Theoretical and Experimental Investigation of a Thermoelectric Cooler for Marine Cooling Systems

The analysis of literary sources show that thermoelectric devices are used in marine transport as electrical power generators and coolers. Both applications require determination of the Peltier elements dynamic properties. Known dynamic models of thermoelectric devices are relatively complicated and do not take into account the inertia of thermoelectric processes. To overcome this contradiction, in this paper, a simulation model of the Peltier element based on the one-dimensional heat conduction equation and the integral Laplace transform have been synthesised. This model consists of elementary transfer functions and establishes a relationship between cold and hot junction temperatures and an electrical current. The experiment has been conducted to verify the obtained model. During the experiment, the temperatures of the thermoelectric cooler hot and cold surfaces have been measured at different values of the load current. A comparison of the experimental investigation results with the results of numerical simulation in the Matlab/Simulink software environment has been carried out. This comparison shows the convergence of the experimental and model time dependences of the thermoelectric cooler hot and cold surfaces temperatures with an error not exceeding 5%. Thus, the functionality of the synthesised model has been experimentally confirmed. The simplicity and clarity of the proposed model makes it quite easy to build and adjust the parameters of thermoelectric marine cooling systems. Further improvement of the model is possible by considering the temperature dependence of thermoelectric parameters and the Thompson effect.