Design of segmented thermoelectric Peltier coolers by topology optimization

Christian Lundgaard, Ole Sigmund*

*Corresponding author for this work

    Research output: Contribution to journalJournal articleResearchpeer-review

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    Abstract

    A density-based topology optimization approach is used to optimize the cooling power and efficiency (coefficient of performance) of thermoelectric coolers by spatially distributing two different thermoelectric materials in a two dimensional design space. With basis in three numerical examples we identify important model parameters, such as the choice of objective function, the temperatures of the thermal reservoirs, the heat transfer rates and the available electrical energy. By using the topology optimization approach, we demonstrate that the cooling power and efficiency of thermoelectric coolers can be improved by 48.7% and 11.4%, respectively, compared to optimization results from in the literature.

    Original languageEnglish
    JournalApplied Energy
    Volume239
    Pages (from-to)1003-1013
    ISSN0306-2619
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - 2019

    Keywords

    • Peltier coolers
    • Segmentation
    • Thermoelectric energy conversion
    • Topology optimization

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