Maybe you are curious, isn't the thermoelectric cooler used for cooling? Why is heat dissipation needed? This is closely related to its application principle: Thermoelectric coolers transfer heat through the Peltier Effect. When current passes through the junction of two different conductors, heat is absorbed or released. One side of the cooling fin becomes colder and the other side becomes hotter. In order to ensure the cooling effect, the heat on the hot side must be effectively dissipated, otherwise the heat accumulation will affect the cooling efficiency and even damage the equipment. Therefore, in the development process of thermal design, we first need to confirm the product's heat dissipation solution so as to reserve the corresponding design space in the early stages of development.

Depending on the heat dissipation medium, the heat dissipation methods of thermoelectric coolers can be divided into air convection heat dissipation, water cooling and phase change material heat dissipation. Let's take a look at the main characteristics of these three heat dissipation methods.

Air convection cooling is a cooling method that uses air flow to carry away heat. It uses the heat sink as a heat exchange component, first conducting the heat generated by the heat-generating components (such as electronic components) to the surface of the heat sink, and then transferring the heat to the air through the temperature difference with the surrounding air and air convection, thereby reducing the temperature of the heat-generating components. Its heat dissipation effect depends on three factors:

①Thermal conductivity of heat sink

The stronger the heat conduction performance of the heat sink, the faster it can move the heat from the heat source and make it fully contact with the air;

② Air flow speed

Since high air velocity can enhance heat dissipation, we usually add fans to the system to increase the air velocity to increase the heat dissipation speed;

③ Air temperature

Air convection heat dissipation is closely related to the temperature of the air itself. When the air temperature is low, the heat dissipation effect is better; when the air temperature is high, the heat dissipation effect becomes worse.

From this we know that the air convection cooling system has great advantages in cost, reliability and installation conditions, but its cooling effect is too dependent on the external environment , especially in high-power scenarios, the cooling efficiency is low. Therefore, air convection cooling is more suitable for medium and low power devices. For high power and other specific scenarios, it is recommended to choose a more stable and efficient cooling method.

Water cooling is a heat dissipation method that uses liquid as a heat conduction medium to remove heat from inside the device through a circulation system. Water cooling has a higher heat dissipation efficiency, which is generally 2-5 times that of air convection cooling. It is suitable for high-power equipment or application scenarios with strict requirements on space size (such as mechanical moving parts, etc.) . However, water cooling requires accessories such as water pumps, long water pipes, and power supplies. The operation steps and subsequent maintenance are more complicated, so its application has certain limitations.

Many water-cooled radiators on the market currently have integrated fan assemblies, achieving efficient heat dissipation through a combination of water cooling and air cooling.

Phase change materials refer to substances that absorb or release large amounts of latent heat through physical phase changes (gas ↔ liquid or solid ↔ liquid or solid ↔ gas). Phase change material heat dissipation is a heat dissipation method that regulates temperature by absorbing/releasing heat during the phase change process. It has the following advantages:

High energy storage density: The latent heat storage capacity per unit volume of phase change materials far exceeds that of sensible heat materials (such as metals).

Temperature stability: Since the phase change material maintains a constant temperature during the melting or solidification process, it can effectively prevent the equipment from being damaged by rapid temperature changes and ensure operational stability.

Energy saving and environmental protection: This technology does not require additional energy input to maintain functions, thereby reducing the total energy consumption of the system and meeting the requirements of energy saving and environmental protection.

Flexible adaptation: By adjusting the formula of phase change materials, it can meet scenarios with different temperature requirements.

Heat pipe cooling is the most representative and efficient heat dissipation method in phase change material heat dissipation, and is especially suitable for scenarios that require rapid cooling. The heat pipe radiator consists of heat pipes, heat sinks, fans and other components. Among them, the heat pipe is composed of a hollow and closed metal tube body, which includes three parts: liquid medium, tube core and tube shell. A tube core with a capillary structure is adhered to the inner wall of the tube shell, and the tube core is soaked with a liquid medium. The essence of heat pipe heat dissipation is to use the vaporization, liquefaction and circulation flow of the liquid medium in the pipe to achieve the purpose of heat transfer. It combines the advantages of heat pipe heat conduction and air convection heat dissipation, and has the advantages of lightweight, high heat dissipation efficiency, low noise, etc. Therefore, it is widely used in computer, industrial, medical, automotive, aerospace and other fields, becoming an ideal heat dissipation choice for high-performance equipment.