Technique for compact modeling of thermoelectric systems

This article describes a technique for modeling a thermoelectric module (TEM) based on a systematic approach using compact models. A finite-element model of a Peltier battery was built in the COMSOL software environment. A numerical analysis of the characteristics of TEM in the case of the dependence of material parameters on temperature is carried out. A compact dynamic TEM model has been constructed and verified on the basis of direct numerical modeling of a number of stationary and non-stationary problems for TEM. The presented approach facilitates the modeling of a thermoelectric module and its interrelationships with control units and other thermal elements under various boundary and initial conditions. The simulation results are in good agreement with the results obtained using other models described in the literature, as well as with numerical solutions. Based on numerical experiments, it is noted that the dependence of the physical parameters of the Peltier battery on temperature can distort the output parameters of the TEM and, if possible, should be taken into account in a compact model.