A Method for testing the integrated thermal resistance of thermoelectric modules

The integrated thermal resistance (ITR) of thermoelectric modules (TEMs) is an important parameter that represents the thermal-conduction of ceramic substrates, copper conducting strips, and welding material used in the TEM as well as the thermal contact resistances between different materials. In this study, an accurate and practical test method is proposed for the ITR of TEMs according to thermoelectric heat transfer theory and the equivalent characteristics of heat flux through the cold and hot sides of TEMs in an open-circuit situation. By using such measurements and comparisons, it is verified that the measured ITR value in our mode is accurate and reliable. In particular this method accurately predicts the actual operating conditions of TEMs, in which TEMs are under certain mechanical pressure. It effectively solves the problem of thermal resistance extraction from operating TEMs and is of great significance in their analysis and optimization.