On the Behavioral Modeling of a Thermoelectric Cooler and Mechanical Assembly

In this work, SPICE and system level macro-models of a thermoelectric cooling system are developed. The SPICE model includes a direct implementation of the thermal and power balance equations from the thermoelectric element model and a passive thermal equivalent circuit of the overall assembly. Although a powerful model for analog controller designs, the SPICE simulation environment is not as efficient for mixed-signal controllers implementing data converters and digital filtering algorithms. To facilitate a mixed-mode controller design, a systems model of the thermoelectric cooler and the mechanical assembly is developed for implementation into commercially available fixed time step systems simulators. Simulation results of both the SPICE model and the systems simulator are compared and the advantage of the system model discussed