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Thermoelectric Modules: Principles and Research
Marc Hodes
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| Marc Hodes |
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Course Description (2 hrs):
The purpose of this tutorial is twofold. First, it provides an introduction to thermoelectricity and thermoelectric modules (TEMs) and a straightforward methodology to model TEMs in all of their operating modes (cooling, heating and power generation) with reasonable accuracy for many applications. Secondly, emerging thermoelectric materials and TEM designs are considered.
The Seebeck, Peltier and Thomson effects and pertinent irreversible effects are introduced and categorized. Next, the construction, applications and advantages and disadvantages of TEMs relative to competing technologies are discussed. Then, an analysis of TEMs subjected to boundary conditions of the first kind on both of their substrates is undertaken. Thereafter, the analysis is extended to account for thermal resistance boundary conditions on both substrates and electrical contact resistance at interconnects. A means of classifying TEM operating modes and sub-modes is provided is provided next. Finally, proper sizing of pellets in a thermoelectric module for maximum performance and efficiency in both refrigeration and generation modes is addressed.
During the second part of the course, emerging thermoelectric materials (e.g., superlattices) and thin-film TEMs fabricated from conventional semiconductor processing techniques are considered. Then non-Cartesian geometry TEMs are discussed. Finally, TEM-heat pipe assemblies for reduced energy consumption precision temperature control are presented.
Bio:
Marc Hodes graduated magna cum laude from the University of Pittsburgh with a BS in Mechanical Engineering. He was awarded an MS degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Minnesota and received his PhD in Mechanical Engineering with a Chemical Engineering minor from MIT in 1998. The experimental portion of his PhD thesis was performed at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in the capacity of a guest researcher and NSF/NIST fellow. He is currently a Manager in the Thermal Management Research Group at Bell Labs Ireland in Dublin. His area of interest is Heat Transfer. Current efforts include those on optimizing the geometry of the pellets in thermoelectric modules and enhanced microchannel cooling using superhydrophobic nanostructured surfaces.
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