IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jsusta/v13y2021i17p9682-d624218.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Performance Improvement of Thermoelectric Air Cooler System by Using Variable-Pulse Current for Building Applications

Author

Listed:
  • Kashif Irshad

    (Interdisciplinary Research Center for Renewable Energy and Power Systems, King Fahd University of Petroleum & Minerals, Dhahran 31261, Saudi Arabia)

Abstract

The thermoelectric air conditioning system (TE-AC) is a small, noiseless alternative to standard vapor compression refrigeration (VCR) systems. The cooling characteristics of a TE-AC system operating under two conditions, i.e., steady current and current pulses, are investigated in this study. This system consists of three thermoelectric modules, a heat sink, and an air circulation fan. The result shows that maximum temperature reduction in cooling side of TE-AC system was achieved at 6 A input current under steady state operation. The optimum performance of the TE-AC system under steady state operation depends upon the combined effect of the cooling load, Joule, Fourier, and Peltier heat. In TE-AC pulse operation, both current width and cooling load applied on the cold side of the thermoelectric module (TEMs) play an important role in achieving optimum cooling performance of the system. When normal input current operation (i.e., no current pulse) was compared to pulse-operated TE-AC system operation, it was found that pulse operation provides an additional average temperature reduction of 3–4 °C on the cold side of TEMs. Although on the hot side, it maintains a temperature in the range of 18 °C to 24 °C to reduce overshoot heat flux. The duration of operation is also important in determining pulse width and pulse amplitude. Minimum and overshoot peak temperature rises during each cycle for longer run operation. In the TE-AC system, the accumulated Joule heat during a current pulse frequently causes a temperature overshoot, which lasts much longer. As a result, the next current pulse was not released until the temperature of TE was restored to its initial value.

