Hello everyone,
I've been trying to control a heat exchanger model build with comsol. The idea is to control the temperature of the fluid running through the aluminium heat exchanger heated by two ThermoElectric Devices TED (also known as a solid state heating elements, Peltier devices, or Seebeck devices) mounted to the planar top. The heat exchanger model is done and completed with comsol, however TED is done with SPICE (which due to analogy between electrical and thermal components can be used for lumped models). My goal is to somehow connect both models (the heat exchanger as well as TED) and simulate them simultaneously. The reason why both models need to be computed at the same time is because (and that also is the major culprit in my model) the thermal load of the heat exchanger impacts the electrical behavior of TED. And due to the nature of how TEDs work, if the electrical behavior is influenced then the ability to cool/heat is also influenced. One basically has to see the entire system as a whole.
With that in mind, I have two options. Either bring the SPICE model of TED into COMSOL where I simulate them both together OR I find the equivalent thermal resistance and thermal capacitance and use them in my SPICE circuit.
I have already asked COMSOL Support if SPICE can be connected to a thermal multiphysics model which the answer currently is "no". Is it maybe possible to use the differential equations of the SPICE circuit and combine them with the heat exchanger model?
Alternatively, is it possible to somehow calculate the overall thermal resistance and thermal capacitance of the entire heat exchanger (also depending on fluid flow)?
I have attached two pictures which schematically explain the issue.
If there are any other questions, please let me know.
Thank you very much already in advance.
Marcus
I've been trying to control a heat exchanger model build with comsol. The idea is to control the temperature of the fluid running through the aluminium heat exchanger heated by two ThermoElectric Devices TED (also known as a solid state heating elements, Peltier devices, or Seebeck devices) mounted to the planar top. The heat exchanger model is done and completed with comsol, however TED is done with SPICE (which due to analogy between electrical and thermal components can be used for lumped models). My goal is to somehow connect both models (the heat exchanger as well as TED) and simulate them simultaneously. The reason why both models need to be computed at the same time is because (and that also is the major culprit in my model) the thermal load of the heat exchanger impacts the electrical behavior of TED. And due to the nature of how TEDs work, if the electrical behavior is influenced then the ability to cool/heat is also influenced. One basically has to see the entire system as a whole.
With that in mind, I have two options. Either bring the SPICE model of TED into COMSOL where I simulate them both together OR I find the equivalent thermal resistance and thermal capacitance and use them in my SPICE circuit.
I have already asked COMSOL Support if SPICE can be connected to a thermal multiphysics model which the answer currently is "no". Is it maybe possible to use the differential equations of the SPICE circuit and combine them with the heat exchanger model?
Alternatively, is it possible to somehow calculate the overall thermal resistance and thermal capacitance of the entire heat exchanger (also depending on fluid flow)?
I have attached two pictures which schematically explain the issue.
If there are any other questions, please let me know.
Thank you very much already in advance.
Marcus