Enhanced Thermoelectric Cooling Performance through Phase Change Material Integration: Experimental and Numerical Investigation

Thermoelectric cooling (TEC) systems offer solid-state, eco-friendly alternatives to conventional refrigeration but suffer from efficiency degradation due to hot-side heat accumulation. This study investigates the integration of phase change materials (PCMs) with thermoelectric modules to enhance cooling performance and thermal stability. A hybrid TEC-PCM system was designed, fabricated, and tested using three PCM types (paraffin wax, lauric acid, and stearic acid) under varying ambient conditions (25°C, 35°C, and 45°C). Experimental results demonstrate that stearic acid PCM achieved the highest coefficient of performance (COP) improvement of 24% and maintained cold-side temperatures 5.7°C lower than conventional TEC systems. Finite element analysis using ANSYS validated experimental observations with less than 3% deviation. The hot-side temperature rise was reduced by 12% with PCM integration, extending transient cooling duration by 200%. These findings establish PCM-enhanced thermoelectric systems as viable solutions for portable refrigeration, electronics cooling, and battery thermal management applications.