Numerical simulation on ionic wind heat transfer in a thermoelectric cooling system.

Thermoelectric cooling is one of the most attractive alternative cooling technologies, but its applications are limited for some negative characteristics. In a thermoelectric cooling system, the temperature difference between the thermoelectric module’s hot and cold side is one of the key factors, which affects its performance and characteristics. In order to increase the COP of the thermoelectric cooling system and overcome its existing negative characteristics, ionic wind is applied to enhance its heat transfer at the hot and cold sides. Ionic wind has an advantage of no moving parts; and hence, it is regarded an attractive method to enhance convection heat transfer. In this paper, a mathematical model on convective heat transfer of ionic wind, which is used to cooling the thermoelectric cooling system, is present, and numerical simulation is conducted. The effects of its main parameters, i.e., electric field, flow field and temperature field are analyzed on ionic wind heat transfer. As a result, the forced convective heat transfer coefficient of ionic wind is obtained. The comparisons between the forced convective heat transfer coefficients of ionic
wind and the natural convective one are also carried out. It is found that the heat transfer could be effectively enhanced. In addition, the influences of the polar-plate distance and voltage on the electrodes are investigated on the enhancement of heat transfer.