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Design and Analysis of a Thermoelectric HVAC System for Passenger Vehicles
Technical Paper
2010-01-0807
ISSN: 0148-7191, e-ISSN: 2688-3627
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English
Abstract
Global pressures to reduce CO₂ emissions and to lessen the
influence of petroleum imports on national economies have
accelerated the electrification of automotive power plants. The
paradigm shift is driving investment in technologies aligned with
electrification, such as electric motors and batteries. It also
introduces new challenges for vehicle designers to manage the
integration of new subsystems required by electrification. One
consequence of increased electrification is a greater difficulty
providing occupant thermal comfort. For the first time, automotive
system developers must consider the energy required to heat as well
as cool occupants and provide thermal management for a growing
suite of electronic equipment. With the phasing out of R-134a in
Europe over 2011 to 2017, alternative two-phase vapor compression
systems utilizing refrigerants such as CO₂ or R-134A replacements
have drawbacks of either being costly or flammable and lack
long-term sustainability given the increasing electrification of
powertrains. Under these circumstances, solid-state and
refrigerant-free thermoelectric systems are a leading candidate to
provide vehicle heating and cooling. Moreover, they can cool and
heat with the same components and provide engine-off HVAC function
including cabin preconditioning.
This paper presents a thermoelectric air-liquid system designed
with the aid of a numerical model. The model was used to solve for
the optimal combination of up to 14 variables to achieve the best
system performance and cost under given conditions. A TE device was
built and tested to validate the model. The device is capable of
supplying up to several thousand watts of thermal output power in
heating and cooling modes of operation. Good agreement was found
between the simulation results and the test data.
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Citation
Wang, D., Crane, D., and LaGrandeur, J., "Design and Analysis of a Thermoelectric HVAC System for Passenger Vehicles," SAE Technical Paper 2010-01-0807, 2010, https://doi.org/10.4271/2010-01-0807.Also In
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