Skip to Main Content
 

Global Search Box

 
 
 
 

Files

File List


Syed_Ashraf_Ali_MS_Thesis.pdf (2.26 MB)

ETD Abstract Container

Abstract Header

Computational Study of Transverse Peltier Coolers

Ali, Syed Ashraf
http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1367459972

Abstract Details

, Master of Science, Ohio State University, Mechanical Engineering.
Transverse thermoelectricity can be observed in materials with anisotropic properties. As naturally occurring anisotropic materials are rare, transverse thermoelectricity needs to be produced artificially. One way of producing a transverse thermoelectric effect artificially is by producing a meta-material wherein layers of a thermoelectric material are stacked at an angle with another material that may or may not be a thermoelectric material. This allows for more flexibility in the design of solid state coolers than Peltier elements permit. Transverse thermoelectric devices are attractive because, unlike conventional (longitudinal) thermoelectric devices, the performance of the transverse thermoelectric devices is dependent on the geometry of the device. This is because in a transverse device the current (charge) and heat (phonons) follow different paths, and hence, alteration of geometry affects the performance of the device. In this exploratory computational study, a new meta-material, comprised of tilted alternating layers of an n-type thermoelectric alloy and a metal, is investigated to gain an understanding of how much cooling can be produced by transverse thermoelectric effect, the conditions under which maximum cooling is attainable, and to explore the role of geometry on the performance (temperature depression) of the device. The governing conservation equations of energy and electric current, with the inclusion of thermoelectric effects, are solved on an unstructured mesh using the finite-volume method to simulate a transverse Peltier cooler under various operating conditions. First, the code is validated against experimental data for a n-Bi2Te3-Pb meta-material, and is subsequently explored to elucidate the effect of various geometric design parameters. It is found that intermediate applied currents produce maximum temperature depression . The findings from the different sets of parametric studies established optimum values for the geometric design parameters such as tilt angle and device aspect ratio. It was found that intermediate tilt angles produce best performance, while larger device aspect ratios are desirable. Finally, it is shown that the can be amplified by constricting the phonon (heat) transport cross-section while keeping the electron (current) transport cross-section unchanged. Although the predicted results do not agree perfectly with theoretically expected outcome due to parasitic losses, they conclusively exhibit the potential for transverse Peltier coolers for generating large without multi-stage cascading.
Sandip Mazumder, Dr. (Advisor)
Joseph Heremans, Dr. (Committee Member)
80 p.
Energy; Engineering; Mechanical Engineering
Transverse thermoelectric coolers; Peltier coolers; tilted multilayer structure

Recommended Citations

Citations

  • Ali, S. A. (2013). Computational Study of Transverse Peltier Coolers [Master's thesis, Ohio State University]. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1367459972

    APA Style (7th edition)

  • Ali, Syed. Computational Study of Transverse Peltier Coolers. 2013. Ohio State University, Master's thesis. OhioLINK Electronic Theses and Dissertations Center, http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1367459972.

    MLA Style (8th edition)

  • Ali, Syed. "Computational Study of Transverse Peltier Coolers." Master's thesis, Ohio State University, 2013. http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=osu1367459972

    Chicago Manual of Style (17th edition)

osu1367459972
3,018
© 2013, some rights reserved.Creative Commons License Computational Study of Transverse Peltier Coolers by Syed Ashraf Ali is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs 3.0 Unported License. Based on a work at etd.ohiolink.edu.
This open access ETD is published by The Ohio State University and OhioLINK.