TECs,
there will be uneven surfaces or gaps. The gap will cause for poor heat transfer, even if it
is negligible. To improve the thermal connection between the TECs and the heat sinks a
chemical compound was used. The heat sink compound, typically a white paste made
form zinc oxide in a silicone base ensures a good transfer of heat between the modules
and the heat sinks.

29
Hot Side heat sink

The hot side heat sink used in the project was a single long one installed on the top side
of the TECs. (Appendix Bi). As discussed, thermal resistance of a heat sink is an
important factor while designing a system. Appendix B.1 shows a detailed calculation
for the thermal resistance required for a suitable heat sink. Thermal resistance found
using the equation - / was 0.013 K /W . Therefore a liquid convection heat
sink had to be used. When selecting hot side heat sink for the project other factors such
as dimension to fit into the whole assembly, budget and availability were also taken to
consideration. The heat sink was bought from a local shop and there was no thermal
resistance or datasheets available for the product. The calculated thermal resistance of
the heat sink was lesser than the required. But when considered the dimensions of the
cooling system the selected heat sink was very apt. A drawback expected was
overheating of heat sink. However bigger fans were installed to cool the hot side heat
sink to overcome this.

Results of the temperature reading.

Condition 1:
In Morning hrs., when car parked under shade.

time(min) temperature inside car

5 32
10 31.8
15 31.1
20 30.7
25 28.8
30 28.3
35 28
40 27.6
45 27.2
50 26.8
55 26.3
60 26

Table 1: morning around 9am to 10am

30
 Figure 1: graph of condition 1
Condition 2:
At afternoon in peak hours around 1pm to 2pm after TEC running.

time(min) temperature inside car

5 36
10 35.8
15 35.4
20 35.1
25 34.8
30 34.6
35 34.1
40 33.8
45 33.5
50 33
55 32.7
60 32.3

Table 2: afternoon at peak hours around 1pm to 2pm

31
 Figure 2: graph of condition 2

Condition 3:

In night hours around 8.30pm to 9.30pm.

time(min) temperature inside car

5 29.5
10 29
15 28.5
20 28.5
25 28
30 27.7
35 27.3
40 26.1
45 25
50 24.1
55 23.6
60 23

Table 3: night at 8.30pm to 9.30pm

32
Figure 3: graph of condition 3

33
 Chapter 7
Conclusion and further works

7.1 Conclusions
A Thermoelectric Air cooling for car prototype was designed and built which can be
used for personal cooling inside the car. Six TECs were used for achieving the cooling
with a DC power supply through car battery. It had been shown from testing results that
the cooling system is capable of cooling the air when recirculating the air inside the car
with the help of blower. TEC cooling designed was able to cool an ambient air
temperature from 32°C to 25.8°C. Cooling stabilizes within three minutes once the
blower is turned ON. The system can attain a temperature difference of set target which
was 7°C. Accomplishing the set target establish the success of the project. All the
components in the project had been tested individually and the results were found to be
positive.

7.2 Further Work

The prototype can be made compact by selecting as single TEC of higher power (.i.e. of
200W or more). It can be done by choosing a better cold side heat sink that has twisted
channels or pipes for circulating the air for a longer time. As an alternative for normal
axial fan used in this project, if a blower fans is selected, the cooling system would
provide better airflow. Even as shown in the appended figure we can mount no of TEC

34
cooling in Roof, Floor, Seat, Door, front dashboard with proper insulation. Well-known
TEC brands (.i.e. Melcor, FerroTEC etc) must be chosen if there is only one high power
TEC selected for the cooling system. Bigger hot side heat sinks have to be selected
accurately based its calculated thermal resistances for best cooling efficiency. With a
single TEC, one hot side and a cold side heat sink a smaller personal TEC cooler which
gives comfort can be fabricated and can be installed on roof for individual cooling by
changing the airflow and some mechanical or electronics section modification, the TEC
air cooling for car can be used for heating applications too

35
 References
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helmet, The Seventeenth International Thermoelectric Conference, Arlington,
Texas.
 Bulat, L & Nekhoroshev, Y 2003, Thermoelectric cooling-heating unit for
thermostatic body of pickup refrigerated trucks, 22nd international conference on
thermoelectrics.
 Goldsmid H. (1986). Electronic Refrigeration.London:Pion.
 Goldsmid H.(1964). Thermoelectric Refrigeration. New York:Plenum
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controlled car-seat system utilizing thermoelectric device, Applied Thermal
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 Rowe, DM 1995, CRC handbook of thermoelectrics. Boca Raton, FL: CRC
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 ST Microelectronics 2004, 300W Secondary Controlled Two switch forward
converter with L5991A, AN1621 Application Note.
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Cooling. Retrieved May 2006. http://www.tellurex.com/12most.html
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June 2006. http://www.tetech.com/design/3081.shtml
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http://www.tetech.com/modules/
 Taylor, R.A. and Solbrekken, G.L., 2008, "Comprehensive System-Level
Optimization of Thermoelectric Devices for Cooling Electronic
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23-31.

