Design and Development of a Thermoelectric Beverage Cooler By: Brandon Carpenter Andrew Johnston Tim Taylor Faculty Advisor: Dr. Quamrul Mazumder University of Michigan - Flint

Objective Refrigerator designed for cooling large multiple items Inefficient if only a single item is to be cooled Due to size is non-portable Technology requires coolant, compressor, and cumbersome tubing

Objective Apply concept of refrigerator to a small scale device Solid-state, eliminate need for coolants Portability; can be taken wherever needed Concentrate cooling onto single object to be cooled, eliminate energy waste in cooling empty space

Objective Turn ThisInto This

Engineering Approach Use Peltier thermo cooler to provide cooling Use tight fitting aluminum sleeve to enhance conductivity Machine base to match contour of can bottom Use fans with heat sink to remove heat Power with drill battery

Preliminary Calculations

Further Calculations

Main Components Peltier Cooler Model TEC Rated for 90W/ 139W Max

Notes on Cooler While a cooler with a higher rated wattage would theoretically be able to remove more heat, it creates more heat due to resistance and requires a much larger heat sink. In order to remain portable a smaller cooler was needed, affecting cooling time.

Main Components Sleeve 6061 Aluminum Cut to appropriate length 2.62” Inner Diameter 0.065” Wall Thickness

Main Components Machined Base 6061 Aluminum Designed to accommodate various cans, as dimensions can differ

Manufacturing / Assembly Aluminum tubing was cut into appropriate lengths to make sections 1.Beverage Compartment 2.Fan Housing (which was not used) 3.Wiring Compartment 4.Battery Compartment

Manufacturing / Assembly Discs were made to serve as plates between sections and for mounting purposes

Manufacturing / Assembly Components were assembled using machine screws and adhesives

Manufacturing / Assembly Insulation was placed around beverage compartment Thermal paste was applied between thermo cooler, heat sink, top disc, base, and sleeve

Testing Procedure

A 12 oz. pop can is filled with water and placed in the beverage compartment Initial temperature of the water is recorded Cooler is turned on, and temperature is recorded in two minute intervals Additionally, the ambient air temperature, starting battery voltage, and final battery voltage are recorded to check for any correlation

Testing Procedure For each test, the data is entered into an Excel spreadsheet For comparison purposes, a similar test was conducted using a refrigerator Cooling Module Test #1 Time (minutes)Temperature (⁰F)dT/dt (⁰F / min)Ambient Air: 65.5(⁰F) Starting Voltage: 12.45V Final Voltage: 9.14V dT/dt min0.8 dT/dt max1.25 dT/dt ave0.975

Results Data in graph form

Discussion

Conclusion With available technology idea is not yet practical Current Peltier coolers are not very efficient, require large heat sinks which hinder portability Also battery power/size ratio insufficient for portability