Liquid cooling in tandem with Peltier (TEC)

Projects General Guidance
1

Hello,

I am working on a project that involves modulating the temperature of a certain material (involves both heating and cooling). So far, I've got a Peltier system set up, and I'm looking to implement a liquid cooling system to compensate for excess dissipated heat from the Peltier.

The heating/cooling will take place in a small enclosed space (specifically, at the fingertips of a model baby), and I'm wondering if it's plausible to implement a liquid cooling system (which involves a pump, tubes, etc.) within that space (perhaps through the length of the baby's arm).

I'm imagining that a water block will be placed on the TEC, followed by tubes, pump, etc. I'm concerned that a pump, radiator, and fan will be too obstructive to fit into such a small space. I know that pumps can get quite small, but I don't know about the radiator/fan. Are the radiator and fan necessary?

Thanks a bunch.

2

You've asked about this before, haven't you?

Ultimately you will need to dump the excess heat either into a thermal mass, or somewhere outside your test environment. If you use a thermal mass, the amount of heat/cold and how long it can be sustained for will be determined by the size of the thermal mass.

The point of the circulation system is to enable you to get the heat in/out of the 'hand' where you have very limited space. IMO it would make sense to put the peltier, pump etc in the body and just circulate the liquid through the hand to heat/cool it as required.

3

PeterH:
You've asked about this before, haven't you?

Ultimately you will need to dump the excess heat either into a thermal mass, or somewhere outside your test environment. If you use a thermal mass, the amount of heat/cold and how long it can be sustained for will be determined by the size of the thermal mass.

The point of the circulation system is to enable you to get the heat in/out of the 'hand' where you have very limited space. IMO it would make sense to put the peltier, pump etc in the body and just circulate the liquid through the hand to heat/cool it as required.

Yes, I have. I felt that that thread was getting a little too disorganized, so I started a new one based on the approach that I decided to take (liquid cooling).

Thanks for your input! It does make sense to simulate the circulation system in this way. I haven't considered a thermal mass, but that sounds like an interesting option.

4

I have 1/4'' ID, 1/8'' OD tubing, and I plan on purchasing this water block (http://www.shop.customthermoelectric.com/Water-Block-Assembly-060-x-060-x-028-WBA-060-028-CU-01.htm;jsessionid=391C89009426F875E3E703A321CE3338.m1plqscsfapp06) to heat/cool the TEC.

Now, here are a few questions I have:

  • Will this fitting (McMaster-Carr) be appropriate?
  • Are there really small pumps available? (To fit in a model baby-space is of the essence)
  • Is there a generic water block that I could use to heat/cool a region of interest?
  • Will a T-line (instead of a reservoir) be plausible?
  • Would using a TEC replace a radiator?
5

myom:
I have 1/4'' ID, 1/8'' OD tubing

Suggest you hang on to that - it's probably quite valuable.