Case 13956

Tumble Dryer with Thermoelectric Heat Pump in Combination with Internal Heat Exchanger

Keywords:

Thermoelectric heat pumps

Applications:

Convection tumble dryers

Problem:

    Refrigerants used to support conventional heat pumps in dryers have a negative environmental impact

Technology:

This invention proposes a thermoelectrical heat pump and internal heat exchanger as an alternative to the evaporator and condenser in conventional compression dryers. This thermoelectric heat pump includes one or more thermoelectric modules that are sandwiched between fine heat exchangers. Both the hot and cold sides are in direct contact with the fine heat exchanger, which enables the heating and cooling of two fluid flows passing through the heat exchanger providing heat recover by utilizing one fluid flow to preheat the other. This can be carried out in cross flow, counter flow, or concurrent flow configurations depending on the assembly of the components.

Advantages:
  • Operates without refrigerant (environmentally-friendly)
  • No moving parts allows for silent operation and longer system life

Inventors:
  • Professor Gang Chen(Department of Mechanical Engineering, MIT)
  • Christine Junior (Department of Mechanical Engineering, MIT)
  • Jurgen Koehler (Department of Mechanical Engineering, MIT)

Intellectual Property:

US Patent Number 8,365,539, issued on February 5, 2013

Publications:

N/A

Last revised: April 29, 2013

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