Week Six

This week the group attempted to enhance the functionality of the thermoelectric through a variety of modifications.  The group attempted to create a sort of shielding component in order to prevent some of the latent heat from the gun from escaping around the sides of the thermoelectric (to better simulate testing and to increase the thermoelectric functionality).  Insulation was used to create a shell to contain the thermoelectric.  Photos of this setup are shown below.

The insulation being cut to size for the Peltier cell

The finished cut of the shielding for the cell

The cell encased in the shielding mechanism

A side view of the thermoelectric encased in the shell

With the shield applied the voltage was pushed to an average of 1V output, but still more would be beneficial as both sides retained heat.  The group then decided to apply copper to one side to dissipate heat and the voltage was brought to an average of 1.25V.  This is promising and the group hopes to enhance this with better shielding and a more effective adhesive (namely, thermal paste).

Finally, the group is planning to spend the following week determining the optimal location for the cell and continuing enhancing the shielding.

In addition, this week the group made a presentation to a a class of other students, Dr. Christopher Weyant, and Ph.D. candidate Marco Janko.  The presentation was an enormous success and the group succeeded in answering all questions posed.  During the presentation, in a question, it was suggested by Dr. Weyant that the group use a commercially available heat sink in order to pull heat from the cold side of the thermoelectric.

The group also continued research into the internal components of the computer and the possible outputs of the TEC1-12709.  Below is listed the specifications of the Dell YD615 fan which is the model contained inside the Dell Inspiron E1505.  The source information can be found at:  http://www.laptop-parts.us/laptop-cpu-fan/dell-yd615-cpu-fan.html and http://www.splusdirect.com/index.php?l=product_detail&p=4735

Dell YD615: Required Voltage - 5V; Required Current/Amperage - 0.205A

The maximum output for the TEC1-12709 is illustrated in the figure below:

The source for this information can be found at: http://www.bkbelectronics.com/pdf%20files/TEC1-127120-50.pdf

This data indicates that the thermoelectric is sufficient to power the fan and other small electronics/peripherals in the computer.  The group now plans to investigate methods of further increasing the outputs of the fan.