Distributed Equivalent Circuit for Modeling Heat Transfer Process in a Thermoelectric System

In this paper a heat transfer model based on the theory of electrical and thermal circuits is proposed for steady-state and transient analysis of the thermoelectric system. In the process studied, a Peltier device tries to maintain a larger metal surface at a desired temperature condition. The Peltier cell is implemented with discrete, thermal and electrical components, calculated according to the specifications in the manufacturer's datasheet. Heat transfer by conduction and convection through the metal plate is modelled by a distributed thermal circuit. The distributed element model of the thermal circuit facilitates connection with the Peltier devices and other thermal components situated at different positions on its surface. In this work, the methodology for building the model and examples of simulations shows how the different operating conditions can be modeled intuitively and their thermoelectric parameters measured directly.