 Teertstra, P., Yovanovich, M.M. and Culham, lR., 1999, "Analytical Forced
Convection
 Modeling of Plate Fin Heat Sinks", Proc. 15th IEEE SEMI-THERM
symphosium, pp. 34-41.
 Venkatasubramanian, R., Siivola, E., Colpitts, T. and o'Quinn, B., 2001, "Thin-
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Thermoelectric Devices with High Room-Temperature Figure of Merit", Nature
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 Wikipedia the Free Encyclopedia (May 2006). Condensation. Retrieved May
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38
Appendix A(i): Technical Specification of Purchased Items

Regulated DC
Power Supply

Features:

1.Universal AC
input / full range

2.It's good
quality & high
performance

3.Input:AC110-
240V 50/60Hz

4.Out put:DC 12V

20A

5.100% full load

burn-in test

6.Protections:
overload/ over
voltage/ short
circuit

7.Cooling by free
air convection

39
1) TEC1-12710

Benefits:
Capable of generating electricity when one side is kept cool and heat is applied to
the other
No moving internal parts to damage when in transit
Makes absolutely no noise and does not vibrate
Long life
Slim and compact
Excellent quality
Brand new and unused

40
Performance curves

41
2) Axial Fan

Product Description

 Model Number:AFC1212DE
 Size: 120x120x38 mm
 Bearing System: Double Ball Bearing
 Rated Voltage: 12V (4.00 ~ 13.40)
 Input Current: 1.60A
 Max Speed: 3900 RPM
 Air Flow: 148.34 CFM
 Tachometer (RPM Sensor): Yes
 PWM (Pulse Width Modulation): Yes
 Connector & Wire Length: 4 10" inch wires (white,
red, black, blue) to 5 pin plug
 Also replaces AVC DD1203B12HP and NMB MAT
4715KL-04W-B56
 Dell OptiPlex GX520, GX620, 745, 740, 755, 760,
960, 320, 330, 210L ,(BTX) MT Dell Dimenision
3100, 5100, 5150, E310, E510, E520 , E521 XPS420
DIM9200

42
Appendix B(i): Calculations

Temperature Difference

∆T=

Cooling load

Qc = ΔΤ

Thermal resistance

- /

Heat load in heat sink

= +

Speed of Density of Acoustic

Temperature
sound c in air ρ in impedance Z in
T in °C
m·s−1 kg·m−3 N·s·m−3
+35 351.88 1.1455 403.2
+30 349.02 1.1644 406.5
+25 346.13 1.1839 409.4
+20 343.21 1.2041 413.3
+15 340.2 1.2250 416.9
+10 337.31 1.2466 420.5
+5 334.32 1.2690 424.3
0 331.30 1.2922 428.0
−5 328.25 1.3163 432.1

43
 −10 325.18 1.3413 436.1
−15 322.07 1.3673 440.3
−20 318.94 1.3943 444.6
−25 315.77 1.4224 449.1
Mass flow rate, =
= 1.1644x(0.03x0.14)x5.2
= 0.0254 kg/s

Heat absorbed, Qc = ΔΤ
= ( - )
= 0.0254x1005x(32-25)
= 178.7 W

Ideal gas specific heat capacities of air

Temperature CP Cv
k
K kJ/kg.K kJ/kg.K
250 1.003 0.716 1.401
300 1.005 0.718 1.400
350 1.008 0.721 1.398
400 1.013 0.726 1.395
450 1.020 0.733 1.391
500 1.029 0.742 1.387
550 1.040 0.753 1.381
600 1.051 0.764 1.376
650 1.063 0.776 1.370
700 1.075 0.788 1.364
750 1.087 0.800 1.359
800 1.099 0.812 1.354
900 1.121 0.834 1.344
1000 1.142 0.855 1.336
1100 1.155 0.868 1.331
1200 1.173 0.886 1.324
1300 1.190 0.903 1.318
1400 1.204 0.917 1.313
1500 1.216 0.929 1.309

44
Thermal resistance

- /

= 10x12x6
= 720 W

= +
= 178.7 + 720
= 898.7 W

- /
= (44.3-32) / 898.7
= 0.013 K/W(Therefore liquid cold convection to be used)

45
APPENDIX C1
Pictures of prototype

Axial fan

Cold side

Hot side

46