A Comparative Analysis of Thermoelectric Modules for the Purpose of Ensuring Thermal Comfort in Protective Clothing

Abstract

In recent times, more and more workers are exposed to thermal stress due to climate changes and increased ambient temperature. Demanding physical activities and the use of protective clothing are additional sources of thermal load for workers. Therefore, recent research has focused on the development of protective clothing with a cooling function. Phase change materials, air or liquid, were mainly used for this purpose; only a few publications were concerned the use of thermoelectric modules. This publication analyzes the influence of such factors as supplied current, ambient temperature, and the type of heat sink on the amount of heat flux transferred by a thermoelectric cooler (TEC) and the electric power consumed by it. In the course of laboratory tests, a flexible thermoelectric module and three heat sink variants were tested. For this purpose, a polymer TEGway heat sink, a metal one, and a self-made one based on a superabsorbent were used. The research showed that at a temperature of 30 °C and above, the amount of the heat flux transferred by a TEC with a total area of 58 cm2, and an active area of 10 cm2 should be expected to be from 1 W to 1.5 W. An increase in ambient temperature from 20 to 35 °C caused a significant reduction in the heat flux by about 1 W. The results obtained indicated that the type of heat sink affects the heat flux drawn by the TEC to a statistically significant extent. The heat sink using the evaporation effect turned out to be the most efficient.

Analysis of Efficiency of Thermoelectric Personal Cooling System Based on Utility Tests

“…This proves that the digital power and temperature controller has been designed correctly for the considered purpose. The results obtained from the tests with a human participation are in accordance with laboratory tests performed on the Peltier modules with the use of an apparatus called a ‘skin model’ [ 12 ] which indicated that it is necessary to limit the supply power in order to ensure effective operation of the modules. Moreover, a possibility to provide a cooling temperature of up to 5 °C by means of a system based on the thermoelectric modules was also confirmed by Mitsik et al [ 13 ] and Choi et al [ 14 ].…”

Integration of Active Clothing with a Personal Cooling System within the NGIoT Architecture for the Improved Comfort of Construction Workers

“…Based on earlier measurements [50], the heat flux through the TEMs for a current of 0.30 A (corresponding to an electric power of 0.48 W) is 0.99 W, and it may be approximated by linear regression as 1.24 W for a current of 0.54 A (corresponding to an electric power of 1.50 W). This gives a maximum COP value of 2.1 and a minimum average one of 1.1, which is consistent with results obtained in other works for similar temperature reductions, as presented in Table 1.…”

Research on the novel medical protective clothing for COVID-19

“…Liu et al [ 6 ] connected the goggles, masks, gloves and foot covers with the cap mouth, cuff and trousers, respectively, so as to improve the efficiency of wearing and taking off protective clothing. Dabrowska et al [ 7 ] used a thermoelectric cooler to transfer the heat flux from protective clothing. Although these MPCs had improved the comfort of the wearer for a period of time, they had increased the cost of disposable protective clothing.…”