Thermal and thermal stress analysis of a thin-film thermoelectric cooler under the influence of the Thomson effect

摘要

This work has two parts. The first part details the thermal analysis of a thin-film thermoelectric cooler under the influence of the Thomson heating, the Joule heating, and the Fourier's heat conduction. A constant Thomson coefficient, instead of traditionally a constant Seebeck coefficient, is assumed. The influence of the Thomson effect on the cooling power, the achievable temperature difference and the optimum operating current density is then explored. It is found that the Joule's heat and the conduction heat flowing to the cold junction can be significantly reduced if thermoelectric materials with properly designed Thomson coefficients are employed. A modified thermal conductance and a modified electric resistance are resulted.