SIMULATION OF THE COLD-END TEMPERATURE AND THE OPTIMAL CURRENT OF THERMOELECTRIC COOLER WITH VARIABLE SEMICONDUCTOR CROSS SECTION USING LATTICE BOLTZMANN METHOD

In order to evaluate the effects of variable semiconductor cross section on the cold-end temperature of thermoelectric cooler (TEC), the numerical model of the cold-end temperature field of TEC with variable semiconductor cross section was established using the lattice Boltzmann method (LBM) in this work, Firstly, the Chapman-Enskog expansion method was used to derive the LBM model and build the parameter connection between the continuous equation and the discrete model. Secondly, nine different types of cross section of TECs were designed to calculate cold-end temperature field at different electric current. Finally, it is found that increasing the cross-sectional area of the cold end will decrease the minimum cold-end temperature, but increase the optimal current. While maintaining the same cross-sectional area of the cold end, decreasing the hot-end cross-sectional area has less effect on the minimum cold-end temperature but decreases the optimal current. In order to increase the cooling capacity, the cross-sectional area of the cold end can be appropriately larger. TEC of type 2# with a larger cross section at the cold end reduces the cooling temperature by 15.38 K at the cost of a coefficient of performance reduction of 0.021.