Optimal performance of a thermoelectric refrigerator

By employing an externally and internally irreversible Carnot-like reversed heat engine model, the coefficient of performance and maximum cooling rate have been determined for a thermoelectric refrigerator. The irreversibilities can be characterized by a single parameter called the device-design parameter. The coefficient of performance and the cooling rate increase with an increase of the device-design parameter, which appears in the equations for maximum cooling rate and coefficient of performance.