Electrothermodynamic analysis of an interface
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According to the well known Peltier effect, heat is either liberated or absorbed at the junction of a pair of thermoelectrically different materials whenever an electrical current flows through the interface. In this paper, we consider a pair of semi-infinite rods of equal cross-sectional area in perfect thermoelectric contact. At time t = 0, a DC current begins to flow in the axial direction. The electrothermodynamic response of the composite rod is calculated. For a given pair of thermoelectric materials, the transient interface temperature is completely described by 3 single dimensionless parameter, which we have elected to call the MOET number (modulus of electrothermodynamics). Perhaps the most interesting result is that the minimum temperature at the interface is independent of the current density. Of course, the time required to reach this minimum temperature does depend on the current density. J; it varies as 1/J2.
