Numerical Simulation and Experimental Study of a Thermoelectric Refrigeration Thermal Management System Based on Flat Heat Pipes

Existing thermal management schemes struggle to actively and efficiently create a low-temperature heat sink in a limited enclosed space. Hence, a composite thermoelectric refrigeration thermal management system based on flat heat pipes is proposed in this study. A numerical simulation model of the composite system was developed, and an experimental platform for the composite thermoelectric refrigeration thermal management system was established to verify the accuracy of the model. The results showed that the proposed composite thermal management system provided a low-temperature heat sink for the entire thermal management system in a limited space and solved the problem of heat accumulation at the hot end of the thermoelectric refrigeration module by coupling with the plate heat pipe. The thermoelectric refrigeration system based on a flat-plate heat pipe was considerably better than that based on aluminum fins in terms of 1-12 A working current. The cooling capacity and COP (coefficient of performance) of a single thermoelectric module plate were effectively increased by 38.35% and 14.81%, respectively, under the best working conditions.