| Summary: | 碩士 === 國立臺灣海洋大學 === 機械與機電工程學系 === 98 === This study investigated the feasibility of using thermoelectric devices for cooling electronic packages (such as CPU's, etc.) A pair of electric resistors embedded in a copper block acted as the heat source simulating a low-power CPU. A thermoelectric cooling chip (TEC) was combined with a finned heat sink to form a thermoelectric cooler. Various electric current/power was imposed on the TEC to cool the lower-power CPU without forced air. Two thermoelectric chips and two finned heat sinks were testes. The results included the clod-side and the hot-side temperatures of the TEC, the coefficient of performance (COP) of the TEC, comparison of the theoretical and the experimental fin-tip temperatures, and the heat dissipated through the CPU base calculated via two methods.
The results indicated that the TEC cooler's ability was affected by both the TEC and the finned heat sink. Under sufficient fin area condition, an increase in the TEC current/power enhanced the cooling ability of the TEC cooler, whereas for insufficient fin areas, it could cause waste heat accumulation and a significant increase in the system temperature. This study also found that the difference between the hot-side and the cold-side temperatures increased as the TEC operating current increased. However, due to the increase in Joule heating when increasing the TEC current, the cold-side (that is, the junction between the CPU and the TEC) temperature first arrived at a minimum and then started to rise. Therefore, the optimum driving current for the TEC could be found when the CPU power was fixed. In addition, the COP of the TEC's decreased as the driving current increased and the variation in COP diminished gradually. It is concluded that the TEC coolers are applicable to the cooling of the low-power CPU's.
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