Thermoelectric Cooler Based Regenerative Adsorption Refrigeration System for High Temperature Electronics

This paper presents the analytical study of a thermoelectric cooler (TEC) based two-stage regenerative adsorption cycle with evaporator temperature ranging from 80°C to 180°C and heat rejection temperature ranging from 200°C to 230°C. This proposed cycle restricts the highest temperature at which the TEC regenerates heat by reducing the maximum bed temperature during the desorption phase, which leads to the possibility of the system being realized with commercially available TECs and a reasonable TEC coefficient of performance (COP∼ 0.4). The low COP (<1) of the TEC results in excess heat at the desorption bed during heat regeneration. If the excess heat is rejected to the environment, COP gains arising from regeneration are reduced. Using the TEC to regenerate only part of the heat helps to mitigate this problem. The adsorption cycle in conjunction with TEC can pump heat through larger temperature differences with system efficiency much greater than that of a TEC used alone under identical conditions. The study aims to extend the limits of the adsorption refrigeration systems to provide compact cooling devices for harsh environments.