Novel driving method for thermoelectric cooler modules

Kahraman İ., Derebaşı N.

4th International Eurasian Conference on Science, Engineering and Technology , PROCEEDING BOOK, vol.1, no.1, pp.1126-1133, 2022 (Conference Book)

Abstract

Driving current of thermoelectric cooler(TEC) modules is one of the method to advance their cooling efficiency. Conventionally TEC modules driven with direct current(DC) or pulse width modulation(PWM) methods. However, some limitations of these methods exist in the application such as complex electronic circuits and distorting effect of high switching frequencies. A novel rectangular pulse current(RPC) driving method which is the constant duty cycle, was developed by optimising the input power due to low pulse frequency(≤1000Hz) of square wave to enhance the cooling efficiency and thermal stability of TEC module. An experimental set up including thermoelectric module, signal processing and temperature control parts was constructed and the system provides the same conditions for different driving methods. The measurement results show that the coefficient of performance of thermoelectric module with the RPC driving method was increased up to 19% as compared to DC driving method. The RPC driving method can be made a significant contribution to cooling challenges and technology in the field of semiconductor applications due to its particular properties.