1753 0195-928X/03/1100-1753/0 © 2003 Plenum Publishing Corporation International Journal of Thermophysics, Vol. 24, No. 6, November 2003 (© 2003) Transient Behavior of a Thermoelectric Device under the Hyperbolic Heat Conduction Model M. Alata, 1 M. A. Al-Nimr, 1, 2 and M. Naji 1 1 Mechanical Engineering Department, Jordan University of Science and Technology (JUST), P.O. Box 3030, Irbid 22110, Jordan. 2 To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: malnimr@just.edu.jo Received March 1, 2003 The major objective of this work is to describe the dynamic thermal behavior of thermoelectric generators and refrigerators under the effect of the hyperbolic heat conduction model. In practical situations, these devices work under tran- sient operating conditions due to the time change in the imposed current, voltage, and hot or cold temperatures. Results for transient temperature distri- butions were obtained for different parameters. The coefficient of performance was obtained as a function of time for increasing current flow. KEY WORDS: dynamic behavior of heat pump; electrical generator and regenerator; hyperbolic heat conduction model; thermoelectric system. 1. INTRODUCTION The basic theory of thermoelectric generators and refrigerators was derived satisfactorily in 1909 and 1911 by Altenkrich [1, 2]. His work indicated that for both applications materials were needed with high Seebeck coeffi- cients to minimize Joule heating and low thermal conductivities to reduce heat transfer through the devices. Altenkirch [1, 2] enumerated the desir- able properties for materials to be used in thermoelectric devices. In the literature, numerous studies have been conducted to investigate the thermal behavior of thermoelectric devices under steady-state conditions [3–11]. However, the behavior of these devices under transient operating condi- tions has not yet been investigated. A study of the transient thermal behavior of the thermoelectric device rather than the steady-state behavior is very important for two reasons: