Resumen de Thermal-fluids laboratory project: first and second law analysis of a thermoelectric cooler
A thermal engineering laboratory/design project is presented .The objective of the project was toconstruct an experiment to measure the performance of a heat pump based on first and second lawprinciples .A thermoelectric device drove the heat pump .A student lab group selected, analyzed,designed, planned, built, instrumented, and tested this experiment .The students calculated thecoefficient of performance of the system and compared it to the Carnot COP .In addition theycalculated a second law efficiency based on entropy generation .The aim of this senior levellaboratory project was not only to strengthen their understanding of principles, but also to initiatecritical thinking on their own .The experiment was a success, because they applied knowledge fromtheir undergraduate education: thermodynamics, heat transfer, fluid mechanics, electric circuits,instrumentation and design principles.
