Thermoelectric effects and an application on a case study: Design of thermoelectric refrigerator volume with computational fluid dynamics (CFD)

Abstract

Current energy needs lead the world countries to take some precautions as to save the possessed energy. Some illustrations of these precautions are said that some insulation materials and photovoltaic usages in the buildings according to regions and also electric cars can be used to decrease the energy consumption and CO2 emission. When it is examined closely to the whole picture, in the worldwide, the energy consumption of all type pumps is about 40% of the absolute amount of electrical energy consumption. Especially, in a refrigeration cycle, a heat pump is used in large scale, which consumes a high level of energy, alternatively, in a small-scale application; thermoelectric module (TEM) can be used. In this study, the thermoelectricity, thermoelectric materials, and its thermodynamics are described in detail. Refrigeration volumes with TEM design and simulation process are included. The volume is modeled in Solidworks® based on a developed mathematical equation system, including TEM system, TEM (TEC 12706 type), two compact axial fans, and two plate cooler with fins. In the study, computational fluid dynamic (CFD) method is used to analyze the temperature gradient in the refrigerator volume via commercial CFD software, CFX®. © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2020.