The Peltier driven frequency domain approach in thermal analysis

The merits of Frequency Domain analysis as a tool for thermal system characterization are discussed, and the complex thermal impedance approach is illustrated. Pure AC thermal flux generation with negligible DC component is possible with a Peltier device, differently from other existing methods in which a significant DC component is intrinsically attached to the generated AC flux. Such technique is named here Peltier Driven Frequency Domain (PDFD). As a necessary prerequisite, a novel one-dimensional analytical model for an asymmetrically loaded Peltier device is developed, which is general enough to be useful in most practical situations as a design tool for measurement systems and as a key for the interpretation of experimental results. Impedance analysis is possible with Peltier devices by the inbuilt Seebeck effect differential thermometer, and is used in the paper for an experimental validation of the analytical model. Suggestions are then given for possible applications of PDFD, including the determination of thermal properties of materials.