Heat transfer effect on optimal performance of two-stage thermoelectric heat pumps

Abstract

A model of two-stage semiconductor thermoelectric heat pumps with external heat transfer and internal irreversibility is built. Performance of the heat pump with Newton's heat transfer law is analysed and optimized using the combination of finite-time thermodynamics and non-equilibrium thermodynamics. The analytical formula about heating load versus working electrical current, and the coefficient of performance (COP) versus working electrical current are derived. For the fixed total number of thermoelectric elements, the ratio of number of thermo-electric elements of top stage to the total number of thermoelectric elements is also optimized for maximizing the heating load and the COP of the thermoelectric heat pump. The effects of design factors on the performance are analysed.