Multi objective optimization of an irreversible thermoelectric heat pump using evolutionary algorithms and response surface method

ABSTRACT

In this study, modeling of an irreversible thermoelectric heat pump was conducted, and its performance was assessed in terms of exergy for 10, 20, 30 and 40 K difference in temperature (∆T) by changing the values of the design parameters. By employing this model, positive impact of increasing cross-section area, current and thermocouple’s length which in turn increases the exergy efficiency is realized. In addition, diminishing adverse impact of adding more thermocouples on the exergy efficiency of the system is illustrated. Afterward, exergoeconomic performance of the thermoelectric heat pump is evaluated. Then, exergoeconomic factor for each of the system’s components is diagnosed. The value of the mentioned parameter for the whole system is 60.6%, representing the ratio of the investment costs to exergy destruction costs. Considering the two objectives of reducing the unit cost of produced heat and increasing the exergy efficiency, the thermoelectric heat pump was optimized to create a temperature difference (∆T) of 30 K by state of the art optimization algorithms such as MOPSO, SPEA2, PESA2 and response surface method (RSM). Comparing the drawn Pareto of each algorithm reveals that the Pareto drawn by the SPEA2 algorithm had better quality than the other two algorithms. Utilizing SPEA2 algorithm for this study yielded an exergoeconomic factor of 0.5 $/kWh and 14.8%, while the results obtained via evolutionary algorithms in this experiment are optimal compared to the RSM.

KEYWORDS:

• Exergy
• exergoeconomic optimization
• thermoelectric heat pump
• evolutionary algorithms
• response surface method

Acknowledgments

Thanks are due to the Azad Dezful University which supported this research.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Saman Meshginnezhad

Saman Meshginnejad currently works at a private company.  He has a master's degree in mechanical energy conversion from Islamic Azad University Dezful Branch. His current project is two stage  thermo-electric heat pump optimization.

Ehsanolah Assareh

Ehsanolah Assareh Currently Works at Materials and Energy Research Center of Islamic Azad University Dezful Branch. His current project is Modeling, Multi-Objective Optimization and Exergo-Economic assessment of a multi-generation energy system based on Renewable Energy.

Arash Erfani

Arash Erfani is currently a PhD student in civil engineering department of KU Leuven. He received his Master's diploma in Energy systems engineering from Sharif University of Tehran. After completing his M.Sc he moved to Katholieke Universiteit Leuven to further his studies on optimization of thermal behavior of buildings focusing on impact of modeling techniques and identification dataset

Mojtaba Alirahmi

Mojtaba Alirahmi has obtained a Master degree in mechanical engineering in 2020 from Islamic Azad University. His present research activity is focused on renewables energy, thermoelectric materials and energy storage technologies.

Tohid Jafarinejad

Tohid Jafarinejad received his Masters in Energy Engineering from Sharif University of Technology in 2018. During his master studies he mainly focused on energy systems optimization and green energies. He started a PhD program in Katholieke Universiteit Leuven in 2020 with the main focus on building stock energy performance modeling and optimization.