Developing a Model To Control the Thermal Mode of Thermoelectric Cooling Devices by Minimizing the Set of Three Basic Parameters

Abstract

The systems maintaining thermal regimes are a necessary component of thermally-loaded radio-electronic equipment, without which its operation is impossible. The uneven distribution of heat emitted by components such as semiconductor lasers, receivers of intense infrared radiation predetermines the preference of thermoelectric coolers for them. The joint application of a cooler and a heat-loaded element significantly tightens the requirements for the reliability indicators and the dynamic characteristics of the cooler. The cause is the influence exerted by the temperature gradients in the soldered joints between different materials of thermoelements and the electrode of the substrate. The main parameters of thermoelectric coolers are the number of thermoelements and the value of the working current. When targeting the design of thermoelectric systems for ensuring thermal regimes based on reliability indicators, the optimization of the problem for the following set has been proposed: the number of thermoelements, the working current, and the relative intensity of failures. At the fixed branches' geometry, decreasing the number of thermoelements leads to a decrease in the heat load, which can be compensated for by increasing the working current of the thermoelectric cooler. A ratio has been derived for the relative working current corresponding to the minimum size of the set. Using the set makes it possible to choose the required working current, for which there is an extremum, which optimizes the process of control over the cooler. The win in the refrigeration factor, compared to the mode of maximum cooling capacity, is 15 %. This demonstrates the advantage of a comprehensive indicator, which allows the development of systems enabling thermal modes for practical application, in particular, on-board systems for which energy consumption is critical. The originality of the results obtained is related to a comprehensive criterion for the basic performance indicators, which has a minimum