Suggested Citation

  • Kashif Irshad, 2021. "Performance Improvement of Thermoelectric Air Cooler System by Using Variable-Pulse Current for Building Applications," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(17), pages 1-13, August.
  • Handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:17:p:9682-:d:624218
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/17/9682/pdf
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/13/17/9682/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Borhani, S.M. & Hosseini, M.J. & Pakrouh, R. & Ranjbar, A.A. & Nourian, A., 2021. "Performance enhancement of a thermoelectric harvester with a PCM/Metal foam composite," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 168(C), pages 1122-1140.
    2. Zheng, Liang Jun & Lim, Sungmook & Kim, Na Kyong & Kang, Dong Hee & Youn, Young Jik & Lee, Wonoh & Kang, Hyun Wook, 2020. "Experimental study of a thin water-film evaporative cooling system to enhance the energy conversion efficiency of a thermoelectric device," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 211(C).
    3. Shittu, Samson & Li, Guiqiang & Zhao, Xudong & Ma, Xiaoli, 2020. "Review of thermoelectric geometry and structure optimization for performance enhancement," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 268(C).
    4. Samy Faddel & Guanyu Tian & Qun Zhou, 2021. "Decentralized Management of Commercial HVAC Systems," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(11), pages 1-18, May.
    5. Lv, Hao & Wang, Xiao-Dong & Meng, Jing-Hui & Wang, Tian-Hu & Yan, Wei-Mon, 2016. "Enhancement of maximum temperature drop across thermoelectric cooler through two-stage design and transient supercooling effect," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 175(C), pages 285-292.
    6. Liao, Xinzhong & Liu, Yuxuan & Ren, Jiahang & Guan, Liuping & Sang, Xuehao & Wang, Bowen & Zhang, Hang & Wang, Qiuwang & Ma, Ting, 2020. "Investigation of a double-PCM-based thermoelectric energy-harvesting device using temperature fluctuations in an ambient environment," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 202(C).
    7. He, Wei & Zhang, Gan & Zhang, Xingxing & Ji, Jie & Li, Guiqiang & Zhao, Xudong, 2015. "Recent development and application of thermoelectric generator and cooler," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 143(C), pages 1-25.
    8. Tianbo Lu & Yuqiang Li & Jianxin Zhang & Pingfan Ning & Pingjuan Niu, 2020. "Cooling and Mechanical Performance Analysis of a Trapezoidal Thermoelectric Cooler with Variable Cross-Section," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(22), pages 1-19, November.
    9. Yin, Tao & He, Zhi-Zhu, 2021. "Analytical model-based optimization of the thermoelectric cooler with temperature-dependent materials under different operating conditions," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 299(C).
    10. Khaled Teffah & Youtong Zhang & Xiao-long Mou, 2018. "Modeling and Experimentation of New Thermoelectric Cooler–Thermoelectric Generator Module," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(3), pages 1-11, March.
    11. Song Lv & Zuoqin Qian & Dengyun Hu & Xiaoyuan Li & Wei He, 2020. "A Comprehensive Review of Strategies and Approaches for Enhancing the Performance of Thermoelectric Module," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(12), pages 1-24, June.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Mohadeseh Seyednezhad & Hamidreza Najafi & Benjamin Kubwimana, 2021. "Numerical and Experimental Investigation of a Thermoelectric-Based Radiant Ceiling Panel with Phase Change Material for Building Cooling Applications," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(21), pages 1-17, October.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Jia Yu & Qingshan Zhu & Li Kong & Haoqing Wang & Hongji Zhu, 2020. "Modeling of an Integrated Thermoelectric Generation–Cooling System for Thermoelectric Cooler Waste Heat Recovery," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(18), pages 1-10, September.
    2. Huang, Xiao-Yan & Zhou, Ze-Yu & Shu, Zheng-Yu & Cai, Yang & Lv, You & Wang, Wei-Wei & Zhao, Fu-Yun, 2024. "A phase change material based annular thermoelectric energy harvester from ambient temperature fluctuations: Transient modeling and critical characteristics," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 222(C).
    3. Yang, Huizhu & Li, Mingxuan & Wang, Zehui & Ren, Fengsheng & Yang, Yue & Ma, Bijian & Zhu, Yonggang, 2023. "Performance optimization for a novel two-stage thermoelectric generator with different PCMs embedding modes," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 281(C).
    4. Duan, Mengfan & Sun, Hongli & Lin, Borong & Wu, Yifan, 2021. "Evaluation on the applicability of thermoelectric air cooling systems for buildings with thermoelectric material optimization," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 221(C).
    5. Ye-Qi Zhang & Jiao Sun & Guang-Xu Wang & Tian-Hu Wang, 2022. "Advantage of a Thermoelectric Generator with Hybridization of Segmented Materials and Irregularly Variable Cross-Section Design," Energies, MDPI, vol. 15(8), pages 1-18, April.
    6. Cai, Yang & Hong, Bing-Hua & Wu, Wei-Xiong & Wang, Wei-Wei & Zhao, Fu-Yun, 2022. "Active cooling performance of a PCM-based thermoelectric device: Dynamic characteristics and parametric investigations," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 254(PB).
    7. Jing-Hui Meng & Hao-Chi Wu & Tian-Hu Wang, 2019. "Optimization of Two-Stage Combined Thermoelectric Devices by a Three-Dimensional Multi-Physics Model and Multi-Objective Genetic Algorithm," Energies, MDPI, vol. 12(14), pages 1-24, July.
    8. Kwan, Trevor Hocksun & Wu, Xiaofeng & Yao, Qinghe, 2018. "Bidirectional operation of the thermoelectric device for active temperature control of fuel cells," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 222(C), pages 410-422.
    9. Shittu, Samson & Li, Guiqiang & Zhao, Xudong & Ma, Xiaoli, 2020. "Review of thermoelectric geometry and structure optimization for performance enhancement," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 268(C).
    10. Yousefi, Esmaeil & Nejad, Ali Abbas & Rezania, Alireza, 2022. "Higher power output in thermoelectric generator integrated with phase change material and metal foams under transient boundary condition," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 256(C).
    11. Shittu, Samson & Li, Guiqiang & Akhlaghi, Yousef Golizadeh & Ma, Xiaoli & Zhao, Xudong & Ayodele, Emmanuel, 2019. "Advancements in thermoelectric generators for enhanced hybrid photovoltaic system performance," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 24-54.
    12. Hamidi, E. & Ganesan, P.B. & Sharma, R.K. & Yong, K.W., 2023. "Computational study of heat transfer enhancement using porous foams with phase change materials: A comparative review," Renewable and Sustainable Energy Reviews, Elsevier, vol. 176(C).
    13. He, Dongliang & Tang, Xin & Rehan, Mirza Abdullah & Li, Guiqiang, 2024. "Heat and mass transfer performance of ferricyanide/ferrocyanide thermocell and optimization analysis," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 289(C).
    14. Agnieszka Żelazna & Justyna Gołębiowska, 2020. "A PV-Powered TE Cooling System with Heat Recovery: Energy Balance and Environmental Impact Indicators," Energies, MDPI, vol. 13(7), pages 1-22, April.
    15. Ravi Anant Kishore & Roop L. Mahajan & Shashank Priya, 2018. "Combinatory Finite Element and Artificial Neural Network Model for Predicting Performance of Thermoelectric Generator," Energies, MDPI, vol. 11(9), pages 1-17, August.
    16. Cui, Tengfei & Xuan, Yimin & Yin, Ershuai & Li, Qiang & Li, Dianhong, 2017. "Experimental investigation on potential of a concentrated photovoltaic-thermoelectric system with phase change materials," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 122(C), pages 94-102.
    17. Selcuk Bulat & Erdal Büyükbicakci & Mustafa Erkovan, 2024. "Efficiency Enhancement in Photovoltaic–Thermoelectric Hybrid Systems through Cooling Strategies," Energies, MDPI, vol. 17(2), pages 1-12, January.
    18. Selimefendigil, Fatih & Öztop, Hakan F., 2020. "Identification of pulsating flow effects with CNT nanoparticles on the performance enhancements of thermoelectric generator (TEG) module in renewable energy applications," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 162(C), pages 1076-1086.
    19. Wang, Xue & Zong, Yujie & Su, Wenbin & Wang, Chunlei & Wang, Hongchao, 2024. "Output and mechanical performance of thermoelectric generator under transient heat loads," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 222(C).
    20. Rasel, Mohammad Sala Uddin & Park, Jae-Yeong, 2017. "A sandpaper assisted micro-structured polydimethylsiloxane fabrication for human skin based triboelectric energy harvesting application," Applied Energy, Elsevier, vol. 206(C), pages 150-158.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:13:y:2021:i:17:p:9682-:d:624218. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.