TEC Cold-Side Cooling Structure With S-Turn Antifreeze Flow
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional thermoelectric cooling (TEC) chip applications for vehicle air conditioners face inefficiencies in cooling continuity due to low cooling efficiency of the cold surface module, leading to inadequate temperature reduction and high antifreeze usage, making them unsuitable for commercial applications.
Innovation Solution
A device comprising a cooling part with a box, partition plates, and an auxiliary cooling structure forming an S-turn flow channel, a plate coil, a pump, and a reservoir, which enhances heat exchange and thermal conductivity, eliminating the need for a pre-cooling tank and reducing antifreeze usage by circulating antifreeze through the system.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If a pre-cooling tank of large volume (about 10 liters) is disposed between the cold surface module and the evaporator, then the cooling continuity requirement can be met, but the device complexity and antifreeze usage increase significantly
Solution Approach 1:
The cooling system is divided into multiple heat exchange channels (first heat exchange channel and second heat exchange channel) with separate flow paths. The first channel handles pre-cooling while the second channel handles evaporative cooling, allowing independent optimization of each function and eliminating the need for a large pre-cooling tank.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent introduces a multi-dimensional heat exchange approach by adding vertical heat exchange plates and stacking multiple heat exchange channels in different spatial dimensions. This increases the heat exchange area without requiring large horizontal space, thereby reducing the pre-cooling tank volume while maintaining cooling continuity.
2Reliability
If a pre-cooling tank of large volume is used to ensure cooling continuity, then reliable cooling can be provided, but the antifreeze consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The system segments the antifreeze flow into dedicated channels, with the second heat exchange channel specifically optimized for evaporative cooling. This segmentation allows more efficient antifreeze utilization and reduces overall consumption while maintaining cooling reliability.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent optimizes heat exchange parameters by adjusting the flow rates, temperatures, and pressure differentials in different channels. By changing these parameters efficiently, the system achieves better cooling performance per unit of antifreeze, reducing total antifreeze usage while maintaining reliability.
3Device complexity
If the cold surface module has low cooling efficiency, then the system structure can be simple, but the temperature reduction is insufficient for vehicle air conditioner standards
Solution Approach 1:
The patent adds vertical heat exchange plates and stacks multiple heat exchange channels in three-dimensional space, dramatically increasing the heat exchange area without significantly complicating the overall structure. This dimensional expansion enables high cooling efficiency while maintaining structural simplicity.
Solution Approach 2:
The heat exchange plates utilize composite structures combining different materials with complementary properties (high thermal conductivity, corrosion resistance, structural strength). This composite approach maximizes heat exchange efficiency while keeping the structural design straightforward and manufacturable.
Applied Scientific Principles
This section explains which scientific principles are used to turn an abstract innovation direction into a practical engineering solution.
Function Achieved in This Case
The solution significantly increases heat exchange efficiency, allowing immediate temperature reduction and meeting cooling standards for vehicle air conditioners and other applications, such as elevator air conditioners and vaccine storage boxes, with reduced antifreeze consumption and pipeline volume.
Implementation Method 1
A TEC chip of application of thermoelectric effect is consisting essentially of two insulating ceramic substrates, and multiple sets of P-type and N-type Bismuth Telluride based thermoelectric material and conductive copper electrodes in series which are disposed between the two insulating ceramic substrates. When a current enters the thermoelectric material from the electrodes or enters the electrodes from the thermoelectric materials, endothermic and exothermic phenomena will be generated at the interfaces between dissimilar materials respectively, and cause temperatures at the two materials increasing and decreasing, respectively.
Implementation Method 2
the passages of the two adjacent partition plates are located on opposite two inner surfaces of the sidewalls to form an S-turn flow channel between the partition plates
Implementation Method 3
the auxiliary cooling structure has a continuous phase framework and pores
Data Source
AI summary
A device of application of a cold surface of a thermoelectric cooling (TEC) chip, the device includes a cooling part, a plate coil, a pump, a reservoir and a pipeline, the cooling part is used for connecting to the cold surface of TEC chip, the pump transfers antifreeze to circulate through the cooling part, the plate coil and the reservoir. Due the cooling part and the plate coil have large heat exchange area and excellent thermal conductivities, the device according to the present invention immediately conducts the cold temperature of the cold surface of TEC chip on operation of the TEC chip, the cooling efficiency thereof meets the standards of vehicle air conditioners and other products, so that the device according to the present invention has extremely high industrial availability.