DESIGN AND EXPERIMENTAL INVESTIGATION OF PORTABLE SOLAR THERMOELECTRIC REFRIGERATOR

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By S.Premkumar N.Karthick
7/9/12

ABSTRACT:

The main objective of this study is to design and build an affordable solar thermoelectric refrigerator for the Bedouin people (e.g. deserts) living in remote parts of Oman where electricity is still not available. The design of the solar-powered refrigerator is based on the principles of a thermoelectric module to create a hot side and a cold side. The designed solar thermoelectric refrigerator was experimentally tested for the cooling purpose. The results indicated that the temperature of the refrigeration was reduced from 27 oC to 5o C in approximately 44 min. The coefficient of performance of the refrigerator (COPR) was calculated and found to be about 0.16.
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INTRODUCTION:

Solar thermoelectric refrigerator is a special type of refrigerator which utilizes solar energy instead of conventional electrical energy to power the thermoelectric module that has been used to cool the refrigeration space. experimental investigation and analysis on a thermoelectric refrigerator driven by solar cells have been investigated in the open literature. this present paper, a design for portable solar thermoelectric7/9/12 refrigerator was presented and tested

The

In

The main objective of the refrigerator service is to improve its efficiency and suitable for use by the Bedouin people(desert) who live in the remote areas of Oman where electricity is not available. refrigerator can also be used for remote parts of the world or outer conditions where electric power supply is not readily available.

The

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PRINCIPLE OF THE SYSTEM:

A

thermoelectric module is a solid-state heat pump that consists of multiple pairs of n-type and p-type thermoelectric elements that are connected electrically in series and thermally in parallel. the n-type thermoelectric material is doped with an excess of electrons and the p-type thermoelectric material is doped with an excess of holes. principles of heat transfer in a thermoelectric module can be explained by the Peltier effect .
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Since

The

 When

the electrons and holes move from one junction (cold plate) to the other junction (hot plate), the heat is absorbed at the cold plate in order to move additional electrons from the valence band to the conduction band, so that additional pairs of electrons and holes can be generated to replenish and compensate for the loss of charged carriers.
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WHAT IS MEAN BY PELTIER EFFECT?

The

peltier effect is named for its discoverer, french physicist Jean-Charles Athanase Peltier. peltier effect is a temperature difference created by applying a voltage between two electrodes connected to a sample of semiconductor materials. phenomenon can be useful when it is necessary to transfer heat from one medium to another on a small scale.
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The

This

COMPONENTS OF THE SOLAR THERMOELECTRIC REFRIGERATOR:

The major components of the solar thermoelectric refrigerator include:
Thermoelectric Solar cells Aluminum box Plastic plates Finned surface (or heat Cooling

module

sink)

fan.
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THERMOELECTRIC MODULE USED IN THIS STUDY:

Here 10 thermoelectric modules

were used in the design

of the refrigerator.
Fig. 1 depicts

one of the 10 modules that were used.

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 The

electrical power generated by the solar cells was supplied to the thermoelectric refrigerator by means of the photovoltaic effect. solar cells used in this study were manufactured by BP Solar and had the efficiency of 14% with size of 12.5 cm_ 12.5 cm. addition, aluminum sheets were added to the sides of the cabinet of the refrigerator to evenly distribute the cold for a uniform temperature within the whole refrigerator.
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The

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plastic plates were used as thermal insulation for inhibiting the back flow of heat when operating in humid conditions. order to maintain the efficiency of the thermal module, cooling fanwas used to reject the heat from the hot side of the module to ambient surroundings.

In

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